The Virginia estate where a 2-year-old Thomas Jefferson first learned to read is up for grabs — and it will cost a buyer $17 million to own a slice of the third president’s earliest memories.

Historic Tuckahoe, a 557-acre spread hugging the James River along the Goochland-Henrico county line, has come up for sale for the first time in nearly 100 years.

Tuckahoe carries National Historic Landmark status and sits on the National Register of Historic Places. Assessed by Goochland and Henrico counties at just over $13.2 million, the $17 million ask would mark a new high-water mark for the region should it sell for that sum.

Murdoch Matheson of Frank Hardy Sotheby’s International Realty is handling the listing on behalf of the Thompson family, who have kept watch over the property since the 1930s.

Historic Tuckahoe, the roughly 300-year-old Virginia estate where Thomas Jefferson spent seven years of his childhood, has been listed for $17 million. Adam Wayland The property is being listed by the Thompson family, who have owned it since the 1930s. Adam Wayland Situated along the James River, the property includes the original one-room schoolhouse built by Jefferson’s father, Peter Jefferson. Adam Wayland

The five-bedroom main house dates back farther than the nation itself.

Construction began in 1733 under William Randolph, with the center hall and south wing added roughly seven years later, forming an unusual H-shaped layout that architectural historians consider one of a kind among surviving colonial homes.

It stands as the last Randolph family home still located on its original footprint, according to the listing description.

President Thomas Jefferson. Getty Images

Jefferson’s connection to the property began in 1745, when he moved in as a toddler alongside his parents, Peter and Jane Jefferson, who had been named guardians of the recently orphaned Randolph children. 

He spent the next seven years there, receiving his first formal schooling in a one-room schoolhouse his father built on the grounds, a structure still standing today. That schoolhouse features a domed ceiling that, according to the listing, gave the future architect of Monticello his first brush with classical dome design.

The Thompsons called their stewardship of the estate a source of pride as they prepare to hand it off. 

“It has been a privilege for our family to serve as the stewards of Tuckahoe for nearly a century,” the family said in a statement to Richmond Biz Sense. “As we consider the property’s next chapter, we are open to welcoming new owners who share our deep appreciation for its unique character and history.”

The property spans 557 acres. Adam Wayland Tuckahoe mansion in 1909. Library of Congress The formal living room. Adam Wayland The breakfast room. Adam Wayland One of five bedrooms. Adam Wayland

Beyond the main house, the plantation retains an outbuilding row known as Plantation Street, including the original kitchen, smokehouse, storehouse, barn, overseer’s office and the quarters once occupied by enslaved workers. They’re features the listing calls one of the most complete surviving 18th-century plantation layouts in North America. 

Inside, the home holds onto period windows, ornate entryways and a fully paneled black walnut salon that has remained largely untouched.

Matheson said interest has already surfaced, even though the listing only recently went live. 

A primary suite. Adam Wayland The home also boasts a rare set of surviving 18th-century outbuildings. Adam Wayland The H-shaped main house dates back to 1733. Adam Wayland The Thompsons called their decades of stewardship “a privilege,” while Matheson said the family has been weighing the sale for some time and called it “a meaningful thing.” Adam Wayland The sale, protected by conservation easements even as some development could be explored, is expected to set a price record for the area. Adam Wayland

“It’s a big event to put something like this on the market, and they want the best for the property,” he said of the Thompsons. “The family’s been considering it for some time. They’ve gotten together on it to make the decision to do this, and it’s a meaningful thing.”

Conservation and historic easements donated to Virginia’s Board of Historic Resources and the National Trust for Historic Preservation protect the grounds going forward, though Matheson left the door open to other uses. 

“I think a number of things could be explored,” he said. “Stewardship of the property and protection of the property for its historic resource is the goal.”