Tuesday - Sunday 10 to 5
Ticket sales end at 4 daily - allowing visitors enough time to experience the park
Adults $7;
Children $5
Children under 2 free
$1 off admission for:
Chesterfield & Henrico residents,
Senior Citizens,
AAA Members, Military, Teachers (with appropriate ID)
Henricus Historical Park
251 Henricus Park Road
Chester, VA 23836
(804) 748-1613
Media Contact
Chris Duball
(804) 318-8726
Email Us
henricus1611@aol.com
James River
Long a fertile waterway for the Powhatan Indians and other tribes, the river became the cradle of English settlement in 17th century Virginia and the New World beginning with the Jamestown settlement. When the Virginia Company of London sought to find a more advantageous location to replace Jamestown as the seat of English colonial life, they chose an area west of Jamestown just below the falls of modern-day Richmond, and called it the Citie of Henricus. This settlement became the beginning of the American way of life we know today. Other settlements such as Bermuda Hundred, Upper Hundred, Digges Hundred, Sheffield Place and the Falling Creek Ironworks were all formed during the early 17th century around what would become Richmond.
The James River flows differently today than when the Citie of Henricus was founded. Sir Thomas Dale began to transform the land at Henricus in 1611 when he employed a Dutch fortification technique to dig a ditch, or moat, and construct a paled fence behind the ditch to protect the Citie. The land masses on either side of the ditch became known as Dale’s Dutch Gap.
The river at Dutch Gap again made history during the Revolutionary War when Benedict Arnold, then a General in the British Army, captured or sank the Virginia Navy at a site known as Osborne’s Landing.
In August 1864, Federal troops under General Benjamin Butler began the arduous job of digging a canal to divert the river from Confederate cannons firing on the Union troops from Farrar’s Island.
After Butler’s failed attempt to divert the river’s course during the Civil War, the James River returned to commercial and private use. In 1870 the United States government appropriated funds for improvements to the James River and the Dutch Gap Canal. In 1870, the river was sufficiently diverted and widened to allow the steamship Sylvester to travel up to the Port of Richmond.
Later, in 1930, the river underwent further improvements to straighten its course. At that time, the Dutch Gap Canal was extended to where the Dominion Virginia Power plant is today. This work, completed in November 1933, provided a more efficient waterway. It eliminated another large loop in the river and created Hatchers Island to the north. These two channels significantly reduced the navigable length of the James River.
Beacons and a Light Keeper’s house were installed in the 1870s to protect ships traveling upriver. Today, portions of the brick foundation and chimney still remain at Henricus Historical Park as a reminder of the James River’s importance to travel and commerce throughout the ages.
Today, this vast river offers, in addition to commercial traffic, many recreational opportunities for the casual visitor. Dutch Gap Boat Landing, located a mile from Henricus Historical Park, is accessible to the public and is the perfect boat launch. The floating boat dock at Henricus and the lagoons in the Dutch Gap Conservation Area provide wonderful fishing opportunities. The serene and beautiful riverside trails along the James in Dutch Gap provide a lovely view for nature enthusiasts, walkers and bikers.