"The Homeplace"

Welcome to The Homeplace in Irvington, Virginia! Irvington sits on Carter’s Creek in the Northern Neck of Virginia. The creek is a tributary to the Rappahannock River. The town is quite small but has an extensive history. Before it became the town it is today, the area was home to the Rappahannock Indian Tribe. The group spoke a dialect of Algonquian which can be reflected in the naming of the surrounding landscape.

The Rappahannock’s capital town was “Topahanocke”, which evolved into the town of Tappahannock after contact. It was in this town where they had close contact with Captain John Smith in December 1607. Initially, Smith was accused of crimes against the tribe that occurred three years prior, but he was ultimately found innocent. Smith later returned to the area and mapped fourteen Rappahannock villages.

Many, many years later, a one room house was built on this property in Irvington. The home belonged to many generations of the Haydon family, later known as the Lumpkin family, and ultimately the Nunally family in the 1960s. In the 1990s, Wayne and Fran Nunally decided to transform the house into a space of gathering and culture. The originally farmhouse was raised and built around, maintaining many of its original elements.

The Homeplace is a private residence, but welcomes family, friends, neighbors, interlopers, and even curious passersby. This house has been a pivotal place in my life and is the backdrop for most of my summers since I was little. Although I am not genetically related to the Nunally family, they are the epitome of family made by love instead of blood.

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/rappahannock-tribe/#:~:text=They%20spoke%20a%20dialect%20of,that%20was%20ruled%20by%20Powhatan.

https://www.rappahannocktribe.org/tribal-history/

https://www.town.irvington.va.us/history