Petersburg High School - Missile Yearbook (Petersburg, VA)

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appointed. Headed by Peter Randolph, this body regulated the streets, settled disputes, forbade the building of wooden chimneys, and established rules for the more orderly building of homes. The city now acquired a Court House, a jail, several new warehouses, and a Jockey Club. The next ten years marked a progressive period for Richmond de- spite the rumblings of the approaching Revolution. The little town be- came better organized, and a lottery was arranged for the disposal of town lots and adjacent property extending westward across the river includ- ing Rocky Ridge and the Shockoes west of Shockoe Creek. Mill sites, fisheries, and the Shockoe warehouses were offered as prizes. Lands were also granted in fee simple on condition only of building a house within three years. The years 1768-69 saw this section incorporated into a town under the name of Manchester. The freshett of 1771 destroyed most of the new Manchester property. The year 1775 found the Revolutionary War well on its way. Many of the outstanding citizens remained staunch Loyalists, William Byrd III among them, and refused to take measures of defense against the Mother Country. On July 17th at a convention held at Saint J ohn's Church, every hope of reconciliation with England was expelled by Patrick Henry's famous Give me liberty or give me death speech. Plans were made for the de- fense of Richmond and a temporary government formed. This resulted in the building of America's first powder factory at Ampthill, property of Archibald Cary, near Falling Creek. The war fever mounted in 1776 with the reading of the Declaration of Independence on August 5th of that year, and progress was retarded accordingly. In 1779, a wooden capitol building was erected, and the seat of government was moved from Williamsburg to Richmond. The growth of the city now consisted of powder magazines and foundries at Westham. The year 1780 found Richmond and vicinity in the hectic activity of war: mobilizing and training troops, illness, cold, starvation, lack of med- ical attention, and the three hundred homes of the town crowded and over-run with oificers of state and refugees. Emotion ran high: resent- ment, fear, and excitement in turn, as the city was visited by Benedict Arnold, Phillips, Cornwallis, and the timely arrival of Lafayette. Rich- mond and Manchester were raided, warehouses burned, and Ampthill and the Cary mills destroyed. However, August, 1781, saw an end to the Revolutionary hostilities in Richmond. During the next four years, Richmond launched again into prosperity. Pagesil THE MISSILE

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- Q -- ff' af 'v ' ,, --' H-fs-i' .A.,. .... . .. Q ' r ---- - --Ti? Z f 4 ,H'? il1?' Ai 2 ' I ' i ..... -- -- 's fi' nr- - g- 5 Q Q af 5 T f WS ,iff H -11 f N- 'f' 'W' -Q f' 1 N ..-14.,.i-1 -- -1, 'le . Cl. , , - ' QT L, J -A ui, pug Q. L gf, -if-24,4 . . gif 'IMQ f, gg 3. gil 1 P . -.. ni -. v, , 4 , i Q l 'L-' 'f - '- -'f -H--.J 53.0.2 ' - , X . Q, n. - , -if-:, . , ,.....-.- . N i0 fm -Vi' . . , A -. .fl Richmond . . AN HISTORICAL SURVEY By Jacqueline Phillips 1679 - 1800 I W HE CITY of Richmond began with a trading station at Shaccos, two mills fsupposedly corn or flour millsl, and a rise of land east of the James River originally known as Indian Hill, so named 4 because of the Rebellion of 1679. Here William Byrd II in the ' ' ff year 1733 laid out plans for a city to be named Richmond. Major William Mayo two years later surveyed the town site into thirty-two lots, four lots long and eight Wide, with streets sixty-three feet wide. The two center lots were given to the vestry of Henrico Parish, and thereon was built the church of Saint John in the year 1741. Colonel Byrd did not live to see his town boom. After his death in 1744 Richmond had little history, as William III lacked initiative, and none of his i:'ather's ambitious dreams was carried out in his lifetime. Later, however, the city was incorporated and granted a charter. Merchants and mechanics took up town lots, mills were built, taverns opened, and fairs held there twice a year. Jacob Ege about this time built the famous Old Stone House still standing on Main Street. Trade, however, continued to grow. The great river plantation own- ers and outlying settlers brought in their products fmainly tobacco and fursj and, in return, secured their supplies. Thus, Richmond became an active trade center. In 1752, by act of the General Assembly, a Board of Trustees was THE MISSILE Pazeive

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A city council was formed and its first mayor, Doctor William Foushee, was elected. The first newspaper was published, hospital and bank build- ings planned, the foundation laid for a new capitol: a Masonic Hall fthe first in Americaj was erected. Richmond was now a Whirlpool of social affairs including two mammoth receptions given Generals Washington and Lafayette. In 1787, a fire destroyed forty or fifty houses and stores, Mayo's Bridge was opened, and the Statue of Washington by Houdon was placed in Capital Square. A new market was built on Shockoe Hill. The Mutual Insurance Society, then incorporated, is still in operation. Many Wealthy planters maintained homes in Richmond because of its social prestige. 1800 - 1830. John Marshall's appointment as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1802 was the outstanding event of this period. Other forward steps were: gas street lights fthe first in the worldj and a water system. Incidentally occurred the theater fire of 1811, the pow- der mill explosion, and much social scandal. 1812 found Richmond primed for another war. Forts were erected and garrisoned by four thousand men, but Richmond was unharmed. In 1815, the first steamboat on the James caused much excitement. The first fire department and free public school were organized. The population of Richmond in 1820 was 12,067. The city now boast- ed a hotel, the new Marshall Theater and Second Market, a stone bridge over Shockoe Creek, and Monumental Church. By contribution of the ladies of Richmond, a war vessel had been built. 1830 - 1840 This was a period of industrial expansion with the packet boat Con- stitution making its first trip between Richmond and Lynchburg, and a. road operating between the Midlothian mines to Manchester. The year 1833 is memorable for its great meteoric shower. This decade ended with a boom, the oddest on record. The entire country was swept by a craze for silk culture. Millions of mulberry trees and silkworm eggs were imported. Little silk was produced, however, and the bubble burst leav- ing many penniless. 1850 - 1870 This period marks the growth of population to 27,570. The city was humming with industrial enterprises: Treadegar Iron Works, five rail- way systems, the Galleo Mills, telegraph lines, a new magazine launched, THE MISSILE Pagesevell