For more than 100 years, members of the illustrious Randolph family called Wilton home. Built circa 1753 for William Randolph III, Wilton was the centerpiece of a 2,000 acre plantation. It was here that the Randolphs entertained some of colonial Virginia’s most elite as well as travelers from up and down the Atlantic coast and abroad. Wilton played host to George Washington shortly after Patrick Henry delivered his famous ultimatum, “Give me Liberty, or Give me Death!” In 1781, then governor Thomas Jefferson visited Lafayette who was headquartered at Wilton, while 900 of the General’s troops setup camp in the fields in a campaign that would eventually end in victory at Yorktown.
John and I took advantage of a special Historic House Passport Weekend which offered free admittance to a number of historic properties in and around Richmond. We have visited most of the featured homes and museums in our 44 years of marriage, but for some reason we had never toured Wilton House despite the fact it is only a mile from home. It was a lovely day to be out and about, and we enjoyed this chance to step back in time. Despite a tour guide who was not a very good speaker, we appreciated the grace of this very symmetrical Georgian structure and all its architectural details.
