Category Archives: history

Belle Isle POW Graves

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With the Artifacts Roadshow this weekend, perhaps this is a good time to share this fascinating blog post about using a high resolution Gardner image to find the actual names on a few of the tombstones of prisoners buried on Belle Isle during the Civil War.

From John Banks’ Civil War Blog:
Exploring photo of soldiers’ graves at Rebel prison in Richmond

On April 8, 1865, days after the fall of Richmond, Alexander Gardner captured scenes on Belle Isle, a 54-acre island in the James River opposite the former Confederate capital, where thousands of Union soldiers were imprisoned from 1862-65. Among the images Gardner shot was the poignant photograph at the top of this post of a graveyard for Union soldiers, many of whom died of disease, starvation or other inhumane treatment on the island that was home to nearly 10,000 prisoners of war at its maximum capacity. In the image, heaps of earth and crude, wooden headboards mark the final resting places of dozens of soldiers.

(Alexander Gardner/Library of Congress collection)

Holly Street Playground and Ravine

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In response to recent concerns, it look like Holly Street Playground area will be receiving more attention. Incoming Oregon Hill Neigborhood Association (OHNA) President Todd Woodson has requested a structural assessment from the City on the embankment that supports the playground. He is interested in the possibility of making this area, which is sort of an extension of S. Cherry St, more of a public walking trail than just a utility alley. Other neighbors have suggestions that include repaving the basketball court and establishing a tool lending program. These ideas will probably be discussed at the upcoming OHNA meeting next Tuesday.

This is the 1867 Michie Map showing the ravine that was filled in to make Holly Street playground. Thanks to neighbor Charles Pool for this…

How to Research Your House’s History

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The National Trust for Historic Preservation previously posted some tips to tackle your historic house’s history. This was a great introduction into what kind of things you should look for to get started—tax records, Sanborn maps, deeds, and titles. Now they have followed that up with a Part 2, that has some more details and thoughts on research.

And one additional thought- please share with OregonHill.net what you have learned. I am happy to post it on here.

Neighborhoods In Bloom Retrospective

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From the Federal Reserve’s Community Development website:

The City of Richmond, Virginia’s Neighborhoods in Bloom (NiB) initiative invested federal grant funding in seven target neighborhoods from 1999 to 2004. The majority of the city’s federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funding, as well as, significant amounts of capital improvement funds and other resources were spent in the strategically selected target neighborhoods. Through NiB, the city planned to concentrate public resources in these neighborhoods until they achieved the critical mass of public investment needed to stimulate self-sustaining, private-market activity.

Oregon Hill was one of the seven target neighborhoods. Click here for the part particular to Oregon Hill.

‘The Promised Land’ at Main Street RPL Tomorrow Night

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Tomorrow night, downtown will be abuzz with First Friday/holiday celebrations. One event that might be of interest is a documentary screening at the Main Richmond Public Library at 6:30 pm, The Promise Land: The Story of Pocahontas Island. It tells the true story of one of if not the oldest free African American communities in the United States, as well as the life of the Island’s caretaker, Mr. Richard Stewart.

Pocahontas Island is down in Petersburg. It’s an interesting, historic enclave, something that Oregon Hill knows about. And some people may not know that Oregon Hill has a bit of ‘free African American’ history as well.

BBC Article On Tredegar Filmmaker

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A BBC News article tells of a new film about the Welsh town of Tredegar, the American iron works named after it, and the filmmaker’s last legacy.

Excerpt:

Six months after his death, a filmmaker’s final work has been completed and it is hoped it will put his hometown, Tredegar, on the map.
Peter Morgan Jones scripted and voiced hundreds of documentaries as well as writing many books about south Wales.
When he died, he was making a film about Tredegar’s namesake in Richmond, Virginia, and south Wales’ little-known influence in the American civil war.
It has been completed and is attracting interest from US television networks.
While the Blaenau Gwent town is famous for links to Aneurin Bevan and the NHS, Mr Jones spent a decade uncovering its role in supplying arms to the Confederate South and rebuilding the USA after the war.

The Foundry Series- Civil War, Indian Wars, & Tribal Sovereignty – Thursday

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From Facebook event:

Throughout the country’s history, the United States government has had a complicated (and often violent) relationship with tribal nations.

Featuring:

Ari Kelman, Ph.D., University of California, Davis
Ari Kelman will explore connections between the United States Civil War and military campaign against Native American peoples, focusing on the case of the Dakota War. That conflict culminated in the hanging of 38 Dakota warriors on December 26, 1862, the largest public execution in the nation’s history, as President Lincoln prepared for the Emancipation Proclamation to go into effect.

Keith Richotte, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
This talk will describe tribal sovereignty and the relationship between the federal government and tribal nations before, during, and after the Civil War.

Cost: $10 Adults, Members: $8
Get tickets by clicking here.

Thursday, November 16 at 6 PM
The American Civil War Museum, 500 Tredegar Street