The grounds are open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily and guided tours of the house are available daily by appointment. Shirley Plantation, settled in 1613, is the oldest plantation in Virginia and the oldest family-owned business in North America, dating back to 1638.

What plantation near Williamsburg can visitors explore today?

James River Plantation
James River Plantation Tours. Visit on your own without a tour guide. The plantations most often chosen to visit are Berkeley and Shirley. They are located about 1 drive hour from Williamsburg.

What is the oldest plantation in Virginia?

Shirley Plantation
Charles City County: Shirley Plantation. Shirley is a premier example of an colonial Virginia tobacco plantation and is the oldest plantation in Virginia, dating to 1613. The property was patented to Edward Hill in 1660 and remains in the possession of his family today.

How many plantations are in Charles City VA?

The James River Plantations – Charles City County, Virginia is a local tourism association organized in 1993 by nine historic landmark plantations and two fine dining establishments, as the first tourism organization in Charles City County, Virginia.

What plantations are on Route 5?

From west to east, these are the Shirley Plantation, Edgewood Plantation, Berkeley Plantation, Westover Plantation, Evelynton Plantation, Belle Air Plantation, Piney Grove at Southall’s Plantation, North Bend Plantation and Sherwood Forest Plantation.

Who owns Carter’s Grove Plantation?

Samuel Mencoff
On Friday, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation announced a new owner for the national historic landmark a few miles south of Williamsburg: Samuel Mencoff, a co-chief executive of a prominent private equity investment firm in Chicago who is known for preservation projects, bought Carter’s Grove for $7.5 million.

Are there any plantations to visit in Virginia?

Locations. Plantations are found throughout the state of Virginia. In the southwestern foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville is Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, while only 15 miles from Washington, D.C., is George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

What is the oldest plantation still standing?

Shirley Plantation is the oldest active plantation in Virginia and the oldest family-owned business in North America, dating back to 1614 with operations starting in 1648….Shirley Plantation.

Who owns evelynton plantation?

Edmund Saunders Ruffin
Built in the early 1930s, the home is made with 250-year-old brick salvaged from old tobacco barns in the area. “The roof rafters in the attic are solid pieces, up to 60 feet long, all cut with a hand saw on the ground,” says Edmund Saunders Ruffin, Evelynton’s present owner.

What county is Charles City in?

Charles City County
Charles City/Counties

What happened to Carter’s Grove Plantation?

Carter’s Grove, after multiple owners and the death of the last resident in 1964, was gifted to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1969. The foundation opened the plantation to tourists for years but closed it to the public in 2003.

Where are the James River plantations in Virginia?

Treasures from three centuries can be seen at the James River Plantations along Virginia’s scenic Route 5 in Charles City County. The county, strategically located between the James and Chickahominy Rivers and close to the colonial capitals of Jamestown and Williamsburg, was the first westward expansion of English-speaking America. It was…

What is the most historic plantation in the United States?

Berkeley Plantation. The most historic plantation on the James River, Berkeley was built in 1726 and is the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison and President William Henry Harrison (9th president of the United States).

Can you visit the plantations on your own?

The plantations most often chosen to visit are Berkeley and Shirley. They are located about 1 drive hour from Williamsburg. These plantations can certainly be visited on your own. Each Plantations have their special trained guides to tell you the history of the property and house.

What is the Shirley Plantation in Virginia?

Virginia’s first plantation, Shirley Plantation, is a grand Southern plantation that has been owned and operated by eleven generations of the Hill-Carter family, and remains so today! Since 1613, the plantation has stood robustly through the developing settlement at Jamestown (1607); the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War.