About Rural Plains

History

The Rural Plains Foundation was incorporated in June 2013, as a non-profit affiliate of Richmond National Battlefield Park's Totopotomoy Creek Battlefield unit. The Foundation received 501(C)(3) status in 2014. The Rural Plains site includes the Shelton House, home to generations of Sheltons from its construction about 1725 until the early 21st Century, and which is deeply connected to the life of Patrick Henry.

Also included is 124 acres of land, originally farmed by the Sheltons and their free and enslaved workers, on which Union and Confederate soldiers fought the May 1864 Battle of Totopotomoy Creek. 

Mission

The Rural Plains Foundation works to preserve, improve and promote the nationally-significant history and architecture associated with the Rural Plains property. The Foundation is charged with funding capital and interpretive projects, all with the aim of better telling the story of the Shelton House and the surrounding battlefield land.