Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 08/15/1989
NRHP Listing Date 12/27/1990
DHR's Virginia Board of Historic Resources easement
NRHP Reference Number 89001926
Situated in a rolling pastoral in a Goochland County setting overlooking the James River, Bolling Island’s plantation residence is a much-evolved structure whose earliest portion, a section of the east wing, dates from about 1771. The central brick core was built between 1800 and 1810. The entire house was given its present appearance through a substantial remodeling carried out between 1820 and 1835 by Thomas Bolling, son of Col. William Bolling of Bolling Hall. Thomas Bolling gave the house the look of a Classical Revival villa by installing triple-hung sash and adding the portico with its Chinese lattice railing. An orangery was added to the east wing. The resulting composition has the Palladian-type tripartite scheme popularized in the region by Thomas Jefferson. Along with its three remaining dependencies, Bolling Island preserves an image of a prosperous early-19th-century family seat of the Virginia Piedmont.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: July 7, 2021
