Curles Neck Farm is a large plantation style farm located on the northern banks of the James River.  It was first owned by Captain Thomas Harris in 1635.  He served as a burgess (or representative) for this area in the House of Burgesses at Jamestown.  It was owned by Nathaniel Bacon in the 1670s.  Nathaniel was upset with the governor of Virginia for being too friendly towards the American Indians and led Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676.  His land at Curles Neck was confiscated (taken away) and resold to the well-known Randolph family (whose descendants were Thomas Jefferson and Robert E. Lee). The Randolph family grew tobacco and built a large mansion on the property which fell into disrepair after the Civil War.  In 1894 an enterprising farmer named Charles Sneff purchased the land.  He started raising cattle, sheep, and horses, and he built the mansion which is there today.  After his death in 1913, a horse-lover named CK Billings acquired the property and opened a horse racing track.  The Strawberry Hill Horse Races were held here during this time.  The next owner, AB Ruddick, started the famous Curles Neck Dairy farm here in 1933 which was one of the largest dairy farms in the area.  The milk was processed and bottled at a factory in Richmond which still exists and is called the Dairy Bar.  Curles Neck is no longer a dairy farm and is being mined for sand and gravel. (Trouble viewing the YouTube video? Try Vimeo or direct link).