- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Real Estate
The Rappahannock Tribe has reclaimed 704 acres of ancestral land at Fones Cliffs, expanding its total footprint at the historic site to 2,391 acres as the tribe advances plans for tourism, conservation and cultural stewardship.
The land transfer occurred June 12, according to a release from the tribe. Located in Richmond County, Va., Fones Cliffs stretches four miles and rises 100 feet above the Rappahannock River Valley. The cliffs contain an important habitat for bald eagles and migratory birds, and the newly returned property consists mostly of forest and deep ravines, the tribe writes.
The tribe purchased the acreage from the Chesapeake Conservancy with financial support from federal funding, the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation and The Conservation Alliance. While conservation easements held by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protects the land, the tribe will co-steward the property using traditional ecological knowledge. The easements include exceptions covering 38 acres that allow the tribe to build facilities for tourism and tribal operations.
Fones Cliffs was home to three of the 14 historic Rappahannock towns: Pissacoack, Matchopick and Wecuppom. English colonists forced the tribe off the land in the 1650s, prompting a relocation to the Middle Peninsula where the tribe is headquartered today.
This latest transaction marks the second phase of the Pissacoack return initiative. It builds on a series of land acquisitions that began with a single acre in 2017. The tribe later added 252 acres in 2019, 465 acres in 2022 and 969 acres in 2025.
“For millennia, the power of this place has shaped tribal identity and connected the people to the land and to the river that bears our name,” Chief Anne Richardson said. “It is very rewarding to be able to restore the lands of our ancestors to our citizens of today and for future generations.”
The tribe plans to use the property for tourism, education and Indigenous-led conservation.
