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Fort Huger, Smithfield, VA

Photo: Nat Webb, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sightseeing

Fort Huger

A Civil War earthwork fort on a bluff above the James River, now a restored historic park in Isle of Wight County.

Route 10 at 15080 Talcott Terrace, Smithfield, Virginia 23430 · Smithfield, VA

About Fort Huger

Fort Huger sits on a bluff overlooking the James River and was built during the Civil War to help guard the water and land routes toward Richmond, the Confederate capital. Enslaved people and free Black laborers built it under Confederate engineers, and Virginia infantry detachments were stationed there. Isle of Wight County acquired the site in 2005 and opened it to the public as a restored and interpreted park in 2008. Visitors can follow a self-guided tour that offers views of the James River Reserve Fleet, and guided walks are offered on certain dates in 2026.

  • #civil-war
  • #james-river
  • #fortification
  • #self-guided
  • #guided-tours

What's around here?

The closest stops to Fort Huger, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Chippokes State Park

    Check prices

    A Virginia state park on the James River with a long-working farm, historic mansion, and farm museum.

    4.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sightseeing

    Fort Boykin

    Check prices

    Earthen fort ruins on the James River, begun after a 1622 attack, now an 18-acre public park with self-guided exploring.

    5.6 mi awayMore like this

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    Busch Gardens Williamsburg

    $50+

    Ride coasters like Loch Ness Monster, Griffon and Pantheon in a theme park laid out as European hamlets.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    8.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Museums

    Isle of Wight County Museum

    Under $25

    Smithfield, Virginia museum covering county history, from colonial times through the Cold War, with a famous preserved ham.

    9.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Historic Jamestowne

    $25–$50

    Walk the site of the 1607 James Fort, see the 17th-century church tower and watch archaeologists at work.

    9.5 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing

    Yorktown National Cemetery

    Check prices

    Burial ground on the Yorktown Battlefield, selected in 1866, holding mostly Union soldiers.

    12 mi awayMore like this

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