The following is an extended version of the article that appears in our March 2024 issue.
The 1853 Classical Revival-style home at Varina Farms in Henrico County (Photo courtesy Henrico County)
We in Richmond tend to think of preservation and conservation in terms of buildings and historic sites. Land is another matter. Vacant or underutilized acreages often go to gleaming apartment towers or cul-de-sacs crowded by houses that resemble Monopoly playing pieces. But in a quiet but steady way, some prominent tracts are receiving protection and assurances for untrammeled futures. According to the Capital Region Land Conservancy, Virginia lost more farmland to houses and industry in the previous five years than in the past 15.
Hold the Mayo
Maybe the city can finally agree on one thing: The sign at the southern end of the 14th Street Bridge utilizes the possessive “Mayo’s Island,” which connotes the Mayo family, prominent early Richmonders who, among other things, laid out the original street grid and then built and rebuilt their moneymaking toll bridge. Periodic floods kept taking it out. Now, the island and the picturesque circa-1913 current span are set for transformation.
After many years and through initial work by the Capital Region Land Conservancy, the 15-acre, boat-shaped Mayo’s Island in the middle of the downtown waterfront is getting sewn into the James River Park System. The city in January announced its $15 million purchase of the property from the Shaia family. The acquisition effort also received a $7.5 million grant from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. The CRLC and DCR are working to place a conservation easement on the island this year.
Some challenges remain, including removal of 7 acres of parking lot asphalt and the impending $90 million project to replace the 14th Street Bridge. In addition, a quarter-acre parcel remains at 510 S. 14th St. where a recycling center stood; it’s now used as a food truck and vendor court. That piece recently went on the open market for $1.6 million.
Hanging on to History
The busy CRLC last summer assisted in the creation of a conservation easement for Cherry Wood, 130 acres of heritage farmlands in Hanover County. The Cherry family says it wanted to preserve its holdings both to recognize emotional and familial attachment but also in consideration of successive generations and transfer of ownership.
Also this past summer, the CRLC gained an easement to protect 5.26 acres in Chesterfield County’s Bon Air Historic District and the residence known as “Huntly,” built in 1917. The property is at the headwaters of Powhite Creek, a tributary of the James River, and the easement will assist in protecting a vital watershed. And in June 2023, the CRLC opened the 350-acre Varina LandLab for public access and environmental education. The space offers views of Four Mile Creek and includes 4 miles of trails, kiosks and parking areas.
Henrico County, meanwhile, announced in January that it would buy 2,095 acres known as Varina Farms for $17.25 million. John Rolfe and Pocahontas lived there for about two years in the early 1600s.
CRLC Executive Director Parker Agelasto notes that the acquisition will preserve a total of 4.5 miles of riverfront and creates a ribbon of green: Varina Farms, Henricus Historical Park, the Dutch Gap Conservation area, a CRLC conservation easement at Rivers Bend slated for a future park, a Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources property and the Richmond National Battlefield Parks section of the Civil War forts Hoke and Brady.
Agelasto poses the question, “Can we then endeavor to conserve and combine them to make a 15,000-acre conservation and wildlife area?”
In March, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources announced it was preserving Little Malvern Hill, a Henrico County property of about 41 acres linked to four Civil War battles: Glendale (1862), Malvern Hill (1862), Deep Bottom I (1864) and Deep Bottom II (1864). CRLC acquired the land in 2023. “We are proud to continue protecting the natural and historic resources in Henrico County through this acquisition of 41 acres adjacent the larger 871-acre Malvern Hill Farm tract that CRLC purchased five years ago,” Agelasto said in a press release. “Acre by acre, we are connecting to a larger landscape of more than 6,000 acres that yields a sizeable benefit for wildlife, agriculture, outdoor recreation, and historic preservation.”
