Category Archives: Tredegar

The Foundry Series- Combat, Racial Violence & Resilience

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Quite a title, right? The American Civil War Museum at Tredegar is hosting this event Thursday evening:

Following the Civil War and Emancipation, Union veterans and African American civilians faced physical and mental challenges that put their resilience to the test in new post-War environments.

Gather for snacks, drinks, and socializing at 6pm, talks begin around 6:30pm.

Featuring:

Never Get Over It: What Night Riding Meant to African American Families
Kidada E. Williams, Ph.D., Wayne State University
From 1868-1871, armed southern white men raided African American communities, holding families hostage and subjecting them to torture, rape, and assassination. Using victims’ testimonies before Congress, Kidada E. Williams presents the story of how survivors understood the consequences of this violence, specifically how it unmade their families and compromised their ability to fulfill their visions of freedom.

Sublimity,Terror and Love: Veterans and the Psychological Impact of War
Stephen A. Goldman, M.D., FAPM, DFAPA, Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, American Psychiatric Association, and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Tools of war have undergone significant technological advances since the American Civil War, but the experience of battle and its effects on the combatant remain strikingly similar and profound in our time. The multifaceted psychological impact of war includes not only combat stress reactions, but also emotional resilience and successful societal reintegration. Explore the great influences, positive and negative, of combat and military service on veterans’ lives, and what has been learned throughout history about treating those who’ve been under fire. Following a remarkable group of severely wounded Union soldiers and sailors, discover how their powerful warrior identity spurred commitment to Reconstruction and racial equality, and sustained their collective belief in the causes for which they had fought.

Program Partners
Black Minds Matter Project
YWCA Richmond
Virginia War Memorial
Virginia Veteran and Family Support

Cost: $10.00, $8.00 members

Civil War and Emancipation Day at Tredegar Tomorrow

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From the webpage:

This year’s Civil War and Emancipation Day highlights two significant themes in post-War Richmond that have evolved into fundamental components of our modern democracy: voting and education.

Join cultural, historical, and community organizations from Greater Richmond for a day of hands-on activities, performances, historical talks, and a mid-day keynote program.

Admission is free. For more information and a schedule of activities, visit https://acwm.org/richmonds-journey/civil-war-and-emancipation-day.

Participating Organizations:

American Civil War Museum
Black History Museum & Cultural Center
City Dance Theatre, Richmond, VA
East End Cemetery Cleanup & Restoration Project
Groundwork RVA
League of Women Voters Metro Richmond, VA
Library of Virginia
The Mariners’ Museum and Park
Richmond Ballet
Richmond National Battlefield Park
Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site
Richmond Public Library
Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project
Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church (The Mount – Richmond)
Urban Archeology Corps RVA
The Valentine
VCU Department of History
Virtual Curation Laboratory
The Virginia Defender
Virginia Historical Society
VMFA Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Virginia State Capitol
Virginia Union University
Venture Richmond

Richmond In Civil War’s End Photos Tour On Saturday

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From National Park Service press release:

RICHMOND, Va. – This fall, park rangers from Richmond National Battlefield Park invite the public to enjoy a heaping helping of history while being active outdoors. Through the park’s Half-Day Hikes series, visitors can explore a variety of historical topics at the dates and locations listed below – all while enjoying the great outdoors! All programs are free and do not require registration.

September 17 – Richmond in Photographs (3-4 hours). Over 300 photographs were taken in Richmond in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. This walking tour will focus exclusively on these images of a vanished landscape, providing participants a unique “then and now” opportunity to view the city. Ranger Mike Gorman is an expert in Richmond’s Civil War photographs and will lead the tour. Expect extensive uphill and downhill walking; visitors are advised to wear comfortable footwear, wear sunscreen, and bring water. Tour begins at Tredegar Visitor Center (470 Tredegar Street, Richmond) at 12:30 p.m.

placesfront

Afrikana Film Festival Presents “Coming To America” at Tredegar On Friday

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From FaceBook Event page:
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It’s that time again!!! Grab your blankets and lawn chairs and join Afrikana Film Festival for Starry Night Cinema, on the lawn at Historic Tredegar! We are pumped to partner with Ms. #dopeanddifferent herself, Kelli S. Lemon for this, our first interactive screening!

We are excited to present the classic, “Coming to America” and make it live so that you can enjoy all of favorite parts,
OUT LOUD! That’s right, this is the one time you get let your soul glo and sing about your queen to be DURING the movie! Be inspired to dress as your favorite character and feel free to act out ALL the classic scenes! So grab your lion stole and start practicing those unforgettable lines NOW!

Thanks to our community partner, Tredegar Iron Works for their continued support of Afrikana Film Festival!!

Gates open at 8p
Screening starts at dusk (around 8:45p)
Concessions and adult beverages will be available
Open to the Public
Suggested donation $10
*no outside food/beverage allowed

*In the case of inclement weather, meet us under the big tent in the Tredegar Courtyard

6th Annual James River Splash & Dash Coming Up This Weekend

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From the press release:

On Saturday, July 16, Richmonders will once again take to the James River for the 6th Annual James River Splash & Dash, presented by Swedish Match and sponsored by Riverside Outfitters. The event, a fundraiser for the James River Association, features a one-of-a-kind 6k trail run or 1 mile walk on Belle Isle followed by an inner tube race across the James ending at Historic Tredegar.

