As Virginia State Parks celebrates 90 years and the Department of Conservation and Recreation marks its 100th anniversary this year, there is no better time to step outdoors and explore all the natural, cultural and recreational resources our parks have to offer. However, we also invite you to step inside.  

Virginia’s state parks are rich in history that precedes June 15, 1936, when the first six parks opened. If walls could talk, we’d hear of such accounts as 1800s everyday farming life, tales of the Southwest Virginia coal boom, or Civil War battlefield stories. While the historic buildings themselves may not talk, we have passionate and knowledgeable rangers who do. They share discoveries of what life may have been like on the property before it became the public land we get to enjoy today. Plan a visit to one of these six state parks, and after your outdoor exploration, step inside a preserved home and take a look at history that has helped shape the Commonwealth. 

Smoot House at Caledon State Park 

 An aerial view of the Smoot House 

While the Smoot family home was built in 1911, the estate was established in 1659 by the Alexander family. William Smoot inherited the land in the mid-1800s, and it remained in the family until 1974 when Ann Hopewell Smoot donated it to the Commonwealth in memory of her husband Lewis Smoot. Today, the historic house welcomes visitors to Caledon State Park by displaying exhibits that highlight the 17th-century heritage of the plantation as well as the natural treasures of the park, including the bald eagles who live at this National Natural Landmark. 

Learn more at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/caledon. 

River House and Jones-Stewart Mansion at Chippokes State Park 

River House 

A stroll past gardens and resident chickens towards the James River leads visitors to Chippokes State Park’s River House. As the oldest dwelling on the grounds, the house was built in two phases in 1837 and 1847 by Albert Carrol Jones, the first owner of Chippokes to reside on the property. He lived here with his wife Anne and daughter Mary Ann. After his wife passed, he moved into the mansion, while Mary Ann lived in the River House with her husband and children.  

 
Ranger-led tour of the River House 

Before the park was gifted to the state in 1968 by the Stewarts, the house was stripped down to bare bones with plans to renovate. This minimalistic state provides visitors with a unique glimpse into the carpentry of that time as well as the history of the farm. Aside from the missing porch, the exterior of the house stands as it did in the 19th century. Without a proper entrance, the ranger-led tour begins in the sand-floor basement, where part of the original ceiling remains intact. Elsewhere throughout the two-story house, signs of wood lath can be seen in the distinct plaster stains. Thumbprints can also be spotted in several bricks that were handmade with material onsite. 

Jones-Stewart Mansion 

A little further from the river, visitors can tour the Jones-Stewart Mansion and step into a more luxurious setting. Built from locally sourced materials and slave labor just like the River House, the mansion took two years to build and was completed in 1854. The Antebellum Italianate architecture was renovated with more of a Greek Revival flair after the Stewarts purchased the property in 1918. Today, the interior is just as it was when Evelyn Stewart passed away in 1969. Before or after touring the house, visitors can walk through the grounds, which include a brick kitchen, paradise gardens, a carriage house and a two-car garage with a workshop that is now used as the gift shop.  

Learn more and find tour information at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/chippokes. 

Howe House at Claytor Lake State Park 

Howe House 

Haven B. Howe, a prominent farmer, Civil War veteran, Pulaski County supervisor, Virginia State Delegate and environmental activist, built this house between 1876 and 1879 on the property of what is now Claytor Lake State Park. Featuring a traditional Federal/Greek Revival plan with Italianate detailing and interior woodwork exhibiting master craftsmanship, the rooms can be explored by guests as they enjoy the visitor center and gift shop it houses. The bricks were molded by hand from natural red clay found on the property, and the timbers used to construct the house were harvested and milled on the property as well. The dining room features original encaustic tile floors, which are still intact, and a fireplace made from soapstone transported by ox wagons from Floyd County.   

Learn more at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/claytor-lake. 

Overton-Hillsman House at Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Park 

Overton-Hillsman House 

Built by Moses Overton sometime in the late 1700s, the one-and-a-half-story structure features Georgian-style architecture with an English basement. Today, another focal point of the house is forensics-confirmed blood stains on the heart pine floors from wounded Civil War soldiers. 

A staged room in the Overton-Hillsman House 

Moses’ great-grandson, James Hillsman, was living in the house with his wife and their son in the 1850s. James was captured and in prison during the Battle of Sailor’s Creek, when his wife, children and some female slaves hid in the basement. While the furnishings are not original to the house, they are original to the time period and the area and are staged as it would have looked during the battle. While following a ranger through the rooms, visitors can really get a feel for what it may have been like during that time. Additionally, as the 1867 birthplace of American educator and author Robert Russa Moton — born to Emily Brown-Moton, who was reportedly one of the slaves who sheltered there — his portrait can be seen hanging on one of the walls. 

The basement of the Overton-Hillsman House 

Learn more and find tour information at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/sailors-creek. 

Mount Bleak House and buildings at Sky Meadows State Park 

Aerial view of Mount Bleak House and grounds 

Named after a 19th-century term for “exposed, barren, and windy,” Mount Bleak House is a Federal-style dwelling common to the Eastern region of the country. The mid-19th-century house was built in the 1840s by those enslaved by Abner Settle, the local postmaster and general store owner in the town of Paris. The historic grounds, which include the house, log cabin, wash house, carriage barn, ice house and kitchen garden, can be explored with a self-guided audio walking tour found on the park’s website.  

Join rangers on the first Saturday of the month from May to November to experience the sights, smells, sounds and tastes of history at Sky Meadows. Events take place throughout the day, including a tour of the Mount Bleak House, where visitors can discover the many stories of families who have occupied the house and how they shaped the history of the park. 

Learn more and access the audio walking tour at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/sky-meadows. 

Find information about First Saturdays at Sky Meadows here.

Southwest Virginia Museum 

Southwest Virginia Museum 

This Victorian stone mansion with original oak interiors is a National Historic Landmark. Built in the 1890s by Rufus Ayers, a Virginia attorney general, it was later purchased in 1929 by C. Bascom Slemp, a multi-term Congressman who became the private secretary to President Calvin Coolidge. In 1948, the mansion was dedicated as a museum and now features a collection of more than 60,000 pieces throughout two floors, chronicling the exploration and development of the region during the pioneer period of the 1700s and the coal boom of the 1890s.  

Learn more at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/southwest-virginia-museum