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| Richmond Apartment Locator Services : Richmond Apartments |  | Contents | |
| History |
Richmond is located at the fall line of the James
River. Like many other cities on the East coast, the location
of Richmond was determined by the fall line since as a natural
barrier, it prevented river boats from traveling any further
inland.
Richmond was first settled in 1607 by Christopher Newport and
Captain John Smith, who navigated up the James River ten days
after landing at Jamestown. The city was not known as "Richmond"
until 1737, when it was laid out by Major William Mayo on land
donated by Colonel William Byrd II. The name comes from Richmond
upon Thames, England.
In 1775, Patrick Henry gave his famous "Give me Liberty
or Give me Death" speech in St. John's Church at a meeting
of the Second Continental Congress. Also in attendance at this
meeting were Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Richmond
replaced Williamsburg as the capital of Virginia in 1780. During
the American Civil War, Richmond was the capital of the Confederate
States of America. The White House of the Confederacy, located
a few blocks north of the State Capital, was home to the family
of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. In April of 1865,
Richmond was burned by a retreating Confederate Army and was
returned to the United States, becoming part of "Military
District #1" during the Reconstruction period (1865-1870).
A major issue for Manchester – Richmond's sister city
located on the south bank of the James River – and Richmond
residents in the 19th and early 20th century were the toll bridges
over the James River. In 1910, Manchester agreed to a political
consolidation with the much larger independent city of Richmond.
In 1992 the University of Richmond hosted the first ever "town
hall" style presidential debate between H. Ross Perot,
George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.
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