For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 09/17/1974
NRHP Listing Date 11/21/1974
NRHP Reference Number 74002121
The extensive Hanover County plantation of Hickory Hill has been the property of the Wickham family since 1820, when Robert Carter of Shirley left 1,717 acres to his daughter and son-in-law, Anne Butler Carter and William Fanning Wickham of Richmond. The Wickhams’ son, Williams Carter Wickham of Hickory Hill, was a Confederate general and legislator, and later served as president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. The original house, completed by 1827, burned in 1875 and was replaced by the present brick house, erected in a form reminiscent of the antebellum period. An 1857 brick wing survived, however, as well as an important collection of antebellum outbuildings and farm buildings including a Gothic Revival library. The spacious Hickory Hill grounds are a remarkable example of antebellum landscaping, containing a romantic-style park with outstanding specimen trees, a geometric boxwood garden, and a tree-box walk of unusual height.
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: August 16, 2022