Category Archives: history

Neighbors Working On Pleasants Park

Posted on by
7

Several neighbors took time yesterday to do some badly needed volunteer yard work on Pleasants Park.

Why is it called Pleasants Park?

From the Richmond Friends website (click here for link):

Robert Pleasants, who was born at Curles in Henrico County, Virginia in 1723 and died in 1801, was one Virginia’s most noted Quaker abolitionists. As one of the founders of the Virginia Abolition Society in 1790, he served as president. In 1782 he successfully lobbied for the Manumission Act, which, within one decade, was responsible for freeing over ten thousand slaves in Virginia. In 1792 Mr. Pleasants submitted a petition to the U.S. Congress from the Virginia Abolition Society calling for the end of the slave trade. Mr. Pleasants went to court repeatedly to free hundreds of slaves. He wrote to Virginia leaders such as George Washington and Patrick Henry, asking that slavery be abolished.
Several of these documents are contained on this website.

In 1784, two years after manumitting his slaves, Mr. Pleasants founded the Gravelly Hill School, the first school for free blacks in Virginia, and set aside 350 acres of land to maintain the schools. Henrico Parks and Recreation will dedicate a historic maker on the Gravelly Hill Site in 2003.

The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association successfully petitioned the Richmond City Council in 2003 to name Pleasants Park at 401 South Laurel Street for Robert Pleasants.

This is history that is not part of the new Liberty Trail.

Letter to City Council On Historic Canal

Posted on by
1

Neighbor Charles Pool sent this email to members of City Council yesterday.

(Ed. note: He received permission to send them an attachment of the “Tiller” magazine article, but I have not received permission to post that here. If I do receive it or a public website link to it, I will be sure to post it here.)

Dear Richmond City Council members,

Please take time to read the article entitled, “New Richmond Amphitheater Endangers Canal Plans” by Elizabeth Davis in the attached Winter/Spring 2013 edition of the “Tiller,” the wonderful publication of the Virginia Canals and Navigations Society (VCNS).

This article highlights the threat to the historic canal by Venture Richmond’s proposed amphitheater. If the canal bank is lowered as proposed, it would destroy the long-range plan of a canal boat trip to Maymont. Concern for our canal has arrived from as far away as Yangzhou, China, where the World Canal Conference “urged the people of Richmond, Virginia to prevent further destruction to the canal and to preserve, restore, interpret and wisely use this irreplaceable amenity for Virginia and her visitors.”

Other cities would be envious of our canal, running through the heart of downtown Richmond, that was promoted by George Washington at Mount Vernon, the canal company’s honorary President!

As noted in the “Tiller” editorial by Holt Messerly, “I want all people to enjoy this precious national resource for the betterment of Richmond, and for the preservation of our history and for the enjoyment of all — not just for someone to be able to cut the grass easier and see a straighter line to an amphitheater. We must look at the big picture and consider all of the areas as one big entity; a green way with a blue way …”

Continue reading →

Williams Profiles WBCH

Posted on by
Reply

Richmond Times Dispatch columnist Michael Paul Williams has a profile of the William Byrd Community House in advance of its Byrd House Bash fundraiser on Saturday.

More than a century after nurses and social workers introduced the resettlement concept to Richmond, William Byrd provides essential resources to Richmond’s most vulnerable families. That’s an achievement worth celebrating and perpetuating.

Local History Includes Streetcar Bombing

Posted on by
Reply

This past week has seen a lot of local anxiety due to the bombing of the Boston Marathon on Monday, especially since the Monument 10K in Richmond was held just before it.

WTVR’s reporter Mark Holmberg recently did a piece on the history of local bombings.

One that he did not include was the 1903 bombing of a Laurel Street streetcar. Click here for the old Times Dispatch newspaper story about that. In that case, the incident was suspected to be related to the labor strife of competing trolley lines.

It’s not always easy to sort out the motivations for such acts. As we wait to learn more about the Boston Marathon suspects, its hard not to wonder what would drive people to do such things.

“The last public bath in the city”

Posted on by
3

From a neighbor:

There is an interesting photo in the Times Dispatch today of the Grace Arents public baths on the 500 block of Belvidere.

Click here for photo.

Caption: In May 1952, the Richmond City Council ended a longtime city service: the Grace Arents public baths, in the 500 block of South Belvidere Street. As a Times-Dispatch story noted: “The last public bath in the city … finally bowed to old age and the home bathtub and shower.” Arents, who lived from 1848 to 1926, was a local philanthropist and niece of Lewis Ginter.

“Recalling the Belle Isle Neon Landmark”

Posted on by
1

Richmond Magazine writer extraordinaire Harry Kollatz supplies a column on the Climax Beverages sign that used to be on Belle Island.

Photo courtesy of Library of Virginia

Beginning in the early 1930s, drivers on the Lee Bridge spied the sign — not so different from the Sauer’s sign on Broad Street — that read “Richmond Va. Home of Climax Beverages.” It faced the bridge and backed up against Hollywood Cemetery.

The story of how Climax came to be in the middle of the James River begins with beer and natural springs.

For more, please click here.

Oregon Hill Featured In ‘Deleted Scenes’ On ‘Lincoln’ DVD

Posted on by
3

The movie ‘Lincoln’ continues to spark conversation. While many Oregon Hill residents were delighted to see their neighbor Silver Persinger portray a statesman in the Congressional scenes of the movie ‘Lincoln’ (including clips seen during the televised Academy Awards), some were were surprised to see the neighborhood itself featured in the ‘Deleted Scenes’ portion of the recently-released, best-selling ‘Lincoln’ DVD.

