A History of Lynchburg, Virginia

This article is presented by the abuse lawyers of Lynchburg. Get to know the city of Lynchburg and its interesting history.

A Detailed Timeline of Lynchburg

Known as the "Hill City" or the "City of Seven Hills," Lynchburg can be found in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. An independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, it lies close to the geographic center of the state. The timeline of the city consists of the following:

• 1786 - Lynchburg was founded
• 1791 - The tobacco warehouse was built
• 1798 - South River Friends Meetinghouse was built
• 1805 - The Town of Lynchburg was incorporated
• 1806 - The City Cemetery was established, and the construction of Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest began near Lynchburg
• 1840 -  The James River and Kanawha Canal was opened
• 1852 - Operation of the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad began. The City of Lynchburg was also incorporated
• 1855 - The Lynchburg Courthouse was built
• 1856 - The Methodist Protestant Lynchburg College was established
• 1864 - The battle of Lynchburg was fought close to the city during the American Civil War.
• 1866 - The Southern Memorial Association was founded
• 1880 - James Albert Bonsack invented a cigarette rolling machine
• 1886 - The First Baptist Church was built
• 1888 - Virginia Theological Seminary was founded
• 1893 - The Randolph-Macon Woman's College was opened
• 1895 - St. Paul's Church was built
• 1898 - The "Confederate Infantryman" monument was erected
• 1903 - Virginia Christian College was founded
• 1908 - The Jones Memorial Library was opened
• 1912 - The Equal Suffrage League was formed
• 1913 - The Statue of John Warwick Daniel was erected
• 1920 - Little Theater was established
• 1932 - The Civic Art League was founded
• 1940 - The City Stadium opened up
• 1954 - The Carter Glass Memorial Bridge was opened
• 1959 - The Pittman Plaza shopping centre was opened
• 1966 - The Lynchburg Public Library opens, and the Central Virginia Community College and Lynchburg Baseball
• Corporation were established
• 1971 - Lynchburg Baptist College was founded
• 1978 - The Point of Honor house museum opened
• 1990 - President George H. W. Bush gave a commencement speech at Liberty University
• 2010 - The population of the city was 75,568
• 2017 - President Donald Trump gave a commencement speech at Liberty University

The city of Lynchburg has 10 districts that are recognized as historic districts. Four of which are located in the downtown residential area. Since the 1970s, 40 buildings in the city have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2000, the downtown area attracted a number of private investments. In 2002, it underwent a significant revitalization. Hundreds of loft apartments were developed using the historic warehouses and mills in the area. From 2010 to 2014, the number of housing units downtown increased by 48%. Business activity also increased by 205% from 2004 to 2014. Notable projects of the city are the $25 million Virginian Hotel restoration project, the $16.6 million Academy Center of the Arts restoration project, and the $4.6 million Amazement Square Children's Museum expansion. In 2015, the $5.8 million Lower Bluffwalk pedestrian street zone was also opened.

Continue exploring: Harrisonburg, VA: An Overview of the City

Liberty University

Situated on Unversity Blvd., Liberty University was established in 1971 by Herry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns. Founded as Lynchburg Baptist College, the private evangelical Christian university is one of the state's largest institutions of higher education, now of the largest private nonprofit universities in the U.S., and one of the largest evangelical Christian colleges in the world. It is also the largest employer for the Lynchburg region. The school is home to 17 colleges and has an enrollment of 85,586 students as of 2019. Because the school has a conservative Christian orientation, three Bible studies courses are required for undergraduate students. The university's honor code also prohibits cohabitation and premarital sex. Playing a prominent role in Republic politics, the school is described as a "bastion of the Christian right."

Arts and Culture

Out of the 200 cities that were surveyed in a Forbes magazine survey, Lynchburg was ranked 189 for cultural and leisure. Art venues, performance halls and museums providing a cultural essence to the residents and visitors of Lynchburg are the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra, Academy of Fine Arts, Renaissance Theatre, Lynchburg Art Club, Opera on the James, and The Maier Museum of the Art.

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