Virginia's James River Plantations

Virginia's JAMES RIVER PLANTATIONS
Historic plantation sites along the James and its tributaries -
from the Williamsburg and Hampton Roads Area to
Greater Richmond

THE GRAND TOUR

TOURS

Williamsburg Area

Enjoy a winter escape to plantation country. Tour a historic home with the glow of a fire, enjoy a candlelight tavern dinner or plan a romantic bed and breakfast get-a-way!

Sites near these Cities

Edgewood*

Sites in these Counties

Westover

Charles City

Smithfield to Petersburg

SPEND THE NIGHT at a National Register Landmark plantation. Piney Grove, North Bend, and Edgewood offer historic accommodations along the James River corridor. You will relax in elegant guest rooms, grand parlors and cozy sitting rooms - by roaring fires - and sleep in priceless antique beds! The historic treasures of Virginia's past can be part of your historic visit to the James River Plantation country.

Explore and tour four centuries of American History at HISTORIC LANDMARK PLANTATIONS located in the quiet countryside of rural counties and on the outskirts of bustling riverside cities.

REGIONAL DINING gives a taste of the James River Plantation Country in venues that include historic taverns, country inns and unique restaurants.

Surry County

Chippokes*

Flowerdew Hundred

Many of the James River Plantations are featured sites on "The Plantation Loop" of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail.

Smith's Fort

Weston Manor

Richmond Area

Tuckahoe

Wilton

Regional Dining

The English Garden

Indian Fields Tavern

Surrey House Restaurant*

* Also provides lodging

Explore the James River Plantations and other historic sites between Williamsburg and Richmond on the Jamestown Discovery Trail - a heritage trail organized by the James River Plantations - Charles City County, Virginia

JAMES RIVER FACTS
The first settlement along the James River was by the Indians. In 1607 the English arrived and established Jamestown in the heart of the lands of the Powhatan Confederacy - a confederation of tribes first led by Chief Powhatan. The James River was actually first known as "Powhatan Flu".
PLANTATION FACTS
The early colonization of Virginia was actually a corporate venture, initially undertaken by the Virginia Company. Early seventeenth-century investor sponsored settlements, were known as "hundreds". Plantations, owned by individuals and passed-down to descendents, emerged as a pattern of settlement that continued in Virginia's Tidewater and Piedmont until the Civil War.
SPOTLIGHT ON THOMAS JEFFERSON
The James River was Thomas Jefferson's neighborhood. As a child he attended school at Tuckahoe. He attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, and later represented Albemarle County in the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg. Jefferson was married at the Forest in Charles City County. Jefferson's family relations owned Appomattox Manor, Eppington and Weston Manor, all situated along the Appomattox River, a tributary of the James. He built Monticello and Poplar Forest along tributaries of the James, and he designed the Virginia Capitol in Richmond, which still majestically overlooks the James River.

TOURS LODGING DINING EVENTS PACKAGES TICKETS MAP

Virginia's JAMES RIVER PLANTATIONS