Timeline of Richmond, Virginia facts for kids

This is a timeline of the history of Richmond, Virginia, a city in the United States.

Richmond is a city in Virginia, USA. Its history goes back a long time, even before Europeans arrived. This timeline will show you some of the most important events that shaped Richmond, from ancient times to today.

Early Days: Before Europeans Arrived

• Before Europeans came, a major Native American trail, the Great Indian Warpath, had a path leading to where Richmond is now.
• By 1607, Chief Powhatan was the leader of several Native American tribes. His main area was near present-day Richmond, and his people called their land "Tsenacommacah".

1600s: First European Explorers and Settlements

1600s

• 1607 (May) - Captain Christopher Newport and his English group explored the area. They visited "Pawatah," a capital of the Powhatan Confederacy, located on Shockoe Hill near the falls.
• 1608 (September) - Newport returned with soldiers to explore the Monacan Indian Nation country upriver.
• 1609 (September) - Captain John Smith, then the leader of the Virginia Colony, sent 120 men to settle "West's Fort." Smith bought the Powhatan village and renamed it "Nonsuch," but the Native Americans resisted, and the settlers returned to Jamestown.

1610s

• 1610-1614 - The First Anglo-Powhatan War happened. This led to a seven-year peace treaty between the English and the Powhatan tribes.
• 1611 - The English built Henricus a few miles downstream. They didn't try to settle at the falls of the James River again for a while.
• 1613 - Sir Thomas Dale established Charles City Point and noted how the area looked like the new colony of Bermuda.
• 1614 - On April 5, John Rolfe married Pocahontas. They lived at Varina Farms and grew tobacco as a valuable crop. Their son, Thomas Rolfe, was born there in 1615.
• 1619
  • The Falling Creek Ironworks was built where Falling Creek meets the James River.
  • The first meeting of the House of Burgesses (a governing body) took place in Jamestown.
  • Thanksgiving was celebrated at Berkeley Plantation on December 4.

1620s

• 1622 - Henricus was abandoned after a major Native American attack.

1630s

• 1634 - The Virginia shire system was set up, making most of Central Virginia part of Henrico Shire.
• 1636 - Fur trader Captain Henry Fleet moved the Appomattoc people away from the Appomattox River falls and built a fort, opening the area for new settlers.

1640s

• 1644-1645 - The Third Anglo-Powhatan War occurred.
• 1645 - Fort Charles was built at the James River falls and Fort Henry at the Appomattox River falls to protect the border between the English and Native Americans.
• 1646 - A peace treaty ended the Anglo-Powhatan War. It gave the English control of more land and separated some Powhatan tribes. This effectively ended the Powhatan Confederacy.
• 1647 - Fort Charles was moved across the James River to "Manastoh," which is now Southside Richmond.

1650s

• 1656
  • The Battle of Bloody Run took place. Native American tribes fought a combined force of English and Pamunkey people. The Pamunkey chief Totopotomoi died.
  • Cockacoeske became the new chief of the Pamunkey.
• 1658 - The Pamunkey Indian Reservation, the first Native American reservation in the New World, was created east of present-day Richmond.

1670s

• 1673 - William Byrd I was given land at the falls and set up a trading post and a small settlement.
• 1676
  • The Pamunkey (led by Cockacoeske) and other tribes helped Nathaniel Bacon in his rebellion.
  • After Bacon's Rebellion, William Randolph bought Bacon's land along the James River in Henrico.
• 1677 - King Charles II of England signed the Treaty of 1677, making peace with Virginia's Native Americans, including tribes near Richmond.

1680s

• 1689 - Reverend Dr. James Blair became the top Anglican religious leader in the Virginia colony.

1690s

• 1693 - Blair helped establish The College of William & Mary and became its first president.
• 1699 - The Monacan people left their town of Mowhemencho and moved to North Carolina to avoid conflict.

