Eppington was originally the home of Francis Eppes, a cousin of Martha Jefferson, wife of Thomas Jefferson. The house is set deep in the timber-farm region of western Chesterfield County, along the Appomattox River. After Martha Jefferson’s death, the Eppes family cared for two of Jefferson’s daughters at Eppington while their father was serving as minister to France. Jefferson visited Eppington on several occasions; during one of his stays he received an invitation from President George Washington to serve as secretary of state. The wood-frame house has had a complex evolution. Its center portion was built ca. 1770 and the wings added ca. 1790. The interior is embellished with unusually fine paneling. Donated to the county by the Cherry family in 1989, the house is now exhibited as a museum by the Chesterfield County Department of Parks and Recreation.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia