Randolph III and Anne Randolph between circa 1753; their son Peyton Randolph (d. 1784) was the second owner, and after Peyton the house descended through several generations of Randolphs until 1859. Wilton survived the Civil War and changed owners another four times before going into foreclosure by The Bank of Commerce and Trust during the depth of the Great Depression. When the house was in danger of demolition The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia intervened and became the last owners of the house. At Wilton, the Randolphs enslaved over 100 African American men, women, and children and utilized slave labor to build both the house and produce their ongoing income in the form of wheat and tobacco. By the early 19th century, Wilton was home to the largest enslaved community in Henrico County. William Randolph III died in the year of 1762, aged 52, and left Wilton to his twenty-three-year-old son, Peyton Randolph. Peyton Randolph died in the year of 1784 at age 46 and left Wilton to his five-year-old son, William Randolph IV. William Randolph died in the year of 1815 at age 26 and left Wilton to his five-year-old son, Robert Randolph. His widow, Anne Andrews Randolph, managed the plantation while raising the next heir. Robert Randolph died in 1839 at age 29 and left a heavily indebted Wilton to his four-year-old daughter, Catherine (Kate). Catherine was the last owner in the Randolph family; she filed a suit to sell Wilton in 1859. 18th century Wilton was originally located on a 2,000-acre tobacco plantation approximately 9 miles downriver from Richmond, the large two-story brick house is one of the most significant of the James River plantation mansions. In 1742 William III inherited his father's Fighting Creek land. 1747-William III purchased tracts of land which was over 1000 acres from William Finney Jr. 1747-350 acres from Richard Randolph (Thomas Bayley, William Harding) 1747-150 acres from William Bayley 1749-136 acres from Arthur Giles 1752- 25 acres was "adjacent to the land of Randolph whereon he now lives called Wilton" 19th century In his will, William Randolph IV had given his wife "compleat power at any time to dispose of any part of my property that she may think proper for the payment of my debts". In 1833, the writer Catharine Sedgwick visited Wilton and described "Broken down fences, a falling piazza, defaced