1700s: Richmond is Founded

1700s

• 1700 - French Huguenot colonists settled in the abandoned Monacan areas, building Mannakin Town (now Manakin-Sabot).
• 1704 - William Byrd II inherited his father's large estates.

1730s

• 1730 - A law was passed to inspect tobacco at "Shockoe's upon Col. Byrd's land."
• 1733 - Richmond was officially founded by William Byrd II.
• 1737 - The city's streets were planned out in a grid pattern.

1740s

• 1741 - St. John's Episcopal Church was built.
• 1742 - The town of Richmond was officially made a city.
• 1748 - Samuel Davies became the first non-Anglican minister allowed by Virginia's government. He served several non-Anglican churches in the area.
• 1749
  • Chesterfield County was created from parts of Henrico County.
  • Cumberland County was created from parts of Goochland County.

1750s

• 1750 - The Old Stone House was built around this time.
• 1752 - The main government office for Henrico County moved to the falls of the James River, which is Richmond.

1770s

• 1775
  • The Second Virginia Convention was held at St. John's Church. Here, Patrick Henry famously declared, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
  • Boats began traveling between Lynchburg and Richmond on the James River.

1780s

• 1780
  • Under Governor Thomas Jefferson, the capital of Virginia moved from Williamsburg to Richmond. This was done to make it safer from British attacks during the Revolutionary War.
  • The First Baptist Church was established.
• 1781
  • January 1-19 - The British general Benedict Arnold attacked and set fire to parts of Richmond during his Raid on Richmond.
  • May - The Marquis de Lafayette helped defend Richmond from the British.
  • October - The main battle of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Yorktown, happened.
• 1785 - The Virginia State Capitol building was constructed.
• 1788 - The Virginia Ratifying Convention met in Richmond and agreed to approve the US Constitution.
  • Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome formed the first Jewish congregation in Virginia.

1790s

• 1790
  • Population: 3,761.
  • The James River and Kanawha Canal opened. It was the first commercial canal in the United States, stretching from Richmond to Westham.
  • John Marshall, who would later become a famous Supreme Court justice, built a house near the new state capitol.
• 1795 - Bushrod Washington bought William Byrd III's former estate, Belvidere.

1800s: Growth and War

1800s

• 1800
  • Population: 5,704.
  • Gabriel Prosser planned a slave rebellion, but it was stopped.
• 1804 - Thomas Ritchie bought the Richmond Enquirer newspaper and made it very successful.
• 1807 - John Marshall, a Richmond resident and Chief Justice of the United States, oversaw the famous Burr conspiracy trial in Richmond.

1810s

• 1811
  • The Richmond Theatre fire in Court End killed many important citizens.
  • The Virginia Governor's Mansion was built.
• 1814 - The Monumental Church, designed by architect Robert Mills, was built where the theater fire happened.

1820s

• 1820 - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond was established.
• 1823 - The State Library was founded.
• 1824 - The Marquis de Lafayette, a hero of the American Revolution, visited Richmond.
• 1826 - A turnpike (a toll road) opened between Manchester (now part of Richmond) and Petersburg.

1830s

• 1830 - Population: 6,056.
• 1831 - The Virginia Historical Society was founded.
• 1832 - Richmond College opened.
• 1834 - The first Catholic church in Richmond, St. Peter's Church, was built.
• 1837 - The Tredegar Iron Works, a major iron factory, began operating.
• 1838 - The Richmond and Petersburg Railroad opened.

1840s

• 1840 - Population: 20,153.
• 1841
  • The First African Baptist Church was founded.
  • With more German and Eastern European immigrants, a new Jewish congregation, Congregation Beth Ahabah, was formed.
• 1842 - Charles Dickens, a famous writer, stayed at the Exchange Hotel in Richmond.
• 1844 - Robert Lumpkin bought what became a well-known place where enslaved people were held in Shockoe Bottom.
• 1849 - Hollywood Cemetery was established.

