1. Suffolk Seaboard Stationrailroad Museum
City: Suffolk, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (757) 923-4750
Address: 326 North Main St.
Description: This tiny gem is located in the restored 1885 Suffolk Seaboard AirLine Railroad Station. It documents the city’s relationship with the iron horse through an elaborate model of Suffolk that features an operating HO scale version of the Suffolk and Carolina branch of the Norfolk Southern Railroad running through a recreation of the 1907 “Birdseye View Map” of Suffolk that wanders through two rooms. The museum, owned and operated by the Suffolk Nansemond Historical Society, also has children’s story times and a gift shop with railroad related items. Be sure to look at the red caboose parked next door. Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thurs through Sat and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sun.
2. Riddick’S Folly
City: Suffolk, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (757) 934-0822
Address: 510 North Main St.
Description: How can’t you love a home that brought its original owner, Mills Riddick, nothing but ridicule? He’s got the last laugh now because his Greek Revival home keeps his name alive long after his detractors have faded away. The four-story home was built in 1837 and has 21 rooms and 16 fireplaces. It is a true mansion, with elegantly furnished double parlors and a library. Head upstairs and you can see how adults and children slept. Or you can wander the laundry, kitchen, and dining rooms and marvel at the needlepoint done by one of the young women in the family. There’s a peanut museum in the basement full of information on the crop that put Suffolk on the map. Open Thurs through Sun. Admission is $4, $3 for seniors and military, and $2 for children.
3. Suffolk Center For Cultural Arts
City: Suffolk, VA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (757) 923-0003
Address: 110 West Finney Ave.
Description: The Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts offers a variety of classes for children and adults, changing exhibits, and educational activities for visitors of all ages. There are a number of summer camps, from All The World’s a Stage to Krendl’s Circus Camp. Teens with a funny bone can learn improv and sketch comedy here, older children can learn to weave, and parents and kids can play with clay together, making traditional pottery. The lineup is always changing, so check it out.