Henrico County Historical Society
PO Box 90775   Henrico, VA 23273   (804)501-5682   hchsinfo@yahoo.com
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Henrico County Historical Society's motto, which is Preserving the Past in the Present for the FutureSkipwith Academy in Three Chopt District, Henrico County, Virginia.Log Cabin in Tuckahoe District, Henrico County, Virginia.Mankin Mansion in Fairfield District, Henrico County, Virginia.Dorey Barn in Varina District, Henrico County, Virginia.Bethlehem Church in Brookland District, Henrico County, Virginia.


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Three Chopt District Historic Sites - Nuckols House

Nuckols House, today, in Three Chopt District, Henrico County, Virginia.

This circa 1750 home of Israel Richmond Nuckols and Jane W. Nuckols who purchased it in 1849. In 1920 it was a dairy farm. The property has been surrounded by development. April Sullivan, along with fellow Three Chopt neighbors Michelle Keller and Paul Szatkowski, recognized the historical importance of the property. Later in this webpage is the history about the Nuckols family supplied by April Sullivan. Three Chopt district residents appealed to the County to save the house from demolition. The preservation efforts initiated by Three Chopt district residents and supported by various groups have saved this structure; this appeared in a story, a copy of which is below, by Meredith Bonny, Staff Writer, in the Saturday, March 11, 2005 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. There are plans to use the property as a park with the possible use of the house as a museum. The Association for the Preservation of Henrico Antiquities also generously matched the amount of $2562.00 donated by the Henrico County Historical Society for the restoration of Nuckols Farm.

History of Nuckols Family:

Source: April Sullivan

Nuckols House, circa 1930s or 1940s, in Three Chopt District, Henrico County, Virginia. Nuckols House, today, in Three Chopt District, Henrico County, Virginia.

The Nuckols House in the 1930s or 1940s.................and the Nuckols House today.

The Nuckols Family itself traces back to the 1600's, but this branch of the family begins with James Nuckolls and Susannah Pouncey who had a son who became known as William "The Patriot" Nuckols (1710 - ?). He was an early Virginia Baptist and, apparently, to distance himself from family members who were still loyal to the crown, he dropped the second "L" in his last name and became known as Nuckols. He is recognized by the DAR as having provided beef and other supplies to the Continental Army in Goochland County. This is called Patriotic Service rather than Military Service, but is acceptable for membership in to the DAR.

William's family included 8 children, one of whom was Samuel Nuckols. Samuel Nuckols married Eleanor Knight and they had a son, Israel Richmond Nuckols (1796-1859), who purchased the home and farm in 1849. Six generations of the Nuckols family lived in the house. Situated in the Tuckahoe Creek Valley near Henrico's border with Goochland, the house is a hall-and-parlor style house. The property also has an exterior, 19th century barn and family cemetery.

Israel Richmond Nuckols married Jane Woodson (1798-1874) and they had four children in the Civil War as part of Company G, 4th Virginia Cavalry out of Hanover County, Virginia. Alongside Jacob Woodson (Nuckols) in Company G were his brothers Henry Knight Nuckols and Thomas Nuckols. In fact, there were so many Nuckols cousins serving in that regiment that it became known as the "Nuckols Regiment". Jacob Woodson was wounded at Spotsylvania Courthouse May 8, 1864.

Jacob Woodson's (Nuckols) wife, Mildred Hester Jordon (1832-1902), is also buried in the cemetery on the property, along with their son Courtland Jerome Nuckols and his wife Harriet A. Nuckols (1877-1930) and their daughter MIldred (1904-1919), who died in the flu epidemic. Courtland Jerome Nuckols owned the farm called Erin Shades on the land that is now Innsbrook at Cox and Broad Streets.

Jacob Woodson (Nuckols) and Mildred had several children themselves, one of whom, Oscar Newton Nuckols, was the first chairman of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors when the county turned to a count-manager form of government.

April Sullivan, along with neighbors Michelle Keller and Paul Szatkowski, recognized the historical importance of the property and appealed to the County to save it from demolition.

Nuckols Family, circa 1906.

19 members of 3 generations lived at the Farmhouse, then called Locust Grove, at the time this photo was taken in 1906. Sitting in the center of the second row is Jake Nuckols. Sitting next to him to the right is his 2nd wife, Alice Clark Nuckols.


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Park plan gets supervisors' approval. Neighbors had sought to save site where Nuckols house sits.

Richmond Times-Dispatch
Saturday, March 11, 2005
Meredith Bonny, Staff Writer.

Dee Dee Sullivan next the Nuckols Farm in Three Chopt District, Henrico County, Virginia.

Dee Dee Sullivan and her western Henrico County neighbors thought county officials would laugh at them.

In fact, when they first suggested asking the county to buy the historic property across from their homes and transform it into a park, they tossed it out there as a joke.

"We totally did not expect this to work out the way it did," Sullivan said. "They like to build out here."

To Sullivan's surprise, the Henrico Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to spend $388,000 to purchase about 3 acres at 3501 Gayton Hills Lane.

Located in the Three Chopt District, the home on the site, called the Nuckols house, is believed to be one of the oldest buildings still standing in the county. Israel Nuckols bought the property in 1849, and six generations of the Nuckols family lived there.

Fearing that a developer who had purchased the property would get approval to build town homes or single-family residential houses there and that the historical value of the home would be lost, Sullivan and others in the Graham Meadows and Gayton Station communities got involved.

It took nearly a year, but this week Sullivan and her neighbors celebrated.

"The county gets a piece of history. The developer is not losing a huge piece of land. And people are happy that they won't have houses in their backyards," Sullivan said.

According to county records, the property is assessed at $316,300. It was purchased by Gayton Hills LLC on April 27, 2004 for $250,000.

Board members said the people who worked to save the site will have a say in how the park is developed. Many believe it should remain passive, with possibly a few picnic tables and have the house be the focus of the park by possibly transforming it into a museum.

Supervisor David Kaechele, who represents the Three Chopt District, praised the neighborhood and the developer, Skip Gelletly, who planned to build on the the site, for his cooperation.

"This will be a great credit to the county in the future," Kaechele said.


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  • Private residence recently purchased by the government of Henrico County.
  • (Inventory of Early Architecture County of Henrico, Richmond Times-Dispatch, April Sullivan)


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