1850s

• 1850 - Population: 27,570.
• 1851 - Monroe Park was laid out.
• 1856 - The Richmond and Danville Railroad began operating.
• 1858 - The Washington Monument was revealed on the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol.

1860s: Civil War Era

• 1861
  • Richmond became the capital of the Confederate States of America.
  • Chimborazo Hospital opened.
  • Libby Prison began operating.
• 1862 - From March to July, several Civil War battles, like the Seven Days Battles, took place near Richmond.
• 1863 - April 2: A "Bread riot" occurred as people struggled to find food.
• 1864 - Major battles like the Battle of Cold Harbor and the Bermuda Hundred campaign happened near Richmond.
• 1864-1865 - The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign took place.
• 1865
  • April 3 - The business district of Richmond was burned by retreating Confederate forces.
  • THE WAR ENDS - Mayor Joseph Mayo surrendered to Union forces.
  • Allen & Ginter Tobacco company was formed.
  • Two schools, Richmond Theological Institute and Wayland Seminary, were formed to train freed Black people. These later became Virginia Union University.
• 1866 - Richmond National Cemetery was established.
• 1867 - Black suffrage (the right for Black men to vote) was granted.
• 1868 - Richmond became part of the First Military District during the Reconstruction Era.

1870s

• 1870 - A tragic accident happened at the Virginia State Capitol when a large crowd caused a collapse. Sixty-two people were killed.
• 1873 - Lewis Ginter formed the Allen & Ginter tobacco company.
• 1874 - P.H. Mayo & Bros. opened a cigarette manufacturing company, making tobacco even more important to the city's economy.
• 1875 - The city began to acquire land for Byrd Park and build a new water system.

1880s

• 1880 - Population: 63,600.
• 1881 - The C&O railroad completed its Peninsula Extension, allowing West Virginia coal to be shipped through Richmond.
• 1883 - Entertainer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson began his career as a child performer in Richmond.
• 1884 - John Mitchell, Jr. joined the staff of the Richmond Planet, an African-American newspaper.
• 1885 - The Robert E. Lee Camp, No. 1 Confederate Soldier Home opened.
• 1887 - Richmond Locomotive Works opened.
• 1888 - The Richmond Union Passenger Railway (electric trolley) began operating.

1890s

• 1890
  • A statue of Robert E. Lee was unveiled on the new Monument Avenue.
  • St. Catherine's School, a girls' prep school, opened.
  • Population: 81,388.
• 1891 - Evergreen Cemetery, a private African-American cemetery, was founded.
• 1894 - Richmond opened a new gothic-styled City Hall.
• 1895 - Lewis Ginter opened both the Ginter Park neighborhood and his famous Jefferson Hotel.
• 1896 - The Sons of Confederate Veterans was formed in Richmond. The Confederate Museum opened.
• 1898 - The Valentine Museum opened.
• 1899 - The William R. Trigg Shipbuilding Company opened.

1900s: Modern Richmond Takes Shape

1900s

• 1900 - Population: 85,050.
• 1901
  • Main Street Station was built.
  • The Triple Crossing was completed, allowing trains to cross at three different levels.
  • Maggie L. Walker announced her plan to start a bank through the Independent Order of St. Luke.
• 1903 - The Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper began publication.
• 1905 - The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart was built.
• 1909 - The Virginia Railway & Power Company was formed.

1910s

• 1910
  • Manchester became part of the city.
  • Population: 127,628.
• 1912 - George Ainslie became mayor and served for 12 years.
• 1914
  • The Fifth District of the Federal Reserve Bank was headquartered in Richmond.
  • Richmond College moved to a new site, and Westhampton College for women opened.
  • The Hippodrome Theater opened in Jackson Ward.
• 1917 - Broad Street Station was completed.

