JAMES CITY — Plans are moving forward to build 28 homes at Kingsmill on the James near the community’s namesake historic site, but many residents contend that the project should be halted because of concerns about damage to the property and its surroundings.
Fort Worth-based Escalante Golf, which owns Kingsmill Resort, is in the process of developing 12 acres adjacent to Kingsmill Plantation, a site that includes the foundation of an 18th century manor house, along with two standing dependencies. Escalante hired Circa Cultural Resources Management of Williamsburg last December to conduct an archaeological investigation on the property, although an independent review by a separate local archaeological firm has found the work to be incomplete.
A development called Frances Thacker Estates will be located on a community gathering area known as the soccer field. According to plans filed with James City County, homes will be built within 100 feet of the easternmost brick dependency, which like the other remaining structure, was likely built by and for enslaved people. In May, Preservation Virginia listed Kingsmill Plantation as one of Virginia’s most endangered historic sites.
Escalante has pledged to donate the site of the manor and dependencies, which are listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places, to a reputable organization that can protect them.
Escalante and county planners say that the soccer field and area around Kingsmill Plantation are buildable by-right, meaning the development does not need Board of Supervisors approval, although the process must abide by county regulations and procedures. Part of that process is an archaeological survey to document historic features of the property.
In August, Circa submitted to the county reports describing archaeological surveys the firm conducted from December 2024 to April 2025. Preliminary excavations conducted on the site recorded “two isolated finds, two previously recorded archaeological sites, no new archaeological sites, four previously recorded architectural resources, and no new architectural resources,” according to the documents.
The reports also recommended further archaeological work. “The planned construction of residential housing and associated infrastructure within the site borders would constitute an adverse effect” on the area around Kingsmill Plantation, the report said, and that while the existing structures and foundation would remain intact if homes were to be constructed, Circa recommended additional excavations, known as phase 3, “to mitigate the adverse effects on the site’s periphery.”
The site of Kingsmill Plantation’s main house and its western dependency, dating to the 1730s. Ben Swenson/For The Virginia Gazette
Joel Paige, senior vice president of club operations for Escalante and a Kingsmill resident, said that despite criticism from some in the community, the company is following protocol. “We will continue to play by all the rules, including a thorough and detailed phase 3, and remain committed to turning over the remainder of the excess land, including the historical homes, to a not-for-profit group to take over the stewardship of those historical landmarks,” he said.
James City’s zoning administrator, Christy Parrish, said county staff commissioned a review of Circa’s archaeological assessment. For years, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources reviewed archaeological studies, but the state agency is no longer providing that service, according to Parrish.
Last month, Archaeological & Cultural Solutions Inc., also of Williamsburg, reviewed Circa’s reports and found the phase 1 investigation to “partially but not fully meet professional standards,” according to a letter sent by the firm’s principal archaeologist, Alain Outlaw, to Parrish.
Among the issues that Outlaw identified were lack of discussion of previous investigations, historic vegetation and a visual impact study, as well as poor reporting of artifacts and subsurface features. Parrish said a revised study by Circa was warranted to address the issues cited by Outlaw.
Kingsmill resident Michael McGurk questions the selection of Circa, citing both Outlaw’s review as well as 2019 allegations by a then-Circa staff member of unprofessional conduct at an excavation in Louisa County, and the finding by the state department of historic resources that Circa’s owner and principal investigator, Carol Tyrer, lacked the professional qualifications to undertake such work.
In 2019, Tyrer sued VDHR and its director over the decision to disqualify her — a suit that was eventually settled.
“Of the firms Escalante could’ve picked in the commonwealth of Virginia to do the study, it would be difficult to find one that has more challenges,” McGurk said.
McGurk said the issues cited in Outlaw’s review warrant additional archaeological investigation and noted that if much of the soccer field is comprised of fill dirt, Circa’s excavations would not have reached historical features beneath it.
According to McGurk, in addition implementing to Outlaw’s recommendations, archaeologists should use ground penetrating radar, soil coring and augur testing and better metal detector surveys. He said that the soccer field is the site of the plantation’s support complex and could include burials of enslaved people.
“It’s not that people here are anti-development, it’s that they’re pro-preservation of history,” McGurk said. “The name of our community is Kingsmill. To cut the heart out of Kingsmill destroys reason many people moved here.”
Tyrer, of Circa, declined to comment on the archaeological investigation and her previous work, citing a non-disclosure agreement her firm signed with Escalante.
Paige said he could not comment on behalf of Tyrer, but that Escalante stands behind its selection of Circa.
“We are carefully following the direction from our accredited and licensed archeologist,” he said.
Frances Thacker continues to move forward because Kingsmill lacks sufficient buildable lots, according to Paige, and there continues to be demand to live in the community — a fact that will increase property values for all homeowners.
Ben Swenson, ben.swenson05@gmail.com
