Thirteen Acres To Be Demolished?

by Charles McGuigan 11.2025

Earlier this month, the Richmond City School Board, on the subject of the historic Thirteen Acres School building, “recommend sunsetting (the Thirteen Acres building) with a term of 1 year due to structure condition and potential safety hazards, then demolishing the building and retaining the green space.”

Built in 1885, Thirteen Acres is one of oldest remaining homes in the Northside, and is the second oldest house on Hermitage Road (Edgewood at 4002 Hermitage Road was constructed in the late 1870s.) Back in 1967, the house and an accompanying thirteen acres was sold to the City of Richmond for $475,000 by the Virginia Methodist Home for the Aged, which operated its facility there. Richmond Public Schools (RPS), at that time, planned to build an elementary school on the site, but there was fierce opposition from adjoining neighborhoods. They argued that the location was too close to the dense traffic along Laburnum and Hermitage, and children might be hit by speeding cars. 

For the next four years, the old house served as a school for children with special needs. Then, from 1973 until 1978 the building became home to the RPS community relations department. In 1978, RPS proposed using the site as a residential school for adolescents. Two years later, Thirteen Acres opened a five-day residential program for emotionally disabled students, ranging in age from six to twelve. It continued as a residential school until 2007, eight years after Holton Elementary School first opened its doors.

Another note of interest: during the Second World War, Thirteen Acres was home to one of the largest victory gardens in Richmond. That victory garden continued producing vegetables for the full duration of the war.

“Thirteen Acres is a remarkable property, and it is clear that the community would like to see it saved,” Cyane Crump, executive director of Historic Richmond, told me two years ago. “Having toured the property and seen its potential, I am confident that there are options for its rehabilitation and reuse.” 

Just last week Third District Councilwoman Kenya Gibson considered what might be done with Thirteen Acres. “As I understand it, in order for anything to happen the school district would need to take formal action to surplus either just the building or a parcel with the building,” she said. “My hope has been that if the property was surplussed to the city, as a council member, I could have a role in working with the community to protect it. I truly hope that the school district, historic preservation experts, and the community at large can work together to find a way to preserve the building, a remarkable structure worth saving."  

Catherine Willis, president of the Bellevue Civic Association, had this to say, “I believe that before we consider demolishing the Thirteen Acres house, we must fully explore every option that preserves this irreplaceable piece of our neighborhood’s heritage.”

She then added, “Renovation, adaptive reuse, or relocation should all be on the table as we work to honor the property’s long history while addressing its current condition. We should collaborate on a solution that preserves this landmark rather than simply tearing it down.”