1920s

• 1920 - Population: 171,677.
• 1922 - The Edgar Allan Poe Museum opened.
• 1923 - The National Theater was built on Broad Street downtown.
• 1925
  • WRVA began broadcasting.
  • The Church Hill Tunnel collapsed.
  • The Richmond Public Library opened in the former home of Lewis Ginter.
  • The Boulevard Bridge was built near Maymont.
• 1927
  • Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field was dedicated.
  • The Jefferson Davis Highway officially opened as a major road.
  • The Italian community dedicated a statue to Christopher Columbus in Byrd Park.
• 1928 - The Byrd Theatre opened.
• 1929 - A fifth monument, Matthew Fontaine Maury, was unveiled on Monument Avenue.

1930s

• 1930 - Population: 182,929.
• 1932 - Forest Hill Amusement Park closed due to the Great Depression.
• 1934 - The New York Deli, founded in 1929, moved to its current location in Carytown.
• 1936
  • Richmond National Battlefield Park was established.
  • The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts opened.
• 1937 - The Ukrop family opened their first grocery store in Richmond.
• 1938 - Reynolds Metals moved its headquarters from New York to Richmond.

1940s

• 1940
  • The US War Department re-established Camp Lee to train soldiers for World War II.
  • Richmond's two newspapers, the Times-Dispatch and News Leader, merged to form Richmond Newspapers.
• 1941 - The US Government built a large logistics supply center in the Bellwood area for the World War II effort.
• 1946 - Pocahontas State Park was created.
• 1947 - Philanthropist Lillian Thomas Pratt donated Fabergé eggs and other Russian objects to the VMFA.
• 1948 - WTVR-TV began broadcasting.
• 1949 - The last of Richmond's electric trolleys were replaced by buses.

1950s

• 1950 - Population: 230,310.
• 1952 - Wilton House Museum opened.
• 1954 - The Brown v. Board of Education ruling officially ended racial segregation in U.S. public schools. Richmond civil rights attorneys Oliver Hill and Spottswood William Robinson III worked on a related case.
• 1955 - The Virginia War Memorial was installed.
• 1956 - Following the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Virginia passed laws to keep schools segregated, which affected the Richmond area for years.
• 1957 - The Richmond Symphony Orchestra was formed.
• 1958 - The Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike opened, including the I-95 James River Bridge.

1960s

• 1961 - Richmond observed the 100th anniversary of the American Civil War with various events.
• 1966 - The Richmond Braves baseball team formed and played at Parker Field.
• 1968 - The Virginia General Assembly merged Medical College of Virginia with the Richmond Professional Institute to create Virginia Commonwealth University.

1970s

• 1970 - A portion of Chesterfield County became part of Richmond.
• 1971 - The Richmond Coliseum opened.
• 1972
  • June - Hurricane Agnes caused widespread flooding in Central Virginia.
  • The City of Richmond formed the James River Park System.
• 1973 - Phillip Morris opened a modern cigarette manufacturing facility.
• 1975
  • The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond building was completed.
  • Kings Dominion amusement park opened in Doswell.
  • Amtrak created Staples Mill Station in the suburbs.
• 1977 - Henry L. Marsh became mayor.
• 1978 - The Richmond Marathon was established.

1980s

• 1980 - CSX Corporation was formed and moved its headquarters to Richmond.
• 1981 - The James Monroe Building was built, becoming the tallest building in Richmond.
• 1983 - The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden was founded.
• 1984 - Richmond built a new baseball stadium, The Diamond.
• 1989 - The U.S. Supreme Court decided a major lawsuit about affirmative action in Richmond.

1990s

• 1990
  • January 13: Douglas Wilder was sworn in as governor.
  • Population: 203,056.
  • Interstate 295, a toll-free beltway, opened around the east side of Richmond.
• 1991 - Virginia Center Commons shopping mall opened.
• 1992 - The state of Virginia removed tolls from the Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike.
• 1993 - The Richmond Kickers soccer team was founded.
• 1994 - Signet Financial Corp spun off its credit card division, which later became CapitalOne.
• 1995 - A flood wall was built, leading to the development of the Tobacco Row area.
• 1996 - A controversy arose over building an Arthur Ashe monument on Monument Avenue.
• 1998 - Tim Kaine was elected mayor of Richmond by his fellow council members.
• 1999 - The Siegel Center, VCU's new gymnasium, was completed.

