Yesterday, Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association president released a letter that she had sent to City officials-

At its September meeting, the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) adopted a resolution to support the City of Richmond’s effort to protect and preserve the historic James River and Kanawha Canal, Penitentiary basin, and green space in any development, including the proposed road connecting Second Street with Tredegar Street and the proposed amphitheater.

The canal, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is of great historical significance to the City of Richmond. It was first chartered in 1785 as the James River Navigation Company with George Washington serving as its first President. Reorganized in 1831 as the James River and Kanawha Canal Company, the canal played an integral role in the industrial and mercantile development of the city.

There are important historical connections between the canal and the Oregon Hill neighborhood. Samuel Pleasants Parsons, whose home (built in 1819) survives at 601 Spring Street, was the Superintendent of the Canal in 1840 when the Canal was expanded westward to Lynchburg.

From about 1850 to 1875, Oregon Hill resident John Messler ran a canal boat building enterprise in the Penitentiary Basin. Messler had a short walk from his home the Jacob House (which survives at 619 W. Cary Street) to the canal basin below Oregon Hill.

The two attachments to this e-mail show the Canal and Penitentiary Basin below Oregon Hill in both the 1876 Beers Atlas and in a panoramic photograph assembled from three 1865 photographs. John Messler’s canal boat building business in the Penitentiary Basin can be seen in the middle of the panoramic view.

Because the James River and Kanawha Canal is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, OHNA strongly recommends that the City consult closely with the Va. Department of Historic Resources early in the process of designing the proposed bridge over the canal.

Please forward this resolution to all members of the Richmond Planning Commission.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Hancock
President, OHNA