Meadow Farm/General Sheppard Crump Memorial Park

Important Notices

COVID-19 & the VBWTBefore heading out to visit a site on the Virginia Bird & Wildlife Trail, be sure to check if that site has any COVID-19 policies or closures in place. This information is typically posted on a site's own website.

Description

The Meadow Farm Museum was left to Henrico County by the Crump family, which had farmed it since before the Civil War. Still standing, this historic farm holds an assortment of animals and serves as an educational tool for people of all ages to learn about the agricultural history of the area. In addition to the farm, there are numerous stands of deciduous and some coniferous woodlands interspersed among the open fields. Check the utility lines along the park entrance for the resident eastern bluebirds that serve as the farm’s welcome committee. These lines are particularly interesting in late summer and fall when they can be lined with small groups of parents showing their newly fledged chicks the bluebird ropes.

Once you wander into the forest, listen for Carolina wrens and downy woodpeckers along with the wheezing of pine warblers. Gray squirrels won’t be far away and can usually be heard scampering up trees just out of view. Along the western edge of the park a small pond regularly hosts Canada geese and mallards of unknown providence. Great blue herons sometime drop in to dine here, leaving their massive footprints in the mud along the shoreline. Thankful to have made it another day without being someone’s prey, eastern painted turtles bask along the pond’s shores and green frogs make their presence known with a loud plop as they disappear into the muck at the bottom of the pond. Very early in the morning or just as twilight begins to fade, check for raccoons out in search of frog snacks.

Directions

Physical Address:  3400 Mountain Rd, Glen Allen, VA 23060

From the Previous Site on the Henrico Loop of VBWT:

Leaving Echo Lake Park, return east on SR 157/Springfield Road. For 0.6 miles to Mountain Road. Continue east 1.3 miles on Mountain Road. to Meadow Farm on the left.

Location & Directions

View on Google Maps

Site Information

  • Site Contact: Henrico County Recreation & Parks: 804-652-1472, [email protected]
  • Website
  • Access: Free, open daily sunrise to sunset

Birds Recently Seen at Meadow Farm/General Sheppard Crump Memorial Park (as reported to eBird)

  • Canada Goose
  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • Rock Pigeon
  • Red-tailed Hawk
  • Eastern Phoebe
  • Blue Jay
  • American Crow
  • Carolina Chickadee
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • House Wren

Seasonal Bird Observations

Facilities

  • Accessible
  • Hiking Trails
  • Information
  • Parking
  • Picnic
  • Restrooms