Land of Eden

… former 20,000-acre tract belonging to William Byrd (1674-1744) along the Dan River, N Rockingham County. Byrd surveyed area in 1728. Named because of its Garden of Eden qualities. An additional 6,000 acres were granted to Byrd's son in 1742. Purchased from the younger Byrd by the Farley family in 1755; by 1769 it had been divided into farms and plantations. The town of Eden, formed in 1967 by the merger of Leaksville, Spray, and Draper, took its name from Byrd's estate.