— Ch. 1 · Founding And Colonial Origins —
Richmond, Virginia.
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
In early 1737, planter William Byrd II commissioned Major William Mayo to lay out the original town grid for a settlement that would become Richmond. The work was completed in April of that year, establishing the first permanent English-speaking community on this specific stretch of land along the James River. Before this moment, the area served as Arrohattoc territory where Arrohateck village stood. Relations between the Arrohattocs and English colonists declined over time, leading to a trade halt by 1609. A report by visiting William Strachey in 1610 marked the last mention of the tribe before their Henrico town appeared deserted in 1611 when Sir Thomas Dale arrived to found Henricus. The site later became home to Falling Creek Ironworks established by early Virginia Company settlers in 1619. Decades of conflict followed, including the Battle of Bloody Run fought near the location in 1656 after tensions arose from an influx of Manahoacs and Nahyssans from the North. Despite these conflicts, more White settlement occurred in the late 1600s and early 1700s. Byrd named the city after the English town of Richmond near London because the view of the James River's bend at the fall line reminded him of his home at Richmond Hill on the River Thames. In 1742, the settlement was officially incorporated as a town.
Revolutionary War Significance
In 1775, Patrick Henry delivered his famous "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech inside Richmond's St. John's Church. This address greatly influenced Virginia's participation in the First Continental Congress and shaped the course of the American Revolution. On the 18th of April 1780, the state capital moved from Williamsburg to Richmond to provide a more centralized location for Virginia's increasing western population. The relocation theoretically isolated the capital from a British attack coming from the coast. In 1781, Loyalist troops led by Benedict Arnold raided Richmond and set it ablaze. Governor Thomas Jefferson fled while Virginian militia under Sampson Mathews unsuccessfully defended the city. Richmond recovered quickly from the war, thriving within a year of its burning. In 1786, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom drafted by Thomas Jefferson was enacted, separating church and state. This law advanced the legal principle for freedom of religion across the United States. By 1788, the Virginia State Capitol designed by Jefferson and Charles-Louis Clérisseau in Greek Revival style was completed. George Washington helped design the James River and Kanawha Canal to bypass Richmond's rapids on the upper James River. The canal started in Westham and cut east to Richmond, facilitating cargo transfer from flat-bottomed James River bateaux above the fall line to ocean-faring ships below.