Cheswick
Cheswick remains a fine example of an early 19th century one-and-a-half story, center-hall plan dwelling, despite the fact its chimneys and brickwork were altered in the course of moving. Dr. Exall, a Baptist minister, ran a boarding school at Cheswick prior to the Civil War. An advertisement in a Richmond paper noted that the school was located in a "dry and healthful climate" immune from the hazards of malaria. The Franklin family, who acquired the farm in the 1880s, sold it in 1973 to the present owners.
- Privately owned.
- (Inventory of Early Architecture County of Henrico)
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Deep Run Baptist Church
Located on Gaskins Road, this "saddlebag" log structure is unique in Henrico, being of a form rarely encountered in eastern Virginia. The building consists of two separate units joined by a commonly shared chimney of crudely-made bricks laid up in random American bond. It is constructed of pine logs roughly hewn square and saddle-notched at the corners. The interstices were originally chinked with mud, but this has been replaced with brown tinted cement.
- Privately owned.
- (Inventory of Early Architecture County of Henrico, Virginia)
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Deep Run School
This two-room schoolhouse opened in 1902. Its predecessor, Stand Spring School, had been destroyed by fire the previous year. The school was in use until 1911 offering seven grades of instruction. Wood stoves provided heat for the structure and a privy was located outside. By folding the center wall of doors the space converted into one large room for weekly square dances for the entire community. The County of Henrico moved the school to this location from Three Chopt Road in 1996.
Below is article titled "Old grade school about to be in county hands - Moving, related expenses to be determined" written by Claude Burrows, Staff Writer, that appeared in March 20, 1996 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. It presents the history of how the County of Henrico acquired this historic structure.
Henrico County is about to obtain ownership of the old Deep Run Grade School and move the building to a small park next to Short Pump Elementary School.
County officials are now determining how much it will cost to move the small 85-year-old building on Three Chopt Road and what renovations will be needed to make it stable.
The former two-room school was opened in 1902 on Three Chopt, a short distance west of Cox Road, and sits on property that new owners plan to use for apartment development.
Security Capital Atlantic, which is constructing the C___ Crossing multifamily complex on Three Chopt, offered the building to the county if Henrico would move it off the property. The company recently extended its April 1 deadline for moving the building to May 1.
In addition, the company offered to provide up to $28,000 in matching funds to finance the move.
Robert Finkerton, deputy county manager for community operations, said that the county has not taken title of the building yet, but "unless something unforeseen happens...it looks like the county is going to get the school."
He said the unresolved issue involves lead paint in the structure. Finkerton said he was not sure exactly what needed to be done.
There also are costs associated with building a foundation at the new site and disconnecting and connecting utility lines, he said.
At this point we don't know how much all of this is going to cost," he said.
Finkerton said the Division of Recreation and Parks has been given the task of naming the building and how it will be used.
The two-room school was closed in 1911 when the Short Pump School opened. When the property was sold, the two rooms were partitioned four rooms, and it was used for many years as a private residence.
Three Chopt District Supervisor David Kaechele said decisions about the use of the building have focused on making it two rooms again and furnishing one of the rooms like it was originally, a turn-of-the-century schoolroom.
We are hoping that county historical and civic associations will contribute what they can to the restoration of the building...and help show what a school was like during that period," he said.
Kaechele and Finkerton said a great deal of interest has been growing in western Henrico in support of preserving the former school building.
"We have received a number of letters from people in the community encouraging the county to obtain the building," Finkerton said.
Kaechele noted that the move from the school's present site to Short Pump Park would not be a long one.
"We are going to do this a step at a time...," he said. "Try to keep the costs down and let other groups join the county in the restoration."
- Open for special events.
- (County of Henrico, 1997 HC-9)
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Nuckols House
This circa 1750 home of Israel Richmond Nuckols and Jane W. Nuckols who purchased it in 1849. In 1920 it was a dairy farm. The property has been surrounded by development. April Sullivan, along with fellow Three Chopt neighbors Michelle Keller and Paul Szatkowski, recognized the historical importance of the property. Later in this webpage is the history about the Nuckols family supplied by April Sullivan. Three Chopt district residents appealed to the County to save the house from demolition. The preservation efforts initiated by Three Chopt district residents and supported by various groups have saved this structure; this appeared in a story, a copy of which is below, by Meredith Bonny, Staff Writer, in the Saturday, March 11, 2005 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. There are plans to use the property as a park with the possible use of the house as a museum.
