Attracting visitors

 

The "men's farm" on Rt. 6 would make a great state park

Tourism is touted as one of the best forms of economic development. People come, enjoy the local sights, spend money, and go home to educate their children and grow old elsewhere.

Visitor spending for Goochland County reached $62.4 million in 2025, a 5.4 percent increase over 2024. According to a recent press release from the county, (https://www.goochlandva.us/m/newsflash/home/detail/1458) tourism supported 463 jobs in Goochland and generated $2.5 million in local tax revenue. (Go to http://www.exploregoochland.com/ to see all that the county has to offer.)

On September 19 farm tours (https://exploregoochland.com/192/2026-Goochland-County-Farm-Tours) provide a glimpse into local agriculture.

Our potent potable—wine, whiskey, and cider—establishments bring visitors to the county. The annual Deep Run Horse Show attracts equestrians from all over the country, as do Goochland Day, the Fall Festival, and our Fourth of July fireworks.

Event venues are another tourism-based local industry.

“Get Hitched in Goochland” (https://www.exploregoochland.com/155/Get-Hitched-in-Goochland) brings lovers to unique local settings that range from a barn to a castle and everything in between for their special day. This also gives their guests a look at Goochland.

The exquisite grounds of Rassawek Vineyard, https://rassawek.com/  offer a unique setting for events and festivals and overnight lodging in antique train cars.  

Dover Hall https://www.doverhall.com/blog, The Estate at River Run https://www.theestateatriverrun.com/ and Virginia Barn Weddings at the Adams International School are other choices. These venues host other kinds of gatherings and events that bring visitors to the county.

A proposed polo facility could further enhance Goochland’s equestrian tradition.

The 2027 legislative agenda, the county’s “wish list” for help from the state, included a request by the Economic Development Authority to transfer ownership of closed Department of Corrections property, “men’s farm”, and the vacant Reynolds Community college campus, to the county along with transition funding.

The state farm property, a good part of which is in flood plain, is an ideal site for a state park along the James River. It has buildings of historical significance, which the state has left to molder, which could be restored and repurposed for community use. This might also be a suitable location for a shooting range.

The Reynolds Community College property, 90 acres of prime real estate in the center of Courthouse Village, which has been mostly empty since before Covid, could soon become a pharmaceutical manufacturing training center to complement the Eli Lilly facility coming to West Creek.

Tourism helps landowners use their property to generate revenue and resist the siren song of developers to keep 85 percent of Goochland rural.