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Chippokes
Plantation State Park |
Chippokes Plantation State Park
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State Park Overview:
Chippokes Plantation State Park is one of the oldest working farms in the United
States. Chippokes is a living historical exhibit located in a rural agricultural
area along the James River in Surry County. In addition, the park has a wide
variety of traditional park offerings, including a swimming complex, visitor
center, picnic facilities, and hiking and biking trails. The plantation has kept
its original boundaries since the 1600s and has a variety of cultivated gardens
and native woodland. The formal gardens surrounding the Chippokes Mansion are
accented by azaleas, crepe myrtle, boxwood and seasonal flowers. The plantation
grounds are also home to the Chippokes Farm and Forestry Museum
Chippokes Plantation State Park is operated by the Department of Conservation
and Recreation in cooperation with the Chippokes Plantation Farm Foundation. The
Virginia General Assembly created the foundation in 1977 to establish,
administer and maintain the model farm. Funding for the foundation comes from
farmland rent payments, donations, admissions and gift shop sales.
Trails:
The park has 3.5 miles of hiking and bicycling trails, a half-mile of which is
accessible to people with physical disabilities, through the historic area, as
well as an auto farm tour road. The park also has an equestrian area with about
10 miles of riding fun available around farm fields as well as two long,
multiple-use trails.
Picnicking:
Picnic areas include drinking water, grills and restroom facilities. Picnic
shelters are also available on a reservation basis by calling the Reservation
Center 1-800-933-7275 or in Richmond 225-3867.
Chippokes Plantation State Park Picnic Shelters
Two shelters are available for rent. They can be rented from 8 a.m. to dusk (all
day), 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., or 3 p.m. to dusk.. Click here for park fees.
Reservations for shelter are recommended and can be made by calling the
Reservation Center at 1-800-933-PARK (or 225-3867 in Richmond). All shelter
guests must pay applicable parking and swimming fees. Parking, swim fees and
other concessions are not included in the shelter rental.
Amenities: All shelters have grills, picnic tables and access to restroom. They
are all located in the vicinity of the Visitor Center with a view of the James
River.
Cancellation policy: No refund within 14 days before reserved date. Before then,
there's a cancellation fee.
Shelter #1: Small shelter. Can accommodate 30-35 people. No electricity.
Shelter #2: Large shelter. Can accommodate 60-65 people. Has electrical outlet.
Swimming:
Olympic size swimming pool and separate kiddie pool open Memorial Day to Labor
Day, Monday through Thursday, noon to 6 p.m.; on Friday through Sunday and
holidays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m..
History of the Area:
Captain William Powell, a prominent colonial gentleman, received a grant for 550
acres of river frontage on Chippokes Creek in 1619. This is the first record of
ownership for this land. The plantation and the bordering creek were named for
an Indian chief who befriended the early English settlers. Under the ownership
of Colonel Henry Bishop in 1646, the plantation was expanded to its present
boundaries encompassing 1,403 acres.
In 1854, Albert Carroll Jones built the present Chippokes Mansion, which
overlooks the historic James River. This Italianate structure was built of
brick, stuccoed and painted on its river facade. Chippokes was once the site of
one of the few legal distilleries in the Commonwealth. Local legend has it that
the mansion survived the Civil War because Albert Jones sold his brandies to
both sides during the war. The plantation changed owners many times before it
was bought by Thornton Jeffress of Rochester, New York and V.W. Stewart of
Wilson, North Carolina in 1918. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart moved to Chippokes and put
much effort into restoring the property and compiling a detailed history of the
plantation. Upon her husband's death, Mrs. Stewart, in order to preserve the
plantation in its entirety, donated Chippokes Plantation to the Commonwealth as
a memorial to her husband in 1967. Mrs. Stewart hoped that the plantation would
be made into a park and preserved as a working farm to interpret day-to-day farm
life through the centuries.
Chippokes Plantation State Park is operated by the Department of Conservation
and Recreation with cooperation from the Chippokes Plantation Farm Foundation.
The Virginia General Assembly created the foundation in 1977 to establish,
administer and maintain the model farm.
Funding for foundation efforts are from the General Assembly with matching
private donations. |
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