For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 05/21/1974
NRHP Listing Date 08/13/1974
NRHP Reference Number 74002125
Meadow Farm figured in the 1800 insurrection instigated by the slave Gabriel. Gabriel’s goal was to have an army of enslaved African Americans capture Richmond. Mosby Sheppard of Meadow Farm was warned of the revolt by family slaves and notified Governor James Monroe, who halted the revolt before it began. News of the would-be insurrection spread fear and demand for repression throughout the South, resulting in Gabriel’s execution and some thirty-five other slaves associated with the plot. The two slaves who warned Sheppard were given their freedom. The present house, begun in 1810, is a well-preserved, medium-size vernacular dwelling of the period and replaced the Sheppard House standing at the time of the insurrection. Meadow Farm was given to Henrico County by a Sheppard descendant and is now exhibited as a museum of early rural life of the region.
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: October 22, 2021