HENRICO COUNTY, VA — Tree Hill Farm is a 523-acre tract in Henrico County, Virginia, overlooking downtown Richmond and sitting along Osborne Turnpike. Native leaders say it marks the birthplace of Chief Powhatan, also known as Wahunsenacawh, and stands as a living link to more than 13,000 years of Indigenous history.
The site has become the focus of a dispute over a proposed subdivision and commercial project. Tribes and preservation advocates say the land is too important to lose, while the developer says it can become a mixed-use community with public access and a commemorative space.
What Tree Hill Is
Tree Hill Farm is not an isolated ruin or a museum property. It is a working landscape of farmland and woods on high ground east of Richmond, with views over the city and the James River corridor. The land also sits along the Capital Trail, which gives it added visibility and makes it part of a broader historic route.
For Virginia tribes, the place matters because it is tied to both deep time and named history. Indigenous leaders describe it as a sacred site where ancestors lived for millennia and where Powhatan was born in the mid-1500s. The property’s significance, they say, is not limited to one era or one event.
How The Site Was Studied
Much of what is known about Tree Hill comes from tribal knowledge, historical memory, and the work of preservation groups. Dr. Ashley Spivey of the Pamunkey Tribe says evidence of ancestors on the land stretches back more than 13,000 years, and she argues that the site’s importance is grounded in that long record of use.
Preservation Virginia recently placed Tree Hill on its list of the Commonwealth’s most endangered historic sites, underscoring concerns about what could be lost if development goes forward. The source material does not describe a formal archaeological excavation here, but it does show the site is being studied and defended as a historic landscape with layers of meaning.
How It Changed Hands
Tree Hill’s story includes both Indigenous history and later American history. Native leaders say Powhatan’s village was thriving there before English colonists arrived in 1607, after which Indigenous people were pushed out. The land later became part of the historical record in other ways, including a visit from Revolutionary War figure Lafayette in the early 1800s.
The site also figured in the Civil War’s closing moments, when Richmond’s mayor surrendered the city to Union forces in 1865. In more recent years, Brookfield Residential has advanced plans for 2,300 homes and more than 1.1 million square feet of commercial space, even though the property is already zoned for 2,770 homes.
What Visitors Can See
Today, visitors can still see a broad rural landscape with woods, open ground, and historic structures that Brookfield says it has begun preserving, including a 19th-century manor house and dairy barn. The developer also says its plan would include public access to the James River, 325 acres of open space, 10 acres for a school, and 6.5 acres for a Native American commemorative site.
For tribal leaders, the question is whether those additions can replace the land itself. They argue the property should be protected in perpetuity, and they say they now have the legal standing and the financial backing to try to save it. Brookfield says it still wants a dialogue, but construction on phase one could begin next summer.
More of America's buried past, on LSM Spartan Scroll.
