John Green Site
About 1709 Robert Hicks moved to the future site of Hicksford (present-day Emporia).
The present town of Emporia, Virginia, was once called Hicksford. The name evolved from the spot on the Meherrin River where Capt. Robert Hicks had his trading post. It was at a shallow point that was fordable and became known as Hicks’ or Hix’s Ford. It is believed that the villages of Hicksford, located on the south side of the river, and Belfield, located on the north side of the river, were combined in the late 1880’s to become Emporia.
The land had originally been patented in 1706 by Arthur Kavanaugh “of Meherrin River” who lived in Surry County but “pretending to be of North Carolina” when he ran into some trouble with the Virginia authorities the year before he sold to Hicks. He was accused of purposely creating misunderstanding between the Sapony Indians and the English, signing papers in the name of “Gentlemen of Note in these parts.” His conduct was ordered investigated. If found guilty Kavanaugh was to he taken into custody until he gave bond for his good behavior We do not know the result of the investigation but he seems to have led an orderly life thereafter. He became a close neighbor of Hicks at Hicks’ Ford. It is quite probable that Robert Hicks moved from Petersburg to the Ford in 1709, or shortly afterward. Certainly he was here before 1711. It is also most likely that he established a trading post about the same time, though this is conjecture. Tradition persists that there was a Post (or “Quarter”) at the Ford. The location was a strategic one – about half way between Fort Henry and the numerous Tuscarora towns in eastern North Carolina. It would also have been in close proximity to the Meherrin fort (town) and in the midst of a large Indian population. Hicks’ experience as a trader makes him the logical one to have established and operated such a Post.”
The land had originally been patented in 1706 by Arthur Kavanaugh “of Meherrin River” who lived in Surry County but “pretending to be of North Carolina” when he ran into some trouble with the Virginia authorities the year before he sold to Hicks. He was accused of purposely creating misunderstanding between the Sapony Indians and the English, signing papers in the name of “Gentlemen of Note in these parts.” His conduct was ordered investigated. If found guilty Kavanaugh was to he taken into custody until he gave bond for his good behavior We do not know the result of the investigation but he seems to have led an orderly life thereafter. He became a close neighbor of Hicks at Hicks’ Ford. It is quite probable that Robert Hicks moved from Petersburg to the Ford in 1709, or shortly afterward. Certainly he was here before 1711. It is also most likely that he established a trading post about the same time, though this is conjecture. Tradition persists that there was a Post (or “Quarter”) at the Ford. The location was a strategic one – about half way between Fort Henry and the numerous Tuscarora towns in eastern North Carolina. It would also have been in close proximity to the Meherrin fort (town) and in the midst of a large Indian population. Hicks’ experience as a trader makes him the logical one to have established and operated such a Post.”