Tilman’s Auctions

Tilman’s is exactly what you would imagine a country auction to look like. First you drive out into Powhatan, off the main road and out among the farms… and you come up to a driveway next to a closed down general store, and you follow the driveway and eventually you come up to a cluster of wooden buildings that look an awful lot like the set for a spaghetti western… And there on the grass between the buildings, is an auction.
This place has no buyers premium and no reserves– it’s pretty intense. It’s also got some dealers that attend regularly, so don’t expect to pay pennies for something worth a small fortune. However, there are some cool things to be found. My friend got an old cooler from the original Henrico fire house, and when I was there I saw a ton of National Geographics from the 1930s. Very cool.
I also saw an old library card drawer get sold for over $ 100… I’m assuming there was something about that drawer that I didn’t know…
Tilman’s posts notices of their auctions online at
so you can see what they’ll be selling next. Personally this isn’t my favorite auction house, but if you are looking for an interesting day trip, this might be the place to go.