Fire Destroys Barn At Historic 18th Century Nuckols Farm
A barn at the historic 18th century Nuckols Farm in Short Pump burnt to the ground Tuesday evening. The building, adjacent to the Gayton Station and Graham Meadows subdivisions off Gayton Road, caught fire just before 6:00 p.m. When we arrived around 6:10 p.m. the structure was fully involved. Smoke from the blaze could be seen for several miles. The barn sat next to the recently renovated Nuckols Farmhouse, which dates back to 1750. The barn itself was built sometime in the early 1800s according to the Henrico County Historical Society’s website.
The adjacent Nuckols Farmhouse, the oldest known structure still standing in Henrico County, was purchased by the County of Henrico a few years back after a developer planned to demolish the house and build town homes. Neighbors who live in both subdivisions that sandwich the house fought to save it. The property is planned for use as a passive park.
Firefighters on scene seemed suspicious as to the cause of the fire, questioning everyone on scene. The barn was reportedly filled with hay and hence burned quickly. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Henrico Fire officials.
Note: More photos, including a photo of the barn before the blaze, can be seen below. For more photos in high resolution, visit our Flickr page.
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ahh that place was so cool! I’ve heArd it was a few kids who started it…
I am very saddend by this loss and even more sad if it was the result of some intentional act. If this is the case, I certainly hope those responsible are caught and made to pay for what they did. If they are not caught, that is okay because God will likely mete out a harsher punishment. This piece of history is gone forever and we have precious little of it left in the western part of Henrico. If anyone has any information at all about who may have done this, please contact Henrico police immediately.
hey i heard it was a few kids too… hmmmm
Henrico County has spoken to everyone involved. We have a wonderful Fire Department, they have handled this professionally and have their answers. A wonderful piece of history is gone, but how awful to be speaking about God giving a punishment. (As Linda above did) God protected many children, their families and homes yesterday. Sometimes, good children make mistakes, and the results have disasterous consequences. This is an unfortunate and sometimes tragic fact of life. How we help our children deal with these mistakes, and what lessons they take from them is so important—much more important than seeking to see their punishment. The loss of an abandoned building is a much better outcome, than a home or God Forbid, a life. If anyone wants to bring God into this—please pray for these children and their families, pray for lessons learned and for a community to embrace “good children,” from good families that made a mistake. AND TRY TO REMEMBER THAT ALL OF US MADE MISTAKES, SOME WITH CONSQUENCES AND SOME THAT I AM SURE WE GOT LUCKY WITH—did you make mistakes? I know I did. And, as a community, lets practice forgiveness and gratefulness.
So this is what I was seeing. I was in Highland Springs yesterday and could see the smoke all the way out there.
@anonymous – i know the kids they are usually good kids and i am friends with one of them. He was trying to break in just fool around then they somehow started playing with matches and it went up in flames. They are going to pay for it and they are going to get in trouble. but they did take responsibility by being the ones who called 911. But once they called they fled the site.
I am truly thankful that nobody was hurt in this incident. Human life is far more precious than anything else. I suppose my inital reaction may have been harsh but it came from a sense that many young people seem to have a blaise attitude about many things and do not have the proper respect for the property of others. I am glad to know that this was apparently an accident that arose most likely out of bordom rather than an intentional malicious act. Sometimes we need to be given a reminder that a spirit of forgiveness is what God expects of all of us.
One of the children is in sixth grade at Pocahontas and the other two are in seventh Pocahontas….
Was it someone that lived in the neighborhood?
I actually go to school with the three of them – two of them go to my bus stop. Two live in the neighborhood, another lives in a different neighborhood that is close by. (not graham meadows though). They were playing with axe (boys deoderant) and a lighter. Honestly, if you know them well enough, you know that they really weren’t “good” kids. The 6th grader was ALWAYS in trouble and one of the 7th graders just totally got F’s on all his schoolwork and everything… the other 7th grader wasnt that bad though. I really hope they learn their lesson this time because they have done other bad stuff before, just thankfully not something this bad. The two seventh graders are going to court and the sixth grader might have to. I am just SOO thankful it didnt hit the Nuckols house, or anybody in the neighborhoods house. I went to see it today and there is nothing left.
Oh and by the way! As all of the news stations are saying, there was NOT just hay in there! There were tires and propane gas because there was a race-car driver that lived near there and kept is stuff in there. i was in there like last year and i saw it!
Also go to school with them. True. They are not as good as they are cracked up to be. They are trouble makers and have started trouble there before. pocahontas has many rumors floating around about them and they must be very embarrassed. Pray for them. This is a sad time for everyone. Keep that in mind.
A race cardriver did leave his racing cars in the garage, and not the barn. Good thing!!!
I do know the kids who did it, and i am very disappointed in them. They aren’t bad kids, but they do bad things. They are in 7th grade, they should be smart enough not to play with matches and fire for that matter. They could’ve been killed. My family actually knows who owns the land. It sad for everybody, and i hope they learned their lesson. I’ve only seen the Nuckols Farm a couple of times, but its still sad to hear about it.
What were their names?
I Was there! It was so scary I know who did it too. But I am not aloud to say. My grandmother lives in that neighborhood and I was outside when I saw smoke in the sky and my cousins saw it to then we saw the fire and we had to call 911! We were so scared and we were all crying
the sixth grader was a bad kid. One of the Seventh Graders was really bad, but the other one was a really good kid who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
i know two of the kids who apparently did it but i really don’t think that they would want random ppl talking about who they are, what school they went to, or what grade they are in. it seriously is a horrible thing they did but we all make mistakes and they are JUST KIDS!!
First off, i know all the kids who did this. I live right across the steet from where it hapenned. Although I was not home at the time, I got the disturbing news when my father told me in the car going home. I went to the same school the kids went too. I did know that some the kids were that smart. I’m just saying that I am very mad at them. They did a very wrong deed, and I hope that they will pay the price!!!