About

Pleasant Grove House, formerly known as the Haden House, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Over 150 years ago, William Douglas Haden purchased the property which today is known as Pleasant Grove Park. The 1854 Pleasant Grove House is the only dwelling of its kind visible from the Thomas Jefferson Parkway in Fluvanna County. Although much like many other contemporary houses in Virginia in plan, its place in the county's agrarian landscape and its role in the county's social and economic history is significant. Pleasant Grove was an active farming operation, using the labor of enslaved men, women, and children to produce wheat, corn, oats, and tobacco. Like similar plantations, Pleasant Grove depended on the Rivanna bateaux and canal boats to transport harvested crops and locally milled corn, wheat, and oat flour downriver to the James River, which then made their way to markets and warehouses in Richmond.

A slice of Fluvanna history resides in the renovated Pleasant Grove House and Summer Kitchen Museums. The Pleasant Grove House also serves as the County Welcome Center along with housing exhibits relating to the history of transportation in Fluvanna.

With over 900 acres, this once-busy plantation has been redesigned for all to enjoy. Along with its focus on the history of Fluvanna, Pleasant Grove Park offers over twenty miles of nature trails for hiking, mountain-biking, and horseback-riding, athletic fields, and a playground. Meadows with native trees and plants are found throughout the landscape, and a pollinator garden can be found behind the main house. There is a little something for most everyone who visits Pleasant Grove.