Complex sentence: Smithfield Plantation, built in approximately 1774 by Colonel William Preston, was developed on the original Draper's Meadow site, near the current location of the Duck Pond on the Virginia Tech campus.
Split into simpler sentences: Smithfield Plantation, built in approximately 1774 by Col. William Preston, was developed on the original Draper's Meadow site. This is near the Duck Pond on the Virginia Tech campus.