Oregon Hill resident Silver Persinger as Congressman listening to Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens

The 2 1/2 minute scene happens outside of 324 S. Pine Street (where Vinyl Conflict record store is today). In it, Union spies are briefly exchanging information on the sidewalk before entering the storefront/house structure, which in the movie represents a bordello. Of course, in real life, 324 S. Pine Street has had an interesting history as a dry-goods store.

In the ‘Director’s Commentary’, Spielberg does not say too much about the scene, other than it was a relatively quick shot at night. Along with the Bread Riot scene, and Lincoln looking over the captured Tredeger Iron Works, the Pine Street scene was not considered vital to the plot and cut. In the DVD liner notes, there is mention that these cut scenes might be recycled for the upcoming bio-pic “Jeff Davis”.

History Tourism

Posted on by
Reply

While the City is supposedly working on its tourism plan, the Valentine Richmond History Center is refining and announcing theirs. Here are a few of the Oregon Hill/Hollywood Cemetery ones:

April 1
Highlights of Hollywood Cemetery Walking Tour (10-11:30am)
Monday – Saturday, April 1-October 31
Learn about the cemetery’s history, artwork, symbolism and famous residents, including two U.S. Presidents, writer Ellen Glasgow, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Generals George Pickett and J.E.B. Stuart. Meet at the rear of the stone structure on the left at the cemetery entrance, Cherry and Albemarle streets.

April 6
Civil War Sampler Bus Tour (1-5pm)
A comprehensive look at the unique role Richmond played as the Capital of the Confederacy. Includes Church Hill, Shockoe Bottom, Court End, the canal area, Hollywood Cemetery, Monument Avenue and the battlefields at Gaines’ Mill and Cold Harbor. Reservations: (804) 649-0711 x301. Meet at the History Center.

April 14
Hollywood Cemetery Specialty Walking Tour* (2-4pm)
An extension of the daily “Highlights” tour, this version covers in more detail the cemetery’s unique history, landscape design, architecture, symbols and residents. Meet at the cemetery entrance at Cherry and Albemarle streets.

April 27
History Hounds Explore Hollywood Cemetery Walking Tour (10am-12pm)
Dogs are invited to join their owners for this walking tour of Hollywood Cemetery, in partnership with the Richmond SPCA. Dogs must have current shots, mix well with others and remain on a leash. Owners are responsible for water and cleaning up after their dogs. Space is limited. Reservations: (804) 649-0711 x301. Meet outside the cemetery gates at Cherry and Albemarle streets.

There are even more in May. Check out the schedule by clicking here.

VCUramnation Forum Reveals Continued Falsehoods and Arrogance

Posted on by
7

Fighting them off forever, and believe me, I have no desire to keep rehashing this controversy. It’s unfortunate that a few VCU boosters and sports fans continue to put their school in such a bad light.

From VCUramnation.com :

VRam said: ↑
Whatever happened to those abandoned barns that were falling down? Did they relocate them?

(vcu2008hsep replied:)

If I remember correctly, the stables were dated back to the late 1800s. There was no historical significance to them and were essentially derelict and used for storage. When the Cary St was expanded, those old buildings were torn down….

vcu2008hsep, Feb 26, 2013

All I can do to counter the lies and misinformation is keep posting the truth:

https://www.oregonhill.net/2007/09/03/antrim-photo/

https://www.oregonhill.net/2007/09/04/more-stable-history/

https://www.oregonhill.net/2007/09/12/1994-dhr-letter/

https://www.oregonhill.net/2007/09/23/vcus-parking-lots-alternative-sites/

https://www.oregonhill.net/2009/01/13/no-alternatives/

There were other posts too, but not all of them have survived over time. Thanks to misconceptions spread in the local media, many people have no idea that one of the livery stables, before it was taken by VCU, was completely renovated and occupied as a living space. It was even admired in an article that appeared on the front page of the Times Dispatch’s real estate section (of course the link to that story is long gone).

I would not care so much about responding to this VCUramnation drivel, but in addition to the revisionist history-making, there seems to be constant scheming about how to destroy more of our historic neighborhood. Again from VCUramnation:

“And, this is a contemporary thought – since Williams Mullen built thir skraper on top of the RMA parking deck that was built over the Expressway. Not sure why in our latest athletics complex plan (which seemingly mapped out all of the possibilities in the world) did not include one like this. Parkwood is already pretty much a dead street pass Harrison. Cumberland can be re-routed as a tunnel underneath the new athletics complex. Do the same for Grayland, with impressive entrance/exits to the Expressway.

The new complex, Ram Village, would be bordered by Cary to the north, Harrison to the west, Linden to the east, and Idlewood to the south.”

I am perfectly happy to allow VCU to bask in its continued success and improvement, and I have nothing against good-natured school spirit, but the intellectual dishonesty and continued threats of encroachment are dishonorable and unfitting for an institution of higher learning.

In the end, its up to the VCU administration to set the tone for their community relations, and yet they refuse to recognize it, again and again.

Brown’s Island Explosion Anniversary

Posted on by
2

It was mentioned here 2 years ago, but this Saturday is the 150th anniversary of the worst wartime disaster in Richmond. The Times Dispatch has a nice article on this as the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar prepares for it. You can learn more Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Center, by taking a tour or trying one of the jobs related to making the material of war.