Eastern Henrico's 139-acre Camp Holly site preserved from development

A prominent parcel of Eastern Henrico land is being preserved from future development.

For more than a century, spring water has been drawn from the Camp Holly aquifer in Eastern Henrico County to be sold to the Richmond area. Stewardship of the drinking water source has belonged to the Dowdy family since the 1950s, who for years distributed it under the Diamond Springs name.

Now, three generations later, the Dowdy family has recorded a historic preservation and open space easement with the Virginia Board of Historic Resources, administered by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, to protect the site from future development.

 “Our family has had close ties with Varina for over five generations, and because of our care for the rural landscape and community, the ability to perpetually preserve this land is a wonderful opportunity,” said Roland “Dusty” Dowdy III. “We are honored to have played a part in protecting the natural, environmental, and historical resources associated with Camp Holly, and are excited that the next five generations and beyond will be able to experience this area in its undeveloped state. We are very thankful for CRLC [Capital Region Land Conservancy] and DHR making this opportunity a reality.”

The easement on approximately 139 acres protects the aquifer recharge area where water infiltrates from the surface of the ground to replenish the shallow aquifer. Equally important to the property are the historic resources associated with indigenous peoples and military encampments during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.

“DHR is honored to partner with the Capital Region Land Conservancy and the Dowdy family to preserve this historically significant property. Its rich and multi-faceted history deserves to be preserved through perpetual stewardship and protection,” said DHR Director Julie Langan. 

Most of the Camp Holly property forms a slight plateau that is characterized by 60-foot-high escarpments that define the eastern and southern slopes. Approximately 104 acres are under forested cover with another 22 acres of prime farmland actively cultivated and eight acres of forested/shrub wetland habitat. The easement also protects a riparian buffer and 700 linear feet of frontage along an unnamed tributary of Bailey Creek, which empties into Four Mile Creek and the James River.

Camp Holly’s landscape and access to clean drinking water also made it ideal for military logistics. It was easier to bring troops to the water than bring water to the troops, and so the site was essential during the Revolutionary War, as noted in several pension records such as that of William Pendleton Herndon, who claims “a small skirmish between some British and Americans at ‘Camp Holly’ below Richmond.”

During the War of 1812, Camp Holly was once again established to host militia forces to defend against a British invasion that never materialized. In a letter from Thomas Jefferson Randolph to Thomas Jefferson on August 31, 1814, Randolph noted that the camp housed 2,000 militia men.

During the Civil War, the escarpments served as a significant defense for Confederate forces outside of Richmond along New Market Road (Route 5) and formed part of the New Market Line of earthen defenses. Camp Holly was engaged in the Battle of First Deep Bottom (July 27-29, 1864), Battle of Second Deep Bottom (August 13-20, 1864), and again during the Battle of New Market Heights (September 29, 1864), with all 139 acres falling within the core and study area as determined by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission.

The CRLC assisted the Dowdy family and was applicant to several grants funding the purchase of the easement. The National Park Service awarded CRLC with $1,487,153 in Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants through the American Battlefield Protection Program. An additional $1,278,000 was provided to CRLC from the Virginia Battlefield Preservation Fund administered by the DHR.

“Assisting the Dowdy family to protect 139 acres is rewarding because we are saving critical drinking water supply and also because we are connecting with a larger landscape that enhances the conservation of nearby sites at Four Mile Creek and CRLC’s Varina LandLab at Deep Bottom,” said Parker C. Agelasto, CRLC's executive director. “Over the past decade, we are proud to have conserved more than 2,300 acres in eastern Henrico.”

The entire Camp Holly property is described in ConserveVirginia 3.0 as the highest priority land to be conserved across the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Cultural and Historic Preservation, Water Quality Improvement, and Agricultural and Forestry categories.

The protection of potable water is cited in Henrico County’s Vision 2026 Comprehensive Plan. It specifically acknowledges that aquifers, including Camp Holly, are particularly vulnerable to contamination from pollutants introduced at the land’s surface and these recharge areas need to be protected.

As of 2025, DHR has placed nearly 47,000 acres of land under historic preservation and open-space easement. DHR easements are held by the Virginia Board of Historic Resources, and DHR staff monitor the eased lands. The board currently holds easements on approximately 17,000 acres of battlefields in Virginia.