The Oaks, the seat of the Richardson/Bowles family for nearly 200 years, features a substantial brick house begun about 1800 and finished in 1830. It has fine vernacular woodwork that is carved, incised, grained, and painted. It appears to incorporate every skill practiced by rural craftsmen. Also situated in the shade of the large oaks that give the place its name are an outdoor kitchen (later used as a schoolroom), a smokehouse, an icehouse, a lattice-covered well, and a barn. The house is surrounded by fields under cultivation. Across the road is the large Richardson/Bowles cemetery. The property straddles the Fluvanna-Goochland County line, which, according to local tradition, runs right through the center hall.