This year a new 1 mile walk option has been added for participants not up to completing a 6k, but still want to participate in the event.

Participants should be ready to have fun, get wet, and navigate an uneven trail with obstacles of all kinds, including rocks, roots, and mud. An after party at the finish line includes live music from Downriver, BackTrack and Sturgeon City, beverages from Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, and food from RVA Street Foodies featuring Richmond’s best food trucks.

Racers age 10 and up are encouraged to participate. Registration is $50 per person, which includes an event t-shirt and beverage ticket.

To register for the event or to learn more about the James River Splash & Dash, presented by Swedish Match and sponsored by Riverside Outfitters, visit www.jrsplashanddash.org by Wednesday, July 13th.

“Forgotten History Lecture Series” Continues At Tredegar On Tuesday

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From FaceBook event page:

Did u know “Henry ‘Box’ Brown” shipped himself to Freedom in a wooden box from the docks of the James River in Richmond to gain independence in Philadelphia, PA?

Join us Tuesday, July 12th at 6 pm for the “Forgotten History Lecture Series” as Alex Lawrence (www.boxbrownimports.com) presents the fascinating story of Henry Brown.

Light refreshments will be available.

Cost: Free. Limited seating.

WHERE: National Park Service Civil War Visitor Center— at Historic Tredegar, 490 Tredegar Street, Richmond, VA 23219.

Presented by the James River Advisory Council (https://jrac-va.org/). For more information, contact LaTika Lee, Diversity Committee Chair at 804-873-7363, by email: latika_lee@yahoo.com or Kimberly Conley, JRAC Executive Director at 804-748-1567.

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Times Dispatch Reports Folk Festival Line Up

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From Times Dispatch article:

“Our local programming committee has outdone themselves, once again,” said festival director Lisa Sims in a statement. “Dancers from Sri Lanka, zydeco players from Louisiana, virtuosic musicians from Afghanistan, gospel singers from Tennessee and dozens of others will all offer free performances within a half-mile of each other. There’s really nothing else like it in the Virginia.”

Last year, a record-breaking 200,000-plus people attended the festival, up 50,000 from a rainy 2014.

Quick editorial: Hopefully Venture Richmond can become a better neighbor and we can all enjoy it this year as in years past. Still waiting for more agreement to neighborhood’s reasonable requests.

https://www.oregonhill.net/2015/06/24/oregon-hill-proposed-conditions-for-tredegar-green-amphitheater/

There are also still outstanding questions about how this important, historic area of the riverfront will be recognized and preserved in the future.

https://www.oregonhill.net/2015/10/12/folk-festival-and-a-deliberately-missed-opportunity/

Museum Expansion At Tredegar

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The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports planned construction of a $37 million, 28,500-square-foot building that is expected to begin early next year. American Civil War Museum Foundation president Waite Rawls says the new building will offer expanded gallery spaces, an experience theater and improved storage and preservation areas for the museum’s collections of Civil War artifacts. It should open around summer 2018.

Click here for full article.

Hydro-Electric Proposal and Future Of James River

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This morning some people were surprised by this headline in the Times Dispatch: “Application filed for hydroelectric project at Bosher’s Dam”.
If they had attended the author’s talk earlier this week, they might not have been. Tredegar Iron Works and other Richmond industry relied and used hydroelectric power well into the last century.
For myself and perhaps other Oregon Hill residents, this recalls earlier conversations and speculation about riverfront development and ambitions.

Hopefully, regardless of whether the hydroelectric proposal happens or not, it adds on pressure to do something to improve the river’s health and accessibility AS WELL AS forcing Dominion Power to do more with distributed, renewable energy.

Was the City’s utility department authorized to oppose this proposal, submitted in February? And if so, by who?

This also figures into a Kanawha Canal restoration goal that ‘public private partnership’ Venture Richmond unofficially announced earlier this month. I guess the local media is still not ready to report or discuss this yet, but the devil will be in the details- including water levels and water use, recreational opportunities, whether Venture Richmond will respect neighbors’ very reasonable concerns going forward, and costs in relation to other priorities. The City’s Department of Public Utilities manages the Kanawha Canal level as well as the City’s river level. Yes, there’s a Richmond Riverfront Plan, but we all know how these plans are pretty subjective- for example, there’s no Tredegar Green amphitheater in the Plan and there was a previous canal restoration plan that has been thrown aside.

Going back to this hydroelectric proposal, it may be that upriver (and more affluent) neighbors are able to ‘NIMBY‘ it, or maybe the environmental issues with even micro-hydro-electric at this site are too large to overcome, or maybe there is even more interest in the longterm in getting rid of Bosher’s Dam altogether. But the point is, this proposal and others should be part of a more open, public conversation over the future of the James River, local energy/water policy, and our local government.