Malvern Hill stands on the north bank of the James River in Henrico County, Virginia,

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, about eighteen miles southeast of Richmond. On 1 July 1862, it was the scene of the

Battle of Malvern Hill The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, was fought on July 1, 1862, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, led by Gen. Robert E. Lee, and the Union Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. George B. ...

, one of the

Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, comman ...

of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. The name referred primarily to the house built by Thomas Cocke in the 17th century, which remained in his family for many years. It was named after the

Malvern Hills The Malvern Hills are in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit aff ...

in England. The historic home was gutted by a fire in 1905 and all that now remains are end gables, including a fireplace. Nevertheless, the ruins are architecturally significant as the remains of one of few known

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

design houses in Virginia. "The one surviving chimney is perhaps the finest example of seventeenth century diaper brickwork in the state." The home site figured in three wars.

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

camped there twice in 1781 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. Virginia militia also camped there in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. However, it is best known as the site of bloody

in 1862. an
''Accompanying 2 photos at Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission, undated''
/ref> In August 2016, the 871-acre Malvern Hill Farm was listed for sale for $10.6 million by the descendants of William H. Ferguson Sr. (1885–1984). It was purchased by the non-profit Capital Region Land Conservancy (CRLC) in February 2018 for $6.6 million. CRLC subsequently recorded conservation easements to protect 465 acres with the

Virginia Department of Historic Resources The Virginia Department of Historic Resources is the State Historic Preservation Office for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The agency maintains the Virginia Landmarks Register (the first step for properties and districts in Virginia seeking list ...

and 25 acres with the

Virginia Outdoors Foundation The Virginia Outdoors Foundation is a quasi-state agency formed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1966 "to promote the preservation of open space lands and to encourage private gifts of money, securities, land or other property to preserve the nat ...

. Portions of the property were then gifted to

Henrico County Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...

for the future site of an open space area for education and passive recreation as well as the James River Association for a canoe/kayak launch into Turkey Island Creek that flows into the James River at

Presquile National Wildlife Refuge Presquile National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. state of Virginia is one of four refuges that comprise the Eastern Virginia Rivers National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The refuge is a island in the James River, located approximately south of Rich ...

. Capital Region Land Conservancy is holding the remaining 380 acres to be included into the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

Richmond National Battlefield Park The Richmond National Battlefield Park commemorates 13 American Civil War sites around Richmond, Virginia, which served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for most of the war. The park connects certain features within the city wit ...

References

External links

Malvern Hill
— information, with photographs, from the Henrico County Historical Society

— ''The Richmond National Parks Newsletter'' 6 (2001)
Malvern Hill, State Route 156 vicinity, Richmond, Independent City, VA
at the

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HABS)
''Malvern Hill''
— a poem by

Herman Melville Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a rom ...

. {{Authority control Georgian architecture in Virginia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses in Henrico County, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Henrico County, Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia