Bumpass was initially known as 2nd Turnout, Louisa County (a turnout is a switch that allows the changing of rails along a track.) In 1742, a Scottish tradesman named Francis Jerdone (1720-1771) built Jerdone Castle, one of the first homes in Bumpass. Listed on the U.S. National Register of Historical Places, Jerdone Castle was even host to an overnight visit by George Washington (1732-1799) from June 10, 1791 to June 11, 1791. At the turn of the eighteenth century, John “Jack” Bumpass (1755-1837), decedent of French Huguenots, became the first with this surname to settle in the area. Jack was described as a powerful man weighing over three-hundred pounds.
Jack’s son was Capt. John Thomas Bumpass Sr. (1822-1884), a.k.a. “Captain Tom,” whom the area obtained its namesake. The Bumpass Post Office opened on June 20, 1860, which John Tom operated as the post master and station agent for Bumpass Depot (Station Number: 129, Code Number: 0193.) Later, John Tom became a captain in the Virginia State Militia during the Civil War and was ordered by the governor to provided fuel and water for troop trains along the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. On February 29, 1864, Col. Ulric Dahlgren (1842-1864), during an unsuccessful advancement towards the Confederate capital at Richmond, commanded Union soldiers to destroy the tracks at Bumpass in an effort to cripple the Confederate supply line.
Afterwards, the area saw a great advancement in industry as it operated a chicken coop factory, a barrel stave mill and an even ice cream spoon factory. The latter was the brainchild of Benedict Joseph Grasberger (1867-1957), founder of B. J. Grasberger Co. B. J. Grasberger patented a device for the manufacture of wooden spoons particularly for “ice cream and the like” (United States Pat. 2509915.) The facility however was not limited to simply the production of ice cream spoons, but it produced an assortment of wooden dishes, paper plates and cutlery, such as pickle and cocktail forks. Grasberger’s original machinery is featured in the “Field Day of the Past” exhibition in Goochland County. There, it remains an important part of a display on antiquarian technology and is still every bit operational today, as it was so long ago.
Furthermore, in late 1972, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave the green light for the construction of a nuclear power plant just northwest of Bumpass. Subsequently, with the plant came the creation of an immense, artificial lake made by damming the North Anna River. This lake was to provide a cooling pond for the nuclear generating station. The lake, named Anna, encompasses some 13,000 acres consisting of a 9,600 acre reservoir and a 3,400 acre Waste Heat Treatment Facility. The North Anna Generating Station went active on June 6, 1978 and continues to be an important source of energy for thousands of homes. In recent years, the introduction of Alpaca to Bumpass has seen an advancement in the high fiber and ranching industry. As well, Bumpass is the present site of Træ Fuels, an ENPlus Certified wood pellet manufacturer.
♢ Chesapeake & Ohio, Piedmont Subdivision: Bumpass
♢ North Anna Nuclear Power Plant Contentions
♢ Kilpatrick’s and Dahlgren’s Raid to Richmond (By George E. Pond)
♢ Descendants of Edouad Bompasse
♢ Træ Fuels | Wood Pellets: Clean Energy
