Eastern Henrico farm placed entirely under conservation easements

A 330-acre farm along the Chickahominy River, known as Indian Springs Farm, will be permanently protected thanks to the most recent of two conservation easements placed by the Wilson family.

Irvine and Lynn Wilson placed the first easement on 287 acres of the site in 2015. Capital Region Land Conservancy and the Henricopolis Soil and Water Conservation District took assignment of that easement last year and then worked with the couple to record the second easement, on the remaining 43 acres, in September. The effort will protect the land from development and preserve its historical and environmental significance.

The farm, located near Sandston, has been in the Wilson family for generations. Evidence of Native American habitation dating back 10,000 years has been found on the property, which features mature hardwood forests and numerous springs that feed into the Chickahominy River. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Natural Heritage Program has identified on the property a 115-acre "Non-Riverine Wet Hardwood Forest," a globally imperiled natural community.

"Witnessing the growth and achievements of CRLC, especially in Henrico County’s traditionally rural Varina district, made us want to work with the hometown team,” said Irvine Wilson, who has called the site home since his early childhood.

The easements front on a half-mile of the Chickahominy River frontage and include more than two-thirds of a mile of tributaries. They restrict development, limit impervious surfaces, and require forested buffers along streams and wetlands. More than 213 acres of the farm will be permanently forested.

"The Wilsons' decision shows the power of land owners’ to do good,” said Henricopolis’ Conservation Easement Specialist Nicole Anderson Ellis. “This easement preserves the public benefits of green space – healthier air, less flooding, cooling habitat – while keeping the land in private hands.”

Indian Springs Farm is partially listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The property contains evidence of a village dating back to 1,200 BCE, associated with Virginia Woodland Indians. The site also was visited by Chief George Major Cook of the Pamunkey Indians in the early 20th century.

“We continue to steward this remarkable land and its stories as best we can," the Wilsons said in a statement. "We are gratified to have such strong partners in its protection, and to know that this work will carry on far into the future.”

Since 2005, CRLC has helped protect more than 14,000 acres, including easements on more than 3,400 acres.