Riddick's Folly

An intensive tour of the Riddick Folly House, our tour guide who's been working and curating the pieces for over thirty year's was informative, funny, and a passionate guide. Be prepared for an hour and thirty minute tour, but it's worth it.

What a great experience. A must-see when visiting the Tidewater area. So many museums have everything distanced from you. Here is a place where you can get up close and personal with history. Many artifacts can be handled with the guides' permission.

I love visiting history museums; I was surprised I hadn't stopped by Riddick's Folly (RF) before. RF is right next to the Visitor's Center and easy to spot on the busily North Main Street. Educating ourselves about the past is important--learning about our own local history is even more imperative. As novelist Pearl Buck said, "If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday." Lucky for us, Hampton Roads is full of rich history and, specifically, here in Suffolk. The Mills Riddick House is striking, and impressive to see when you walk up; the 19th century Greek Revival period home was bricked in Flemish bond. Flemish bond is a pattern of bricklaying -one short, one long, one short, one long- and was used in Virginia for the colonial buildings. Mills Riddick was a wealthy man who owned many plantations and a lumber business. He and his wife, Mary Taylor, had 14 children, which explains why they needed a prodigious 8,000 square foot home with four floors, 21 rooms, and 16 fireplaces. During the Great Suffolk Fire back in 1837, most buildings on Main Street were destroyed, and RF was not spared. Thankfully, Mr. Riddick rebuilt his home and now it stands before you.When we arrived that day, we were greeted by a woman who was pregnant--imminently. She apologized for not being able to give us a full tour since she couldn't walk up the stairs. Usually, there is a man who gives the tour but it was only her that day. When we agreed to continue, she said we can get a "partial tour" ($3). Her husband was there and he was happy to take us upstairs later. Being honest, I thought the tour was a bit dull but I will give her kudos for working while being ready to delivery; remember, the guides volunteer their time to RF.The house itself was exquisite; the floors were beautiful, with intricate woodwork throughout, and the breathtaking effort of every inch of that home is such a treat to see. From the basement kitchen to the slaves quarters on the fourth floor, you will be astounded. For those that love military history, one of their exhibits is called "Our Bleeding Country," which displays rare and spectacular guns. RF was occupied by the Union Army during the Civil War here in Suffolk; there is even a bloodstain on the floor from a dying soldier. Additionally, there is also Mills E. Godwin, Jr. Exhibit Gallery and Research Library. Godwin was a well-loved Governor, and he provided many artifacts to RF. We enjoyed walking around the home and I am sure you will be fascinated. There is a gift shop, and they offer other programs throughout the year; pick up their quarterly newsletter called "Riddick's Folly Notes." The entire family should visit RF and it is a great way to spend a hot day, or a rainy one--check them out and support our local treasures!

Joyice was great at explaining the history of the house and it's residents, with lots of "hands-on". She also explained much of the history of many of the artifacts, which was great.

my wife and I are staying in Suffol and decided to check out the Riddicks Folly house and museum. we did the "long" tour. this is a must see in the area. The house tour allows you to see everything in the house from bedrooms to kitchens. our tour guide was Ed King, who knows everything about the house, the furnishings in the house, and the people who lived there. He has done an amazing job bring back the original items that were looted during the civil war period. There are a lot of articles/artifacts in the house that we had no idea what they were used for. Our tour guide explained what everything was, and how it was used. I found the original graffiti from the civil was soilders that could still be read on the upstairs plaster walls to be quite interesting.

I felt that I had stepped back in time when I visited this magnificent Greek Revival house! Don't let the title "museum" fool you! My tour guide, Ms. Joyice Jones, was so culturally knowledgeable of the era and so rich in her familiarity with the Riddick's personal stories that, by the end of the tour, it almost seemed I had spent my time visiting the beautiful home of gracious, if absent, friends. Truly time well spent!

The house is amazing and full of history, I would like to thank Mrs.Joyice for the tour she gave us, she was very informative and we learned so much from her today. Mr.Edward also has all the answers to your questions regarding the history. We definitely will visit with more family, it was such well spent time with the tour guides.

I'm not much of a museum person, but we had a couple of hours to fill before heading to the airport. Our tour guide, Joyce, was just wonderful. She was so knowledgeable & engaging. Our tour was at least 1-1/2 hrs, but we had to stop it at that in order to head to the airport. I would definitely go again next time I am in the area in order to see the few things we missed. Definitely worth the small fee that is charged.

I am from seattlle I had two days to Kill and so I went to Riddick's folly which is a small Civil War/mansion in Suffolk Virginia the executor Ed took me on a personal tour of the mansion and explained the history of this particular house during the Civil War. His knowledge was phenomenal of that period of time it was more than worth it I highly recommend anyone in the area to avail themselves of this museum. The dedication of people that give their time is appreciated. Thank you Ed

I went to Riddick's Folly w/the Adult Sunday School Class of Great Hope Baptist Church, Chesapeake, Va on 10/18/18. I LOVED the mansion and the history of the grand ol' home. The ornate details of the renovation just amazed me as well as how the folks lived way back in the past. What would we do today without electricity and TV/phones? Could be we would learn to talk to each other again...maybe?our tour guide was great and very thorough w/her information. I will be back in the near future. Thank you for such a wonderful place to visit not to mention the history of the ol' girl!!