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Plantations
[Belle Air]
[Berkeley]
[Edgewood]
[Evelynton]
[North Bend]
[Pamplin Historical Park & National Museum of the Civil War Soldier]
[Piney Grove at Southall]
[Shirley]
[Tuckahoe]
[Westover]
Belle Air Plantation
Located at 11800 John Tyler Highway in Charles City, this plantation is one of the oldest houses in America.
Belle Air is an important and unique architectural monument. The 1670 plantation home features a rare Jacobean
staircase and massive heartpine timbers with decorative detailing. For more information, please call 804-829-2431.
Berkeley Plantation
Located at 12602 Harrison Landing Road in Charles City. The Berkeley Plantation (1726) was the site of the
first official celebration of Thanksgiving in the New World in 1619. It is also the birthplace of Benjamin
Harrison (signer of the Declaration of Independence), William Henry Harrison (Ninth U.S. President)
and ancestral home of Benjamin Harrison (23rd U.S. President). During the Civil War, Gen. McClellan
headquartered his troops on the grounds and "Taps" was composed here in 1862. Bourbon whiskey was first
distilled here in the 17th-century. For more information, call 804-829-6018.
Edgewood Plantation
Located at 4800 John Tyler Memorial Highway in Charles City. This pre-Civil War National Historic Landmark
(1849) is filled with history, charm and museum-quality antiques. Refreshments are available by reservation.
For more information, call 804-829-2962.
Evelynton Plantation
Located at 6701 John Tyler Hwy. in Charles City. Since 1847 the Evelynton Plantation has been home
to the Ruffin family whose patriarch, Edmund Ruffin, fired the first shot of the Civil War. Site of
a fierce Civil War battle in 1862, the original house burned. The current manor house is a gracious,
Georgian Revival mansion. For more information, call 800-473-5075.
North Bend Plantation
Located at 12200 Weyanoke Road, Charles City. North Bend is a Federal & Greek Revival style home
built in 1819 for Sarah Harrison, sister of President William Henry Harrison. The home served as
Civil War headquarters for Union General Philip Sheridan. House tours are by appointment and
can be made by calling 804-829-5176.
Pamplin Historical
Park & National Museum of the Civil War Soldier
Located at 6125 Boydton Plank Road in Petersburg, is 363-acre privately owned and operated park.
The park is comprised of the Pamplin Historical Park, featuring the restored Tudor Hall Plantation
house and kitchen; historic battlefields; and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, a
$10.5 million dollar, and 25,000-square foot facility designed to bring stories of the Civil War
soldier to life. Both the park and museum features dozens of hands-on activities and exhibits. End
your visit at the Hardtack and Coffee Café. For more information, call 804-861-2408.
Piney Grove at Southall's Plantation
Located at 16920 Southall Plantation Lane in Charles City. The original port of Piney Grove
was built before 1790 on the Southall Plantation and is a rare survival of early Virginia
log architecture. The prominent Southall family established several country seats in the
Richmond area. House tours are available by appointment. For more information, please call 804-829-2480.
Shirley Plantation
Located at 501 Shirley Plantation Road in Charles City. This plantation was founded
six years after the settlers arrived at Jamestown in 1607. A visit to Shirley Plantation
affords a panorama of rare historical continuity. Featuring a pineapple (the Colonial symbol
of hospitality) in the hard-carved woodwork in the house, Shirley was a well-known center of
hospitality in Colonial times. Its famous walnut staircase rises for three stories without
visible means of support, and is the only one of its kind in America. For more information,
call 804-829-5121.
Tuckahoe Plantation
Located at 12601 River Road in Richmond, Tuckahoe is considered by architectural historians to
be the finest existing early 18th-century plantation in America. Unique in American
architecture are the rare outbuildings, including paired structures, which were the office,
and schoolhouse where Thomas Jefferson went to class. Tours of the plantation are by
appointment only. For more information, call 804-784-5736.
Westover Plantation
Location at 700 Westover Road in Charles City, Virginia, this plantation is the nation's
premier example of a Georgian architectural complex. William Byrd II built Westover in 1730.
The house itself is only open for tours during Historic Garden Week in April; however, the
gardens and grounds are not to be missed. The estate's sprawling lawn with century-old poplars
sweeps down to the banks of the James River and its original outbuildings feature stone finials
and intricate wrought-iron gates. For more information, call 804-829-2882.
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