At the end of a long dead-end street lined with fine houses, Wilton House sits on the edge of the James River. Moved here from its original location, it now stands as a reminder of the lives of prominent citizens 300 years ago.
For a century, members of the Randolph family called Wilton home. Our guide offered a chronological diary of each generation’s lives as the house was passed down with each patriarch’s death until 1859.
Built c. 1753 for William Randolph III and his wife Anne Carter Harrison Randolph, Wilton was once the centerpiece of a 2,000-acre tobacco and wheat plantation. At one point, it was home to the largest enslaved community in Henrico County.
George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson visited the home. During the Revolutionary War, Marquis de Lafayette headquartered at Wilton, and 2,000 Continental and Virginia militia troops made camp around it.
The Randolph men were not fiscally savvy, and from generation to generation, they acquired more debt.
Eventually, Wilton was sold to Col. William C. Knight in 1859 to pay off a mounting family debt. It changed owners four more times before going into foreclosure during the Great Depression.
In 1932, The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia took action to rescue this storied Virginian home from ruin. Raising money without the assistance of outside funding, the Dames were able to purchase Wilton and protect its legacy.
Because the land where Wilton was located was rezoned for industrialization by the zoning commission, the Dames dismantled the house, purchased a new lot, and rebuilt Wilton on the beautifully restored grounds where it now stands.
I admire fine period antique furnishings and decor from room to room. Several family portraits hang in the hallway, parlor, dining room, and bedroom.
The meticulously restored rooms offer insight into another time in America’s heritage from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and the Great Depression when the Dames saved it from a less noble fate.
For more information about Wilton House, click HERE, and for Richmond area information see Visit Richmond VA | Information for Visiting the Richmond, VA Region
