Henrico County Historical Tabletops share our history. Find out more about each, and their location within the county.
Battle for the Rails
On May 10, 1862, McClellan's Army of the Potomac landed at White House landing, where the Richmond and York River Railroad crossed the Pamunkey River, some 20 miles east of Richmond.
Caboose
The first Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad (RF&P) cabooses were wooden construction built as early as 1904.
Captain John Smith’s Chesapeake National Historic Trail
Explore the places Englishman John Smith traveled in the early 1600s. Learn about the thriving American Indian communities he encountered and imagine the bountiful Chesapeake he observed.
Courtney Road Service Station
Before there were gas stations, motorists would get a drum of fuel from an industrial depot, bring it home, and store it. Soon after, consumers got their gasoline at the blacksmith shops and hardware and grocery stores.
Echo Lake
Echo Lake was formed in the mid-19th century from Meredith Branch, a 3.5- mile stream between Broad Street and the Chickahominy Swamp. During the late 1800s, the lake powered a flour mill.
Gabriel’s Rebellion
Gabriel, a slave of Thomas Prosser, was appointed leader of the rebellion in the summer of 1800. He lived on Brookfield Plantation in Henrico County.
Henrico County
In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale founded the Citie of Henricus, the second settlement in the Colony of Virginia which later became Henrico County. Henrico, named for Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales and son of King James I, became one of the original eight shires of Virginia in 1634.
Meadows Fire Tower
Across Route 60 and just east of Meadow Road is the site of the one hundred-foot tall Lower Henrico Tower, one of two fire towers built in Henrico County in the early 1930s and known as the Meadows Tower.
Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad Company
In the early years of operation, RF&P railroads derived little revenue from its freight service. Most goods were transported by river and then by wagon.
Spring Park
The earliest record of the property shows that Samuel Williamson owned the 400 acre tract in 1796. His son, Dabney, owned a slave by the name of Lewis who participated in Gabriel’s Rebellion.
Steel Coach
The Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation built this all-steel coach in 1923.
The Courthouse Today
The need to centralize the county’s government and to provide adequate jail facilities prompted local officials to take measures to build a new complex.
The Courthouses in Richmond
The 1752 Henrico Courthouse, a colonial-style brick structure, was built in Richmond in the middle of 22nd and East Main streets. The Declaration of Independence was read publicly for the first time from its steps on August 5, 1776.
The Dorey Family
Dairy Farming became the new agricultural industry in Henrico County during the period following the Civil War. As early as 1880, there were 2,181 milk cows in the county.
The Early Courthouses in Varina
During the 1620s, Henrico court meetings were referred to as the Court of Upper Charles City. By 1640, the Henrico Court was meeting in Varina, and in 1680, Varina “where the court house is” was designated a town by the General Assembly.
The Frayser Family
Jesse Frayser was a private in the Virginia Militia under the command of General Gates at the Battle of Camden, S.C. He accompanied Col. Henry Lee to Yorktown and was a witness to the surrender of Lord Cornwallis in 1781.
Turkey Island Mansion
Archaeologists uncovered building foundations of a house believed to have been designed by Ryland Randolph in the late 1760s. Ryland Randolph (1738-1784) was the great-grandson of Pocahontas and the grandson of William Randolph and Mary Isham.
U. S. Railway Post Office Car
Government regulations required Railway Post Office cars in 1910. The RF&P owned five. American Car & Foundry built this one in 1916. Some of the first steel cars were postal cars.
Wilton Farm
From the earliest nomadic bands who would seasonally visit to take advantage of the rich natural resources, to the small villages that settled in the area that would become the heart of the Powhatan Chiefdom, the land that would become Wilton was an integral part of early indigenous life.