History :

The patent to the land on which Brightly stands was issued in 1715. Brightly is a charming Federal home built in 1842 by Dr. George Harris. It faces Rt. 6 which is said to have been used by the Iroquois Indians on their way to the river. It is thought to be the third structure occupying the site, the first two having burned. Many bricks and beams were salvaged and used in the present house. It is distinguished by high ceilings, a full English basement, 12" brick walls, and molding copied from the Egyptian building at the Medical College of Virginia. It is surrounded by eight dependencies including two slave houses.

Keep an eye out, legend has it there is a ghost here. Walter Pleasants, a young suitor of Dr. Harris’ niece Charlotte, who lived with her uncle at Brightly, was shot in a duel with an older rival for Charlotte’s attentions. Charlotte was heartbroken. The friendly spirit of Walter is said to continue his faithful search for Charlotte.

In March 1727, the General Assembly of Virginia ordered the division of the Henrico Shire. Sir William Gooch, for whom the county is named, arrived from England shortly thereafter and was named Royal Lt. Governor. Goochland originally covered a vast amount of land on both sides of the James River extending beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains.
At the time of its founding, Goochland was a frontier area and offered a site for large plantations and estates. Tuckahoe Plantation, the boyhood home of Thomas Jefferson, is the oldest recorded river plantation in the county. Coal was mined in the eastern section of the county and gold in the west. Tobacco and wheat were the major crops. By 1840, the Kanawha Canal, an idea conceived by George Washington, paralleled the James River through Goochland and made the James navigable to the ocean. Only relics of the canal exist today, but historic homes of the era, such as Brightly, remain.