City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 600 N. 2nd St.
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 1700 Hampton St.
48. Tuckahoe Plantation
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (804) 784-5736
Address: 12601 River Rd.
Description: The grounds of Tuckahoe Plantation, built by the prominent Randolph family between 1733 and 1740, are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a self-guided tour. Now it could well be that we owe everything Thomas Jefferson ever did to the seven years he lived with his family at Tuckahoe, since his schooling began in the schoolhouse that still stands here. Special events are held throughout the year, including a guided spring garden tour, house and grounds tours during Virginia Garden Week, a peony sale before Mother’s Day, and a Christmas candlelight open house. As it is privately owned, the house is open for guided tours by appointment only. A $5 donation is suggested for the self-guided grounds tour. An honor box is near the gate.
49. Virginia House
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (804) 353-4251
Address: 4301 Sulgrave Rd.
Description: Alexander Weddell, a U.S. diplomat, and his wife, Virginia, purchased the 15th-century Priory of Warwick at a demolition sale in England in the 1920s and had it dismantled and shipped here. The priory pieces were used to build Virginia House, a modern yet ancient-looking home on rolling land that leads down to the James River. The Weddells’ hope was that it would one day be the home of the Virginia Historical Society, so some of the home’s rooms, a gallery, and library seem like spaces in a public building. The gardens, designed by Charles Gillette, are spectacular in the spring. The house is open by appointment only.
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 1201 E. Clay St.
51. Wickham House
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (804) 649-0711
Address: 1015 E. Clay St.
Description: Part of Valentine Richmond History Center, this neoclassical masterpiece was built in 1812, and a tour of it is included with Valentine admission. Three floors of the palatial place are open to visitors, with a self-guided tour of the basement slaves’ quarters. As many as 15 slaves worked for the Wickham family here, but most of them would have lived above the carriage house or other outbuildings on their property. They had plenty to do, as John and Elizabeth Wickham had 19 children between them. Maybe the house wasn’t so big after all. This home was for grand entertaining, and no guest would have doubted for a moment that the Wickhams were in the top echelon of society.
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 215 S. Wilton Rd.
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
55. Virginia Civil War Trails
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Description: If you’ve driven in Virginia or several other states, you’ve seen the red, white, and blue Civil War Trails signs that point people in the direction of well-known and obscure Civil War sites. Richmond has more than 60 Civil War Trails signs, one-sixth of Virginia’s. Maps showing the trails are available at the Richmond National Battlefield Park Civil War Visitor Center. The relevant trails here are the 1862 Peninsula Campaign; Lee vs. Grant: The 1864 Campaign; and Lee’s Retreat: The Final Campaigns. The Web site has excellent resources, including maps and walking tour podcasts.
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 500 Tredegar St.
58. Black History Museum And Cultural Center Of Virginia
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (804) 780-9093
Address: 00 Clay St.
Description: A visit here is essential to begin to understand the obstacles black Richmonders had to overcome after Emancipation and to appreciate their achievements in a world that still didn’t offer equality. Permanent exhibits shed light on the post–Civil War black experience in Richmond, including the rich cultural heritage of Jackson Ward, and traveling exhibits explore the rocky road to freedom. Admission is charged, but a Court End Passport can save you money.
59. Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (804) 771-2017
Address: 600 N. 2nd St.
Description: Born a slave, Maggie L. Walker overcame poverty and personal tragedy to be one of the most successful businesswomen and community leaders of her time, founding a bank and the local chapter of the NAACP, among other accomplishments. A visit to her 28-room mansion and the park’s visitor center will put her startling achievements in the segregated South in perspective. A powerful presence in Richmond, she once loaned the white-run city money so the schools could remain open. Find out more about this remarkable woman here Mon through Sat. Admission is free.
City: Richmond, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 1201 E. Clay St.