Shirley Plantation

VA - Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

501 Shirley Plantation Road, Charles City, VA, USA

MUSEUM

VISITOR INFORMATION

TICKET REQUIRED

Historic Garden Week visits are ticketed separately through that event.

https://historicshirley.com/admissionhours-directions/

Shirley Plantation no longer keeps regular daily public hours. It opens only on select days, such as during Historic Garden Week, or by advance request for groups of 18 or more. Verify the current status before planning a visit.

SITE FEATURES

Gardens

Surviving Structures

Visits concentrate on the few announced opening days, including Historic Garden Week dates. A regular annual busy season is unconfirmed.

Choose an announced public-opening date first, usually an advertised spring garden event, or a confirmed eligible group visit. April-May would generally suit outdoor comfort; regular walk-in and drive-by access have ended.

HISTORIC SITES NEARBY

Nearby Historic Sites

miles

Landmark

WHO WAS HERE

1

Charles Hill Carter

About Shirley Plantation

The construction of the present mansion and outbuildings began c. 1723. The mansion, called the "Great House", was completed in 1738 and was located close to the original house built by the Hills that became known as the "Hill House". In 1868, owners signed a contract to demolish the Hill House and use its salvaged building materials to construct the mansion at Upper Shirley.

The original eighteenth-century Great House and numerous dependencies remain within a privately owned, working James River estate. Preserved architecture, furnished interiors, gardens, archaeological resources, family cemetery, farm buildings, and agricultural landscape present the long history of the Hill-Carter family and enslaved community.

History happened here at Shirley Plantation

At least eight generations of the Hill Carter family have occupied the house since 1738. Anne Hill Carter was born at Shirley, who on June 18, 1793, married Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee in the mansion's parlor. The couple were later parents of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.