A Breakdown of the History of Richmond, VA

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A Breakdown of Richmond's History

The independent city of Richmond was incorporated in 1742 and currently serves as the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The fourth-most populous city in Virginia, it is the center of the Greater Richmond Region and the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located at the fall line of the James River, 66 miles east of Charlottesville, 91 miles east of Lynchburg, 44 miles west of Williamsburg and 92 miles south of Washington, D.C. Major suburban neighborhoods surrounding the area are Midlothian, Chesterfield, Varina, Sandston, Glen Allen, Short Pump and Mechanicsville.

The area in which Richmond was established was once an important village of the Powhatan Confederacy. From 1609 to 1611, it was briefly settled by English colonists from Jamestown. In 1737, the city was officially founded. Several notable events have occurred in Richmond since then. In 1775, Patrick Henry gave his "Give me liberty or give me death" at St. John's Church on East Broad St. in Richmond. Also, during the Revolutionary War period, the Virginia Stature for Religious Freedom written by Thomas Jefferson was introduced into the Virginia General Assembly in 1779. In 1780, the city became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780.

During the turn of the 20th century, Richmond had one of the world's first successful electric streetcar systems. One of its neighborhoods, the Jackson Ward Historic District, is a traditional African American commerce and culture hub. Today, the city is home to many federal, state and local governmental agencies, a U.S. Court of Appeals, a Federal Reserve Bank, Dominion Energy, West Rock, and a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Learn more: A Locals Guide to the History Of Virginia Beach, Virginia

Religion

Richmond is home to many historic churches. The oldest of which is the St. John's Episcopal Church, built in 1741. Other Anglican and Episcopal churches that are reminiscent of the city's English colonial history are Monumental Church and St. Paul's Episcopal Church. In 1780, the First Baptist Church of Richmond was established. Religious communities such as Christians, Jews, Evangelists, Muslims, Hindus and many more have also developed establishments throughout the years to practice their beliefs.

The historic Second Presbyterian Church of Richmond was founded on February 5, 1845. It was the first Gothic building and gas-lit church to be built in the city. A notable figure that has been in attendance at Second Presbyterian Church of Richmond was Stonewall Jackson. On May 25, 1834, the first Catholic church in Richmond, the St. Peter's Church, was dedicated. Also located in the city is the mother church for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond. Located on North Laurel St., the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart was completed in 1905 and consecrated on Thanksgiving Day in 1906. It is a Virginia Historic Landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1982.

Museums and Monuments

Visitors to Richmond should take a few days out of their itinerary to explore the wide variety of museums and monuments in the city. Situated near the Boulevard are the city's large general museums. Typically known as the Museum District, this area consists of:

• Virginia Historical Society
• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
• Virginia Museum of History & Culture
• Memorial to the Women of the Confederacy
• VMFA Pauley Center
• Confederate Memorial Chapel

Other museums throughout the city are:

• Science Museum of Virginia
• Children's Musem of Richmond
• Virginia Center for Architecture
• Library of Virginia
• Valentine Richmond Historic Center
• Virginia Holocaust Museum
• Old Dominion Railway Museum
• Richmond National Battlefield Park
• The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar
• Museum of the Confederacy
• Edgar Allan Poe Museum
• Beth Ahabah Museum and Archives

To view monuments in Richmond, visitors should head to Monument Avenue. Others not located there are the A.P. Hill monument, the "Bojangles" Robinson monument, the World War I Memorial Carillon, and the Virginia War Memorial. Although not a museum or monument, the Agecroft Hall is a historic home once located in Lancashire, England.

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