James River Plantations - Plantations South Side of James River

Plantations South Side of James River

Most of the extant plantations south of the James River are accessed by State Route 10, which runs between Suffolk and Richmond via Smithfield, Surry, and Hopewell.

The south side plantations, from east to west, include:

• Bacon's Castle
• Rich Neck Constructed in the early nineteenth century, the house is remarkable for the number of original accessory features which survive. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places, May 19, 1980, Rich Neck provides a vivid impression of life on a prosperous Southside plantation in the early nineteenth century. Long connected with the Ruffins, one of the prominent families of Southside Virginia, Rich Neck possesses a collection of buildings which are among the best preserved and most noteworthy of their type in the region. Situated behind the house are a nineteenth-century smokehouse, an early and mid-nineteenth century office; and an outhouse, well house and chicken house, all built in the twentieth century. Original sashes, most of the doors, hinges (many with their leather washers), locks, and other hardware remain. The Ruffin family figured in Virginia's social and intellectual history throughout the colonial and early national periods. Its most notable member was Edmund Ruffin, an ardent secessionist and agricultural pioneer. Research indicates Rich Neck was owned by the Ruffin family until 1865. Rich Neck Farm has long stood vacant and is in a state of disrepair. In 2011 Preservation Virginia listed Rich Neck Farm as one of the most endangered historic sites in Virginia.

• Chippokes Plantation (now Chippokes Plantation State Park)
• Smith's Fort Plantation
• Swanns Point Plantation
• Four Mile Tree
• Pipsico Plantation (now Pipsico Scout Reservation)
• Eastover Plantation
• Wakefield Plantation
• Claremont Manor
• Brandon Plantation is located on the south shore of the James River in Prince George County, Virginia. The 5,000-acre (20 km2) plantation is a working farm and is one of the longest-running agricultural enterprises in the United States. It has an unusual brick mansion in the style of Palladio's "Roman Country House" completed in the 1760s, and was perhaps designed by Thomas Jefferson. It was established in 1616 by Captain John Martin, one of the original leaders of the Virginia Colony at Jamestown in 1607. The plantation was owned by the Harrison family from 1700-1926. Brandon is a National Historical Landmark and although it is a private residence, the house and gardens are open for tours.

• Upper Brandon Plantation - This was part of an original land patent known as Brandon, granted to Captain John Martin, one of the founders of Jamestown. William Byrd Harrison inherited the upper 3,555 acres (14.39 km2) of Brandon, which became Upper Brandon. He built a large brick manor house in 1825 and developed the farm into a model of modern agricultural management. It remained in the Harrison family until 1948. In 1985, a Richmond-based corporation purchased the property, and restored and furnished the long-vacant manor house for use as a corporate retreat. Upper Brandon is a working farm currently owned by a group of private investors. The mansion and conference center are available for meetings and events.

• Willow Hill Plantation
• Aberdeen Plantation
• Flowerdew Hundred Plantation dates to 1618/19 with the patent of 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) on the south side of the James River in Virginia. Sir George Yeardley, the Governor and Captain General of the Virginia Colony, may have named the property after his wife, Temperance Flowerdew. Their primary residence was in Jamestown when Sir George called the first General Assembly in Jamestown in 1620. With a population of about 30, the plantation was economically successful with thousands of pounds of tobacco produced along with corn, fish and livestock. Sir George paid 120 pounds (possibly a hogshead of tobacco) to build the first windmill in British America. The plantation was purchased in the 1960s by David A. Harrison,III, a member of the prominent Harrison family. He permitted extensive archaeological digs to be conducted on the property. The artifacts collected during these digs were donated to the University of Virginia. Today, Flowerdew Hundred plantation is a private residence.
• Hatches Plantation
• Maycox Plantation (now incorporated into the James River National Wildlife Refuge)

• Greenway is located on the south side of Rt 10 east of Hopewell. The residence was built ca. 1800 and is among the oldest houses still standing in Prince George County. The house, built over an English basement, is a typical wood frame, hall and parlor, farm house with gabled dormers and large end chimneys. Many of the windows have the original blown glass. Greenway is a private residence and is currently operated as an American Saddlebred horse farm.

• Beechwood Plantation (home of Edmund Ruffin and site of the Beefsteak Raid) Built in the mid 19th century by Edmund Ruffin for his son Edmund Ruffin, Jr., the house is a large, two-story frame mansion, built in the Greek Revival style, sided with plain weatherboards set on a full raised brick basement. There is a low, hipped tin roof with two pairs of corbelled interior chimneys, and a total of 12 fireplaces. Long vacant and open to the elements, Beechwood stands in a state of ruin as of 2011.

• Tar Bay Plantation
• Bouvier Castle Plantation
• Evergreen Plantation (birthplace of Edmund Ruffin)
• Appomattox Manor (at City Point)
• Weston Manor is a large five-bay, wood-frame, plantation house built in 1789 for William and Christian Eppes Gilliam on land in Prince George County. The Gilliam family arrived in Virginia in the 17th century as indentured servants. By the late 18th century the family had amassed several plantations in the area. Christian was the daughter of Richard Eppes of Appomattox Plantation. Her maternal grandfather was a descendant of Pocahontas, as were many members of the First Families of Virginia.It is noted for its period interior, and is open for tours from April 1 through October 31 each year. Hours are Monday through Saturday 10am - 4:30pm, Sunday 1pm - 4:30pm.
• Presquile (at Bermuda Hundred now Presquile National Wildlife Refuge)
• Mont Blanco also known as Mount Blanco was a plantation set on a high bluff overlooking the James River in Chesterfield County, Virginia. The two-story, three-bay, wood-frame plantation house was built in the last decade of the eighteenth century for John Wayles Eppes, a United States Representative and Senator from Virginia who married a daughter of Thomas Jefferson. The name Mont Blanco is said to have been suggested by his father-in-law Thomas Jefferson, due to the height of the bluff and the expansive views across the broad river valley below. (Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and in Western Europe.) During the American Civil War, the plantation was plundered by Union soldiers of the Army of the James under General Benjamin Franklin Butler, who occupied the area during the Bermuda Hundred Campaign. The 18th-century house at Mont Blanco was heavily damaged by fire in the mid 1950s. But, its charred ruins remained standing for decades. In the early 21st century, the agricultural operation was discontinued, and the last remaining tract of Mont Blanco land was sold for development. Today, residential homes occupy its fields. The name of the subdivision, "Mount Blanco", is the only reminder of the historic plantation that once stood there.
• Meadowville Plantation
• Rochedale Hundred Plantation
• Kingsland Plantation (owned by Christopher Branch at Henricus)
• Bellwood Plantation was built between 1797 and 1804 as the manor house on a large plantation that is now the site of the present-day Defense Supply Center, Richmond. When the U.S. Army purchased the property in 1941 from the last private land owner, James Bellwood, the manor house was turned into an officers' club. The structure, although renovated and adapted for use by the military, still retains much of its original architecture, including its original pine flooring, paneled doors, stairs, ornamental locks and doorknobs, and window frames. The Bellwood Club is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a registered historic landmark in both Virginia and Chesterfield County.