Time Travelers Weekend – March 14th and 15th – A Free Glimpse into Richmond’s History

A Free Weekend of Richmond History  –  Featuring 21 Historic Landmarks in Greater Richmond

Explore new participating sites and old favorites this year as 21 historic homes, churches, museums and more open their doors to visitors across the Richmond Region. Each site will offer free admission to those visitors presenting a Time Travelers Passport. Grab the passport, explore local history and get to know the Richmond Region, free of charge.

Operating hours may vary by site.

Featured Houses:

AGECROFT HALL
agecroft hallAgecroft Hall was first built in England in the 1500s, then transported across the ocean and rebuilt in Richmond in the 1920s. Today it is a museum furnished with art and artifacts from 17th century England. Guests can take a guided tour, stroll the manicured gardens overlooking the James River, explore the architectural exhibit, and shop in the museum store. Agecroft Hall will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 12:30 to 5 p.m. on Sunday and is located just west of Carytown at 4305 Sulgrave Road in Richmond. For more information, call (804) 353-4241 or visit www.agecrofthall.com.

DABBS HOUSE MUSEUM
dabbs houseThe Dabbs House, built in rural eastern Henrico in 1820, gained attention as Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s field headquarters during the summer of 1862. The museum provides a place to learn about the history of the house from its use as a residence for the Dabbs family to its tenure as Henrico’s police headquarters from 1941 to 2005. Visitors can tour the 1862 field headquarters, browse the exhibit galleries and gift shop, and view a video on the history of the house. On September 17, 2010, Henrico County opened its first Tourist Information Center, which is located inside the Dabbs House Museum and provides visitors with resources on many other Richmond area attractions. This facility is owned by the County of Henrico Division of Recreation and Parks. Dabbs House Museum will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and is located at 3812 Nine Mile Road in eastern Henrico. For more information, call (804) 652-3406 or visit www.dabbshouse.henricorecandparks.com.

THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR MUSEUM’S WHITE HOUSE OF THE CONFEDERACY

THE BRANCH MUSEUM OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

THE CHESTERFIELD COUNTY MUSEUM & HISTORIC JAIL

CHIMBORAZO MEDICAL MUSEUM (Richmond National Battlefield Park)

CLARKE- PALMORE HOUSE MUSEUM (not usually open to the public)

COURTNEY ROAD SERVICE STATION(not usually open to the public)

DEEP RUN SCHOOLHOUSE at Short Pump Park (not usually open to the public)

HENRICUS HISTORICAL PARK

HISTORIC ST JOHN’S CHURCH

THE JOHN MARSHALL HOUSE
joh marshall houseThe John Marshall House, built in 1790 in the fashionable Court End neighborhood of Richmond was the home of the “Great Chief Justice” for forty-five years. Listed on the National and Virginia historic registers, the John Marshall House has undergone remarkably few changes since Marshall’s lifetime. The property remained in the Marshall family until 1911. It is currently owned and operated by Preservation Virginia. Visitors can enjoy a guided tour of the house, stroll the garden, and visit the Museum Shop. The John Marshall House will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 12 to 5 p.m. on Sunday and is located at 818 East Marshall Street in Richmond. For more information, call (804) 648-7998 or visit www.preservationvirginia.org.

MAYMONT
maymont mansionMaymont, a 100-acre American estate, was the home of New South business leader James Dooley and his wife Sallie from 1893 through 1925. During Time Travelers weekend at Maymont Mansion, costumed ladies, gentlemen, children and servants invite you to enjoy family-friendly activities and tours as you marvel at the 21 restored rooms that offer an unusually complete depiction of upstairs-downstairs life in the Gilded Age. The opulent upstairs interiors are adorned with Tiffany stained glass, frescoed ceilings and other sumptuous detailing and filled with original furnishings and artwork. Downstairs service rooms tell the story of household tasks and technology and the challenges of working in domestic service during the Jim Crow era. The surrounding landscape features Italian and Japanese gardens, magnificent trees, and a carriage display as well as Virginia wildlife exhibits, a Children’s Farm and the Robins Nature & Visitor Center. Maymont Mansion will be open 12 to 5 p.m on Saturday and Sunday and is located at 1700 Hampton Street in the heart of Richmond. (Grounds are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) For more information, call (804) 358-7166, ext. 310 or visit www.maymont.org.

