River House Tour

Location of Chippokes State Park in Virginia

Where

Chippokes State Park, 695 Chippokes Park Rd., Surry, VA 23883.
River House

When

May 25, 2025. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Chippokes State Park welcomes visitors to accompany an interpretive guide on a very unique historical building tour experience to explore one of the oldest dwellings on property.

The decision was made to permanently expose the structural parts and bones of this architectural historical craftsmanship representing a continuation of a Virginia Tidewater vernacular tradition, known as the River House, built in two separate phases, (1837 & 1847) by Albert Carroll Jones, the first owner of Chippokes that chose to reside on property.

Participants will discover how specific architectural details and designs of the River House reveal glimpses into the lives of those who worked and lived here at Chippokes over its lifetime as a working Farm and Plantation.

Please note the tour requires careful navigation through several sets of old staircases. This is a historical building and we hope to continue to share it for many more years, children should be close-by and with their adult counterparts at all times, please be mindful and respectful, and stay with your tour guide.

The Interior of the River House, stripped of plaster and lath.

Other details

Standard parking or admission fee applies: Yes.
Extra fee: No.
Registration required: No.
Children welcome: Yes.
Phone: 757-294-3728
Email Address: Chippokes@dcr.virginia.gov