The original land grant for the plantation was issued in 1619, only 12 years after the founding of Jamestown.
The park's fossil beach contains abundant Miocene-era marine life, including shark teeth and whale bone fragments.
The Farm and Forestry Museum contains a rare collection of horse-drawn carriages and steam-powered agricultural machinery.
The site was historically part of a colonial tobacco plantation economy that shifted toward diverse crop production over the centuries.
The mansion was built in 1854 and is maintained with period-appropriate furnishings reflecting the mid-19th-century plantation lifestyle.
It remains a rare example of a colonial-era landholding that has maintained agricultural operations through four centuries of ownership changes.
Chippokes State Park is one of the oldest continuously farmed plantations in the United States, dating back to 1619. Located on the south bank of the James River, the park spans nearly 2,000 acres of farmland, gardens, and forest. The site functions as both a recreational state park and a living history museum featuring the Jones-Stewart Mansion. Visitors can explore the Farm and Forestry Museum, which houses an extensive collection of antique tools and early 20th-century agricultural equipment. The grounds include formal antebellum gardens and access to fossil-rich river beaches. Recreational facilities include a swimming pool complex, overnight camping cabins, and equestrian trails. The park operates as a working farm, with active crop production and livestock that reflect its centuries-old heritage. The landscape is characterized by its rural setting in Surry County, offering expansive river views and woodland hiking paths.
The riverfront beach area looking back toward the bluff, especially during sunset.
Bring a sifting screen or small container to search for fossils on the river shoreline at low tide.
Pack insect repellent, as the humid, riverside environment of Surry County attracts mosquitoes and ticks.
Prioritize walking the garden paths early in the day before peak temperatures rise in the open fields.
Do not attempt to swim in the James River; use the designated park swimming pool instead.
The visitor center and mansion tours often operate on seasonal schedules, with reduced hours or closures during winter months.
Maintain distance from livestock, do not collect fossils from protected historic zones, and stay on marked trails.
