Tuckahoe Plantation - Henrico

Tuckahoe Plantation is located on River Road in Henrico, Virginia.  It was first occupied by Thomas Randolph in 1714, however the home which now exitsts was constructed by his son, William, between 1730 and 1740.  The north end of the house was completed in 1733, over the existing 1714 structure, and the south side and center hall in 1740, which gives the home its H-shape look.  The home is considered the oldest wooden frame structure still standing along the James River, west of Richmond.  The plantation consisted of 25,000 acres of land, on which tobacco, wheat and livestock were originally maintained.  William and his wife Maria Judith Page both died by 1745 and their three children were left as orphans.  Planning for this in his will, William named his cousin, Jane Randolph Jefferson, and her husband, Peter Jefferson, as guardians of his children.  When the Jeffersons moved onto the plantation in 1745 they brought their 2-year old son, Thomas, with them.  It was here the young Thomas Jefferson spent 7 years of his life.  The schoolhouse in which he was taught along with the Randolph orphans remains on the grounds.  The Jefferson family lived at Tuckahoe until 1752, when Thomas Mann Randolph came of age and was able to administer the daily duties of the plantation on his own.  Thomas Randolph would go onto serve in the Virginia House of Burgesses.  His daughter, Mary Randolph was born here in 1762, and his son, Thomas Mann Randolph Jr., was born here in 1768.  Randolph, Jr. would become a member of the Virginia Senate, the Virginia House of Delegates, and the House of Representatives, along with Governor of Virginia in 1819.  Mary would become the author of the influential cook book The Virginia House-Wife; Or, Methodical Cook, released in 1824.  Today the house and gardens remain in private hands.  Tuckahoe Plantation was added to the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register in 1968, and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1969.     

 Submit photo(s) for this home.