Mahockney
One of the historic homes of Virginia - still standing, still in private hands.
The classic early colonial home at Mahockney Plantation stands at the center of 1,200 acres of farmland in Upper Mount Landing, Virginia, on Mount Landing Creek just above the spot where it feeds into the Rappahannock River. That's also
the very spot where Capt. John Smith encountered the Rappahannock Indians on his
initial 1608 exploration upriver from Jamestown.
Mahockney was patented as such in 1663 with 518 acres by Thomas Rosson (variously spelled Rason,
Rawson, Roson), incorporating an earlier 1653 patent by Andrew Gilson of 200 acres. The name was used early; a 1721 deed for the property refers to it as “
land formerly granted to Thomas Roson by patent bearing date 1663 which is grant of 600 acres commonly known by the name of The Mehockney.”
That 1721 deed places Mahockney as the plantation of Martha Tomlin, daughter of Robert Tomlin (var. Tomlyn, Thomlin, Thomaline) who had acquired the property from Rosson in 1671, beginning a half-century of ownership by the Thomlin family. Robert Tomlin is recorded as sheltering Rappahannock Indians in his home here in the early 1680's during the tumult sparked by Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 - was that home today's Mahockney? The historical record so far is uncertain on that. A dwelling identified as “House of Mr. Thomaline” does appear at this very spot on the 1680 Map of Hobbs Hole (Tappahannock) in the State Library of Virginia; a copy of the map is also held in the Essex County Museum. 
The current structure consists of three sections: first, the original southern portion of the house (on the left in this photo), where at least the chimneys/basement/foundation may date back as early as Bacon's Rebellion, and that side of the house was certainly occupied before 1721; second, on the north end a substantial addition built in 1820 (on the right); and third, another substantial addition behind dating from the early part of the 20th Century. The grounds also feature several dependencies of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The name Mahockney is of Indian derivation. The Mahocks were a prominent tribe in Virginia, though not known to have been nearby. More likely the term is a descriptive Powhatan-language term. The 1612 "Strachey's Dictionary of Powhatan,” the predominant language of the tribes of the Powhatan Nation including the Rappahannock Indian Tribe, defines "monohauck" as “sword.” But the same dictionary also lists the word “mahawq” meaning “gourd” – a basic implement for Indians and settlers, and a common crop at Mahockney in early years; and Mahockney owner Robert Tomlin is recorded as trading frequently with the Rappahannock Indian tribe both before and after Bacon’s Rebellion (1676). This uncertainty in the etymology, and the long intertwined history of war and agriculture, is why Mahockney has been referred to as "the House of Swords and Gourds."