History of Nuckols Family:
Source: April Sullivan
The Nuckols House in the 1930s or 1940s.................and the Nuckols House today.
The Nuckols Family itself traces back to the 1600's, but this branch of the family begins with James Nuckolls and Susannah Pouncey who had a son who became known as William "The Patriot" Nuckols (1710 - ?). He was an early Virginia Baptist and, apparently, to distance himself from family members who were still loyal to the crown, he dropped the second "L" in his last name and became known as Nuckols. He is recognized by the DAR as having provided beef and other supplies to the Continental Army in Goochland County. This is called Patriotic Service rather than Military Service, but is acceptable for membership in to the DAR.
William's family included 8 children, one of whom was Samuel Nuckols. Samuel Nuckols married Eleanor Knight and they had a son, Israel Richmond Nuckols (1796-1859), who purchased the home and farm in 1849. Six generations of the Nuckols family lived in the house. Situated in the Tuckahoe Creek Valley near Henrico's border with Goochland, the house is a hall-and-parlor style house. The property also has an exterior, 19th century barn and family cemetery.
Israel Richmond Nuckols married Jane Woodson (1798-1874) and they had four children in the Civil War as part of Company G, 4th Virginia Cavalry out of Hanover County, Virginia. Alongside Jacob Woodson (Nuckols) in Company G were his brothers Henry Knight Nuckols and Thomas Nuckols. In fact, there were so many Nuckols cousins serving in that regiment that it became known as the "Nuckols Regiment". Jacob Woodson was wounded at Spotsylvania Courthouse May 8, 1864.
Jacob Woodson's (Nuckols) wife, Mildred Hester Jordon (1832-1902), is also buried in the cemetery on the property, along with their son Courtland Jerome Nuckols and his wife Harriet A. Nuckols (1877-1930) and their daughter MIldred (1904-1919), who died in the flu epidemic. Courtland Jerome Nuckols owned the farm called Erin Shades on the land that is now Innsbrook at Cox and Broad Streets.
Jacob Woodson (Nuckols) and Mildred had several children themselves, one of whom, Oscar Newton Nuckols, was the first chairman of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors when the county turned to a count-manager form of government.
April Sullivan, along with neighbors Michelle Keller and Paul Szatkowski, recognized the historical importance of the property and appealed to the County to save it from demolition.
19 members of 3 generations lived at the Farmhouse, then called Locust Grove, at the time this photo was taken in 1906. Sitting in the center of the second row is Jake Nuckols. Sitting next to him to the right is his 2nd wife, Alice Clark Nuckols.
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Park plan gets supervisors' approval. Neighbors had sought to save site where Nuckols house sits.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Saturday, March 11, 2005
Meredith Bonny, Staff Writer.
Dee Dee Sullivan and her western Henrico County neighbors thought county officials would laugh at them.
In fact, when they first suggested asking the county to buy the historic property across from their homes and transform it into a park, they tossed it out there as a joke.
"We totally did not expect this to work out the way it did," Sullivan said. "They like to build out here."
To Sullivan's surprise, the Henrico Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to spend $388,000 to purchase about 3 acres at 3501 Gayton Hills Lane.
Located in the Three Chopt District, the home on the site, called the Nuckols house, is believed to be one of the oldest buildings still standing in the county. Israel Nuckols bought the property in 1849, and six generations of the Nuckols family lived there.
Fearing that a developer who had purchased the property would get approval to build town homes or single-family residential houses there and that the historical value of the home would be lost, Sullivan and others in the Graham Meadows and Gayton Station communities got involved.
It took nearly a year, but this week Sullivan and her neighbors celebrated.
"The county gets a piece of history. The developer is not losing a huge piece of land. And people are happy that they won't have houses in their backyards," Sullivan said.
