The listing price is $44,000 by private seller Quincy S. Sherry. Thompson and his buying partners expect to close on Sept. 24.

Thompson lives in Westover Hills with his wife and two children, ages 8 and 5. He has lived in Richmond for nearly 20 years and made his living with the outdoors. He’s also a former Outdoors columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

“I can’t wait to go out there and go fishing with my son,” he said. “I can paddle around with my daughter. We’ll go camping and invite friends.”

The island has an interesting history. It is located in the middle of the James River in downtown Richmond, near Mayo and Vauxhall islands and the 14th Street Bridge.

The island was said to have been in the Sharp family since the late 1850s, hence the name: Sharp’s Island.

For 75 years, a house stood on it.

According to the RTD archives, in the late 1960s, Richmond architect Henry Tenser Jr. bought the island and house for $2,000. The house was damaged and decaying, and Tenser, with a permit from the city, burned it down in 1970.