The Powhatan Stone

Richmond, Virginia

Not all stones are created equal. That's clearly true of The Powhatan Stone, an average rock that had the incredible good fortune to be part of a royal Indian residence occupied by Pocahontas's dad.

The stone's pedigree has served it well, and for the past hundred years it's occupied a place of honor on a bluff above the James River. A too-big bronze plaque is bolted to it, describing its importance, although the stone itself looks like an oversized potato. Set on an elevated slab in an otherwise empty overlook, The Powhatan Stone has a lot of empty space around it, like a priceless masterpiece in an art gallery.

We wonder if the pedestal on which it sits is spring-loaded, and that the Powhatan Stone will someday launch itself over the cliff and into the Fulton Gas Works and railroad yard below, whose construction forced its relocation to its current spot in 1911.