Rural Plains is the site of the Shelton family home, of the same name. Sarah Shelton, the first wife of the great orator Patrick Henry, lived here with her parents and she and Patrick were married in the parlor of this home in 1754. The home stayed in the Shelton family until 2006. The site is also the location of the Battle of Totopotomoy Creek, May 28-30, 1864, part of Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign. The site is owned and operated by the National Park Service, Totopotomoy Creek Battlefield at Rural Plains – Richmond National Battlefield Park (U.S. National Park Service)
