How to buy an island in the James River – Axios

Five years ago, Andy Thompson never thought he'd own an island. Now he owns two and is one of more than a dozen locals who own their own piece of land in the James River.

State of play: Thompson owns Sharp's Island, which he and nine other families pooled together to buy in 2018 for $35,000 cash. A year later, Thompson and business partners bought Goat Island in Henrico, and he's in the market and eager to buy more.

Why it matters: The James River is Richmond's beloved recreation destination, and while many locals might think it belongs to everyone, whole parts of the land within it have been bought, sold and transferred going back to British rule in the colonies.

Who owns what: The state owns the water, including all of the James River, Ben Stagg, a 30-year-plus veteran with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, tells Axios.

The land is a little murkier, but clearest in the city of Richmond, which recently mapped its portion of the river islands, something Parrish Simmons, GIS project manager with the city's Assessor's Office, tells Axios is uncommon.

Zoom in: Based on data from Simmons, there are 72 parcel IDs for islands in the Richmond part of the James River (though some islands, like Belle and Mayo, are listed with multiple parcel IDs, and in some cases, there are multiple owners of different portions of a single island).

What they're saying: "We believe that many, if not all, the unknown owner parcels are towhead islands ... islands formed by the natural flow and ebb of the river," Simmons says.

How it works: "We know that the king of England would grant land ... the water and the ground below the water. If you can trace that deed, you can stake a claim," he says.

Plus: Stagg said Virginia governors would often grant land the same way in the 19th and part of the 20th centuries. But if you don't have your great-grandparents' deed from a king or former governor lying around, Stagg said there are two other common ways:

Flashback: In the 1990s, a Richmond businessman figured out this tax loophole and ended up paying taxes on 38 local James River islands. He sold them all individually at auction in 2005 for an undisclosed sum.

Why buy an island?: For Thompson, he says something just hit him when his real estate agent sent him the listing for Sharp's Island four years ago. As an avid outdoorsman, he loved the idea of having a private camping spot and convinced nine of his friends to split the cost with him.

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How to buy an island in the James River - Axios