Top 9 Sights & Landmarks in Charles City, Charles City

A National Historic Landmark on the James River off scenic Route 5 between Richmond and Williamsburg, Shirley stands as a testament to Colonial life and early American history of the indigenous, settlers, indentured, and the enslaved. An active family farm, Shirley is currently home to the 11th and 12th generations of the Hill Carter family. The wooden pineapple crowning the manor house has been welcoming visitors for centuries. Please check our website for details on our daily hours as they vary seasonally.

First settled in 1619, this historic estate is the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison V, a signer of the American Declaration of Indepenence, and his son William Henry, who later became president of the United States.

Explore four centuries of history and architecture in the James River Plantation Country with a visit to Piney Grove at Southall's Plantation. Daily gardens and grounds tour features Piney Grove-1790, Ashland-1835, Dower Quarter-1835, Ladysmith-1857 and Duck Church-1917, as well as exhibits and nature trail. Guided "Tours-by-the-Owners" are offered on Saturday evenings.

Sherwood Forest Plantation was the home of 10th U.S. President John Tyler from 1842 until his death in 1862. It is the only nineteenth century presidential home to have been continuously owned and occupied by members of the President’s family. The oldest parts of the house date to ca. 1660. Construction and renovations of the 18th and 19th centuries, completed by President Tyler and his wife Julia Gardiner Tyler in 1845, have made the house a classic example of Virginia Tidewater “Big House, Little House, Colonnade, Kitchen” architecture. At 301 feet in length it is the longest frame house of its age in the country. The house is furnished with family heirlooms, antique furniture, paintings, silver, porcelain and oriental rugs. A few of the pieces in the home were used by President and Mrs. Tyler in the White House and were brought to Sherwood Forest after the President’s term in office. Though many furnishings purchased for the house by President and Mrs. Tyler were destroyed during the Civil War some still remain. Others are from the South Carolina home of Mrs. Harrison Ruffin Tyler who, with her husband, restored the house in the late 1970s. There are nearly twenty oil portraits of family members past and present on display in rooms toured by the public. Sherwood Forest is considered one of the most complete plantation yards still in existence in America with outbuildings, or dependencies, dating to ca. 1660. They include a tobacco curing shed, a smoke house, a milk house and a privy among others. Julia Gardiner Tyler planned Sherwood Forest’s grounds according to the principles of New York landscape gardener and architect A. J. Downing. The 25 landscaped acres surrounding the house today include centuries-old trees, terraced lawn and gardens. Self-guided grounds tours: $10 per adult, children under 15 free House tours by appointment: $35 per adult, $25 per school-age child