MEADOW FARM MUSEUM
meadow farm museumMeadow Farm, one of the last remaining 19th century farms in Henrico County, is now an 1860 living historical farm focusing on middle-class rural life just before the upheaval of the Civil War. Costumed interpreters provide insights into the lives of Dr. John Mosby Sheppard, the owner of Meadow Farm, and his family. Daily and seasonal activities are portrayed in the farmhouse, barn, doctor’s office, blacksmith’s forge, kitchen, fields and pastures. The Museum also offers a schedule of special events, living history programs, and volunteer opportunities throughout the year. The Meadow Farm Museum Orientation Center features a reception area for visitors, two exhibit galleries and a gift shop. This facility is owned and operated by the County of Henrico Division of Recreation and Parks. Meadow Farm Museum will be open 12 to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and is located at 3400 Mountain Road in old Glen Allen. (Grounds are open from dawn to dusk.) For more information, call (804) 501-2130 or visit www.henricorecandparks.com.

VIRGINIA HOUSE
va houseVirginia House was formerly an English manor house that was relocated to Richmond in 1925. Virginia House was completed a few months before the stock market crash of 1929. Designed by Alexander and Virginia Weddell, the home is situated on a hillside overlooking the historic James River and was constructed from the materials of a sixteenth century English manor house. Although Virginia House was a blend of three romantic English Tudor designs, it was for its time a thoroughly modern home complete with seven full baths, central heat, modern kitchen, and commodious closets. The home is now owned and operated by the Virginia Historical Society.  www.vahistorical.org/your-visit/virginia-house

POE MUSEUM
poe museumOpened in 1922, Virginia’s only literary museum, the Poe Museum in Richmond, boasts the world’s finest collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s manuscripts, letters, first editions, memorabilia and personal belongings. The Poe Museum provides a retreat into early nineteenth century Richmond where the author of “The Raven” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” lived and worked. The museum explores Poe’s life and career by documenting his accomplishments with pictures, relics, and verse, and focusing on his many years in Richmond. One of the structures in the museum’s four-building complex is the ca.1754 Old Stone House, the oldest residential structure in the original city limits of Richmond. The Poe Museum will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday and is located at 1914 East Main Street in Richmond. For more information, call (804) 648-5523 or visit www.poemuseum.org.

WICKHAM HOUSE (VALENTINE RICHMOND HISTORY CENTER)
wickham houseThe Wickham House, built in 1812, is a spectacular example of 19th-century Federal architecture and displays some of the country’s finest examples of interior decorative painting. Listed as a National Historic Landmark, the Wickham House, built by John Wickham, illustrates the lives of one of Richmond’s most prominent families. The Wickham House was purchased by Mann Valentine, Jr., and in 1898 became the first home of the Valentine Museum. It is operated by the Valentine Richmond History Center. The Wickham House will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 12 to 5 p.m. on Sunday and is located at 1015 East Clay Street in Richmond. For more information, call (804) 649-0711 or visit www.richmondhistorycenter.com.

WILTON HOUSE MUSEUM
wilton houseOverlooking a placid stretch of the James River, Wilton House has been welcoming guests since constructed in the 1750s as the centerpiece of a sprawling tobacco plantation by the prominent Randolph Family of Virginia. Here, friends, relations, and weary travelers such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and the Marquise de Lafayette were welcomed. An impressive example of 18th-century Georgian Style architecture, Wilton House boasts its original and richly detailed paneling and an exquisite collection of fine and decorative arts from the Colonial and early Federal eras. When development threatened Wilton House in the 1930s, The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia purchased and restored the property. Wilton House Museum will be open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and 1 to 4:30 p.m. pm on Sunday and is located at 215 South Wilton Road in Richmond. For more information, call (804) 282-5936 or visit www.wiltonhousemuseum.org.

AND MANY MORE!