On May 24, 1607, Christopher Newport and John Smith, along with the members of their expedition party, reached the fall line of the James River. To claim the territory for King…
Browsing: History
Before the city appropriated funds for the secondary education of African American children, that instruction was given at the Colored Normal School. Historically, “normal schools” trained teachers of all races.…
In 1899, the Independent Order of St. Luke was teetering toward bankruptcy. A benevolent society that provided burial insurance for members of Richmond’s African American community, the organization had just a…
From shipping and hydropower to fishing, boating, and bathing (yes, the traditional kind!), early life in Richmond revolved around the James River. Although the river was the primary reason for…
Enter to win a family field trip to Historic St. John’s church here.The reoccurring thought – Get it right! – floods through actor Charles Wissinger’s mind every time he steps…
In 1865, a Richmond society teenager named Mary Tinsley Greenhow fell off her horse. As a result, she was paralyzed and required constant care. And although her family could afford…
Back in 1931, a Richmond man named Jimmie Scott purchased four forested acres in the quiet Rothesay neighborhood. Just south of Windsor Farms, on a bluff overlooking the James River, those…
When the country’s first bicycling craze swept the South in the 1890s, a Richmond businessman and philanthropist opened a 9-acre cycling club in Henrico County, just outside the city. He died…
Only weeks after its founding in December 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was charged by Congress to establish federal air quality standards. The Clean Air Act passed as a…
In 1913, a theater opened in Jackson Ward that would become the center of African American arts and entertainment in Richmond for the next fifty years. In an officially segregated…
Named after a 21,000-foot inactive volcano in Ecuador, Chimborazo Hill has a dramatic, if not explosive, history of racial conflict that spans more than two centuries. In 1656, it was the…
Our children are bombarded with news of racially motivated crime. White police officers killing innocent black men. Black men killing blameless police officers. How do we begin to explain the…
