Hyde Park

John Fowlkes constructed Hyde Park in the late 18th century; it was expanded in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Richmond department store-owner William B. Thalhimer Sr. purchased the property in 1938 and created a haven, training program, and model agricultural community for Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. He rescued several dozen young students of Gross Breesen Agricultural Institute in modern-day Poland. They established dairy and truck farms, created a modern chicken farm, and cultivated tobacco. With immigration halted, the farm did not become economically viable and it closed in the spring of 1941. Later, many of the students fought against Germany in World War II.