Riddick’s Folly House Museum

Riddick House, also known as Riddicks Folly, is a historic home in Suffolk, Virginia that was built in Greek Revival style back in 1837. Mills Riddick was mocked by his peers for building such a whimsical home, but it remains the most captivating structure on Suffolk’s Main Street today.

The mansion has twenty-one rooms spread across four floors, sixteen fireplaces, elegantly furnished parlors, a library, and both adult and children bedrooms. The bathing and dressing rooms are located on the third floor. The slave quarters can be found on the fourth floor. The winter kitchen, along with the laundry and dining rooms, is housed in the English basement.

The public is welcome on all floors. The Riddick’s Folly is now a house museum with an enchanting, well-stocked gift shop in the English basement.

Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

The Great Dismal Swamp is a marshy wetland on the Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, situated between Norfolk, Virginia and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. In 1974, the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was established to help safeguard a piece of this special landscape. It’s one of the few remaining major natural places in the Eastern United States. More than 112,000 acres of wooded wetlands make up this area. Lake Drummond, a natural 3100-acre lake, is located in the central part of the refuge.

The refuge, which is situated between two eco-regions, provides ideal conditions for a large variety of plants and animals. Bald Cypress, Black Gum, Maple, Atlantic White Cedar, and Pine are the most common tree species.

Visitors can enjoy a wide array of activities such as birdwatching, photography, hiking, biking, boating, canoeing, and so much more.

The Suffolk Seaboard Station Railroad Museum

The Suffolk Seaboard Station Railroad Museum is a beautifully restored railway station that was built in the Queen Anne Style on Suffolk Main Street back in 1885. The station is now a museum with railroad memorabilia and a two-room model of Suffolk from 1907, which was created by the National Model Railroad Association’s (NMRA) Tidewater Division. Model locomotives and a real renovated caboose are also on display at the museum.

The former station has retained numerous details throughout its existence and has a variety of Victorian features, such as the tower with a magnificent spiral staircase. Many ancient characteristics, such as the windows, doors, fireplace, porch, and coffered ceiling, were maintained during the restoration.

Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts

The Suffolk Center is Suffolk’s primary visual and performing arts center, with a year-round schedule of musical events, theatre productions, ballet, art exhibits, lectures, and galas. Built in 1922, the beautiful Greek-Revival structure functioned as Suffolk High School until 1990. The facility, located in the heart of downtown, has a 500-seat theater that hosts concerts, ballets, musicals, dramatic works, symphony performances, films, children’s plays, puppet shows, and much more.

Dance, painting, sculpting, weaving, and a variety of other arts-related classes are available at the 62800-square-foot building. A ballroom, dining hall, and classroom museum are housed within the huge three-story center.

The Plaid Turnip, which is an onsite restaurant and a gallery gift shop, offers an unparalleled combination of delicious cuisine, good people, and wonderful works by both local and regional artists.

Suffolk Art Gallery

The Suffolk Art Gallery, which was a former library dating back to the early 190s, is situated among Victorian and Colonial structures. The gallery, which is a community partner of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Suffolk Art League, hosts a variety of events such as open mic nights, artist demos, and art lessons.