According to county records, the property is assessed at $316,300. It was purchased by Gayton Hills LLC on April 27, 2004 for $250,000.
Board members said the people who worked to save the site will have a say in how the park is developed. Many believe it should remain passive, with possibly a few picnic tables and have the house be the focus of the park by possibly transforming it into a museum.
Supervisor David Kaechele, who represents the Three Chopt District, praised the neighborhood and the developer, Skip Gelletly, who planned to build on the the site, for his cooperation.
"This will be a great credit to the county in the future," Kaechele said.
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- Private residence recently purchased by the government of Henrico County.
- (Inventory of Early Architecture County of Henrico, Richmond Times-Dispatch, April Sullivan)
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Oak Grove
Oak Grove was originally a one-and-a-half-story, center hall plan house, set on a low brick basement. The numerals "1813" are inscribed in white lime mortar on a brick midway up the west chimney stack. The interior retains most of its original detailing, including Federal mantels and a handsome double-run staircase. The entire central stair passage is sheathed with 11-inch-wide flush horizontal beaded boards. The alternating black-and-white marble hall floor tiles date from the renovations of circa. 1915. Oak Grove, was renamed Waverly in the early part of the 20th century.
- Private residence.
- (County of Henrico)
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Ridge Baptist Church
This is the original Ridge Baptist Church building, the center portion of which was completed during 1853. In this section, which was known as the Meeting House, Ridge School began in 1878.
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This is Ridge Baptist Church today.
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This triangular monument erected April 3, 1953 on the premises of Ridge Baptist Church states: "Erected in memory of the confederate veterans of this locality by the Chesterfield Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The original Ridge Baptist Church building was used as a hospital during the War Between the States".
- Open for public services.
- (Hugh Douglas Pitts)
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Ridge School
Ridge School began in 1878 at Ridge Baptist Church, then known as the Meeting House. This quaint schoolhouse replaced the one-room building which burned during 1903. This photograph was taken before 1907, the year a two-story addition was made to the front.
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This two-story building was built in 1907 as an addition to the existing two-room schoolhouse. It served as a high school until 1903 and continued as a grade school until 1930 when it was replaced by the new brick school on Three Chopt Road.
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The ten-classroom wing, completed during the spring of 1961, was linked to the 1930 building.
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This is Ridge School today.
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- Privately owned.
- (Inventory of Early Architecture County of Henrico)
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Short Pump School
A village at the intersection of Three Chopt Road, Richmond Turnpike and Pouncey Tract Road was named Short Pump for the short handled pump beneath the porch of a tavern located there. This area was on the principal route between Richmond and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Thomas Jefferson, Earl Cornwallis, the Marquis De Lafayette, General Peter Muhlenberg, Stonewall Jackson, and Ulric Dahlgren were some of the major people in American history that visited this area.
On December 6, 1911 a two story frame schoolhouse was dedicated with the name of Short Pump School. There were forty girls and forty four boys in the student body which consisted of grades 1-9.
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There were many changes and upgrades over the years.
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This is Short Pump School today.
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- Open for special events.
- (County of Henrico)
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Skipwith Academy
Grey Skipwith Sr., a midshipman in the confederate navy, purchased the original site, formerly "Fort Hill", a Civil War parade ground, in 1890. Lord Alfred Bosson designed Bekeby, an English style Tudor mansion in 1927 for Admiral Grey Skipwith, Jr. The architecture of this home boasts 14 inch walls, 3 sandstone mantel fireplaces and a circular turret stairway with leaded stained glass windows with medieval scenes. A curved driveway to the mansion originally wound through wooded landscaped grounds to Three Chopt Road. Two brick pillars adorned the entrance. For 32 years, the building was the home of Mrs. Helen Dixon's Nursery School. Skipwith Academy, today, provides preschool, before and after school care.
- Privately owned.
- (County of Henrico 2001 HC-16)
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Three Chopt Sites: All Sites
Cheswick | Deep Run Baptist Church | Deep Run School | Nuckols House | Oak Grove |
Ridge Baptist Church | Ridge School | Short Pump School | Skipwith Academy
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