Suvarna Garge (Editor)

Tuckahoe (plantation)

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Built
  
1712 (1712)

Architectural style
  
Georgian, Other

VLR #
  
037-0033

Area
  
230 ha

Added to NRHP
  
22 November 1968

Architect
  
William Randolph

NRHP Reference #
  
68000049

Opened
  
1712

Phone
  
+1 804-774-1614

Tuckahoe (plantation)

Location
  
SE of Manakin near jct. of Rtes. 650 and 647, near Manakin, Virginia

Address
  
12601 River Rd, Richmond, VA 23238, USA

Hours
  
Open today · 9AM–5PMSunday9AM–5PMMonday9AM–5PMTuesday9AM–5PMWednesday9AM–5PMThursday9AM–5PMFriday9AM–5PMSaturday9AM–5PMSuggest an edit

Similar
  
Shirley Plantation, Edgewood, Edgar Allan Poe Museum, Amelia Wildlife Manage, Lamb's Creek Church

Profiles

Tuckahoe, also known as Tuckahoe Plantation, is located on Route 650 near Manakin, Virginia overlapping both Goochland and Henrico counties, six miles from the town of the same name. Built in the first half of the 18th century, it is a well-preserved example of a colonial plantation house, and is particularly distinctive as a colonial prodigy house. Thomas Jefferson is also recorded as having spent some of his childhood here. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1969.

Contents

History

Construction of the home began by Thomas Randolph around 1714. William Randolph, Thomas' son, built a two-story, four room home in 1733 around the existing structure. This wing features pine and black walnut paneling with exquisite carvings and moldings. William then added a center hall and south wing, creating a unique "H"-shaped, which were completed by 1740. William and his wife, Maria Judith Page, had three children, two daughters and a son, but his wife died in 1744. William Randolph's cousin Jane married Peter Jefferson, and they were close friends. Before William Randolph died in 1745, he added a codicil to his will asking that Peter Jefferson come to Tuckahoe Plantation and care for his three orphaned children until his son Thomas Mann Randolph came of age. The Jeffersons moved from Shadwell in Charlottesville to Tuckahoe Plantation with their four daughters and two-year-old son Thomas. The Jeffersons lived in the "H" shape home with their own five children and the three Randolph orphans until 1752. During the seven years of the Jefferson residency, young Thomas was tutored in a one-room schoolhouse with his sisters and Randolph cousins. Jefferson directed the activities of the plantation and its seven overseers, "retaining a connection to the estate" even after he returned to his own plantation of Shadwell.

In 1792, Thomas Mann Randolph III was born (not to be confused with his half-brother, Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. who was born in 1768). To the dismay of Randolph Jr., Randolph III (also called "the imposter") inherited Tuckahoe and kept the plantation until 1820. Since then, it has continued to be privately owned. The house is currently occupied by owner/manager Addison B. Thompson and his wife. The grounds are open for self-guided tours. The house is open for private tours by appointment and may also be rented for private events.

Exterior

The two-story wood structure sits in its original spot, the only Randolph home to not be relocated. The structure forms an "H," with wings mirroring each other and connected by a central corridor. The entrances to the house are reached by flights of stairs and two porches. The stoop is covered by a projected pediment supported by simple wooden posts and is framed by a wooden railing. To either side of the entrance is a pair of windows as well as a central window over the entrance, each with dark shutters. Each two-sashed window contains 9 panes of glass. The gabled roof rests on a simple cornice line with dentil moldings. A large brick chimney rises from either side of the home.

The grounds around the house include outbuildings: the schoolhouse where Thomas Jefferson was educated, a kitchen house, three slave quarters, smokehouse, storehouse, stable, and the cemeteries of the Randolph and Wight families.

References

Tuckahoe (plantation) Wikipedia