Suffolk, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Riddick's Folly
Home and Headquarters
Photographed by Mark P Brock-Cancellieri, August 3, 2025
1. Riddick's Folly Marker
When Union forces arrived in Suffolk in 1863 the house was unattended and U.S. commander Gen. John J. Peck kept his headquarters here for almost a year. From this house he organized defenses and fortifications around Suffolk. The defenses proved crucial during the Siege of Suffolk in the spring of 1863. After its time as headquarters, the home served as a temporary hospital for sick and wounded soldiers from in and around Suffolk.
When the Riddick family returned in 1865, they found their home looted for its furnishings and accessories. Both Union and Confederate soldiers had written penciled messages and autographs on the walls of the home which have been carefully preserved and are still legible today.
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This restored Greek Revival-style house before you was built in 1847 by Mills Riddick. Due to its impressive size and extravagance, Mill's contemporaries ridiculed the house and labeled the building "Riddick's Folly." Descendants of the Riddick family
this page online
(caption) The Mills Riddick House's distinctive design features Flemish gables, five eyebrow windows just below the eaves, and interior carved cypress woodwork. - Courtesy Riddick's Folly Museum
Erected by Virginia Civil War Trails.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical month for this entry is September 1862.
Location. 36° 44.22′ N, 76° 34.938′ W. Marker is in Suffolk, Virginia. It is on North Main Street south of East Constance Road (Business U.S. 58), on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 510 N Main St, Suffolk VA 23434, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Hampton Roads, specifically in Coastal Virginia, and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Tidewater. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Lafayettes Tour (within shouting distance of this marker); Cedar Hill Cemetery (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); First Suffolk Church (about 500 feet away); The Site of the First Church (about 600 feet away); Nansemond River Crossing (about 700 feet away); Early History of Suffolk (about 700 feet away); Site of the John Constant House
Photographed by Mark P Brock-Cancellieri, August 3, 2025
2. Riddick's Folly Marker and house
Another marker is no longer nearby. Riddicks Folly (was here, next to this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. Old CWT Marker At This Location also titled "Riddick's Folly".
Also see . . . Riddick's Folly House Museum. (Submitted on September 4, 2025.)
Credits. This page was last revised on September 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 1, 2025, by Mark P. Brock-Cancellieri of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 145 times since then and 36 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on September 1, 2025, by Mark P. Brock-Cancellieri of Baltimore, Maryland. 2. submitted on September 4, 2025, by Mark P. Brock-Cancellieri of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