2000s: New Millennium

2000s

• 2000
  • Population: 197,753 (nearly 1 million in the wider Richmond area).
  • The Civil War Visitor Center at Tredegar Iron Works opened.
  • The Monument Avenue 10K race began, becoming one of the largest 10K races in the US.
• 2001
  • Richmond's First Fridays Art Walk began.
  • On September 11, Rudy McCollum became Richmond's 77th Mayor.
• 2002
  • The Convention Center opened.
  • The Virginia State Route 895 opened, making the drive to Richmond Airport shorter.
• 2003
  • Stony Point Fashion Park and Short Pump Town Center shopping malls both opened.
  • Hurricane Isabel caused widespread power outages in Richmond.
  • Philip Morris USA moved its headquarters from New York to Richmond.
  • Main Street Station reopened train service after major renovations.
• 2004 - Hurricane Gaston flooded Shockoe Bottom.
• 2005
  • Richmond switched to a Mayor–council government system, and Douglas Wilder was elected mayor by the voters.
  • The National Folk Festival held its first of three annual festivals in Richmond.
• 2006
  • The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar opened.
  • The "ball hoist" tradition began in Carytown atop the Byrd Theater, drawing thousands of people.
• 2007 - Queen Elizabeth II visited the Capitol Building as part of the Jamestown 2007 celebrations.
• 2008
  • The Richmond Folk Festival began.
  • The financial crisis of 2008 caused several regional businesses to close.
• 2009
  • Dwight Clinton Jones became mayor.
  • Richmond CenterStage was opened.
  • The State Fair of Virginia moved to its new home at Meadow Event Park.

2010s

• 2010
  • Population: 204,214.
  • The Ukrop family sold their grocery stores, which were renamed "Martin's."
  • The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts completed its largest expansion.
  • The Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball team began playing at The Diamond.
• 2011
  • Richmond was chosen to host the 2015 UCI Road World Championships (a major bike race).
  • Both the University of Richmond and VCU basketball teams had great success, with VCU reaching the Final Four.
  • Steven Spielberg filmed his movie Lincoln almost entirely in the Richmond area.
• 2012 - A "Beer Boom" began in Richmond, especially in Scott's Addition, after Virginia changed its laws to allow breweries to sell beer on site.
• 2013 - Richmond hosted its first annual TEDxRVA event.
• 2014 - Amazon.com opened a large fulfillment center near Richmond.
• 2015
  • The Quirk Hotel and Virginia Capital Trail were completed in time for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships.
  • The GRTC announced plans for a bus rapid transit system called GRTC Pulse.
• 2016
  • Lucy Dacus, a Richmond native, released her debut album and gained national attention.
  • In February, Stone Brewing Co. opened its first brewery on the East Coast in Rockett's Landing.
  • The T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial pedestrian bridge opened, connecting Brown's Island to the James River Parks System.
• 2017
  • On January 7, Levar Stoney became Richmond's youngest mayor at 35 years old.
  • Protests and counter-demonstrations took place on Monument Avenue regarding the Confederate statues.
  • Facebook announced plans to build a large data center in the area.
• 2018
  • A cold snap caused temperatures to drop to negative 3 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking pipes across the city.
  • Many new grocery stores like Lidl and Publix opened in the Richmond area.
  • June 24 - The GRTC Pulse (bus rapid transit system) opened, connecting different parts of the city.
  • In September, 10 tornadoes hit the greater Richmond area, causing damage and one death.

2020s

• 2020 - On June 1, Richmond Police used tear gas on protestors and rioters near the Robert E. Lee Monument.