In 1678, Christopher Robinson purchased 300 acres here that became Hewick, the Virginia seat of the Robinson family. Robinson’s distinguished service to Virginia began as the clerk of Middlesex County Court from 1677 to 1688. He was elected to the House of Burgesses in 1691, and, in 1692, was appointed Councilor and Secretary of the Foreign Plantations by King William III of England. Robinson’s final contribution to colonial Virginia came in 1693, when he served as a founding trustee of William and Mary College.
