Historic Gardens of Virginia 



From old papers and documents we learn that the Randolph 

 family lived a life of cultured leisure at Tuckahoe for nearly two 

 hundred years. William Byrd, that eighteenth-century author, wit 

 and aristocrat, in his "History of the Div^iding Line," speaks of the 

 place: "I parted with my Intendant and pursued my journey to 

 Mr. Randolph's at Tuckahoe, without meeting with any adventure 

 by the way. The heir of the Family did not come home until late 

 in the evening. He is a Pretty Young Man but had the misfortune 

 to become his own Master too soon. This puts young fellows upon 

 wrong pursuits, before they have sence to judge rightly for them- 

 selves. I was sorry in the morning to find myself stopped in 

 my Career by bad weather." After a visit of three or four days, 

 he writes: "The clouds continued to drive from the N-Est and to 

 menace us with more rain. Therefore after fortifying myself with 

 two capacious Dishes of Coffee and making my Compliments to 

 the Ladyes, I mounted and Mr. Randolph was so kind as to be 

 my guide." 



In 1782, the Marquis de Chastellux wrote of his visit to the 

 estate, describing it as, "Tuckahoe, on James River, the seat of 

 Mr. Randolph a rich planter of Virginia." Chastellux further 

 tells us that "The Virginians have the reputation, and with reason, 

 of living nobly in their houses, and of being hospitable; they give 

 strangers not only a willing, but a liberal, reception," 



And Thomas Anbury, in his "Travels Through the Interior 

 Parts of North America," published in 1789, says, "I spent a few 

 days at Colonel Randolph's at Tuckahoe, at whose house the usual 

 hospitality of the country prevailed." He then adds a description 

 of the house, saying that it "seems to be built solely to answer the 

 purpose of hospitality, being constructed in a different manner than 

 in most other countries." 



But the old home has had it« adverse criticism, too. Not many 

 years ago. Professor Edward Channing, in an address before the 

 Massachusetts Historical Society, said "the house was interesting 

 on account of its architectural features," but that "on the whole, 



[116] 



