Other historic and prbmlnent landmarks are the residence occupied 'by General Lee and his family, now the home of the Virginia Histori-• cal Society; the house occupied by Jefferson Davis while he was President of the Con federate States; and the famous Monumental Church on Broad street, formerly called Academy square. At one time a large wooden building, built for an academy of fine arts, oc cupied the present site of the church. In 1788 the old building saw a brilliant gathering of ((history makers,' who met to discuss the docu ment proposed as the Constitution of the United States of America. Madison, Mason, Marshall, Pendleton, Randolph, Lee, Wythe and others were there, and finally the Constitution as framed at Philadelphia was ratified by Virginia. Only 23 years afterward occurred in the same building at a theatre the terrible disaster which' resulted in the death of 72 persons, among whom was the governor of the State. The present church is their monument; the portico extends over their tombs and the charred re mains. The house, once the home of Chief Jus. tice,Marsiliall, stands km.the itieet owned in his honor. Saint Jahn's.Etiisc.opal Church, built in 1740, is 'in an 'excellent state • of 'preservation i and s still used for religious services. Richard Randolph,. who superintended the building of the chtirch, was a descendant of Pocahontas, In the quaint odd churchyard surrounding it is grave of Geqrge Wythe, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. In this chtirch, on 20 Mardi 1775, was held the famous Virginia Contention. Which met to hear a re port of the first Continental. Congress, and to discuss the political , situation of the country. The . convention feared. to hold a session in Williamsburg, the capital, on .account of the hostility of Lord Dunmore. The church was the only place in Richmond large enough for the assembly. It was at 'this convention that Patrick Henry made-his famous speech, midi* with the words: CIs life so dear, or •peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.* The place where the patriotic orator stood is pointed out to strangers. Another interesting event oc curred on 6 Jan. 1781, when 'Benedict Arnold, at the head of a British force of 900, entered the city, and a number of the soldiers were quartered in this old church. The oldest house in Richmond, a stone building on Main street, was built in 1737 by Jacob Ege. It is now used as a historical museum. The Valentine Museum contains over 100,000 archaeological specimens, also many fine pictures and statues. This valu able museum was given to the city by Mann S. Valentine. His brother. Edward V. Valentine, the sculptor, has' given to the museum several valuable pieces of statuary. The most costly and the•most ornate building in the city of Rich mond is the. city hall, completed in 1893 at an outlay of over $1,400,000. It is built of Rich mond granite, dressed and quarry-faced, is com pletely fireproof, and commodious in all Its appointments.
Edisontion..--The city has an excellent school systenv;. there are public and parish elementary schools for white and similar ones for colored pupils, a high school, normal school for whites and one for colored, Virginia Mechanics' In stitute which has evening classes, kindergartens sad •a number of 'private schools, The second ary schools and colleges are the Richmond Female 'Institute (Baptist), founded in 1854; Richmond Female Seminary (Protestant Epho copal) ; Hartshorn Memorial College for Colored Girls (Baptist), opened in 1883; Visita tion Academy (Roman Catholic), founded in 1860; Saint Peter's Academy (RomanCatholic) ; Saint Joseph's Academy (Roman Catholic); Saint Patrick's Academy (Roman Catholic): Sacred Heart Academy (Roman Catholic); Saint Mary's Benedictine Institute (Roman Catholic) ; Training School for Kindergarteners; Art School of Art Club, and Saint Andrew's School, the Medical College of Virginia (1837) ; Richmond Theological Seminary (Baptist), opened in 1807; Richmond College, opened in 1832; and beyond the city limits. Hartshorn and two others. There are five public libraries with ana gate of over 430,000 volumes.
Ch The 'city has 130' religious or ganizations'and 90 church edifices; 65 for white people and Ike others for colored. The dif ferent denominations rank according to church, edifices and organizations as follows: Baptists, Protestant Episcopalians, Methodists, Presby terians, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Jews; Christians. Friends. The Roman Catholic Cathedral, built with means supplied through, the munificence of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Ryan of New York, is the finest church edifice, in the city.
Chartable. Institutions and Hospitals.— There are here Saint Sophia's Home fur the Aged, the Sheltering Arms, the Home for In curables,Foundling Asylum, Retreat for the .04.440. asylum, Lee ***re and Saint Joseph's Orphan Aylinp4 There are a number of public and church aid societies and various charitable organizations., Saint Luke's Hospital is one of the best equipped institutions in the city.
History.— In May 1607, John. Smith, Cap tain Newport and others ascended the James River as far as the place where Richmond now stands. In September 1609, Smith, who was the president at Jamestown, again ascended the river to find a better location for the colony than Jamestown. He purchased from the In dians some land near the present site of Rich mond, and so pleased was he with the place that he called it °None Such." "Forte Charles" was built below the falls, in 1645. In 1675 and in 1687 a further grant of 950 acres was made, which tracts included the land upon which Richmond now stands, but the city was not founded until some years later by Col. William Evelyn Byrd. He seems to have been versed in methods of founding cities which are now called modern. He established two cities "on paper,* one at Sohocco's to be called Rich mond, and at the "Point of Appamattuck River," to be called Petersburgh. He engaged Major Mayo to lay out the squares, streets, etc. Then he proceeded to advertise his cities, inserting a notice in the Virginia Gazette, April 1737, gthat on the north side of James River, near the uppermost landing and a little below the falls, is lately built by Major Mayo a town called Richmond, with streets 60 feet wide, in a pleasant and healthy situation, and well supplied with springs of good water.* Byrd was a learned man as well as a good advertiser. He brought to the New World a large and well selected library, a catalogue of which is in the Franklin Library in Philadelphia. He pro ceeded to build a mill, a warehouse, and such other buildings as were necessary. In its early days the place was called Byrd's Warehouse. In 1742 the assembly of Virginia established the town, and the wide streets and squares were at last laid out. In 1779 the capital of the com monwealth was changed from Williamsburg to Richmond. Then the place was only a numbei of disconnected houses in small groups, with rough ground and rocks intervening. Benedict Arnold entered the city in 1781 and burned a Portion of it, as already mentioned. In 1782 Richmond was incorporated as a city, and in 1785 the foundation of the capitol was begun. This capitol, from its opening in 1789 down to the present, has been the scene of many stirring historical events. In 1798-99 took place the famous debates which ended in the adoption of the resolutions, drafted by James Madison, re garding the interpretation of the Federal com pact. What powerful conventions were held here when such men as Monroe, Madison, John Randolph and Marshall were members. The convention of 1851 extended the privilege of suffrage, and here in 1861 the Act of Secession was adopted; and in June of the same year, Richmond was made the capital of the Con federate States. In July 1862, the Congress of the Confederacy convened here and remained in session until April 1865. During the Civil War the city was the great objective point of the chief operations of the Union army in the East. Again and again the Union forces marched to the battle cry "On to Richmond," and again and again were they repulsed. For three years, from May 1862 to April 1865, the city was al most in a constant state of siege; the records tell of 15 pitched battles and 25 skirmishes and sharp engagements which were fought in efforts to capture the city. When its defenders yielded and left the city they set fire to the arsenals and large tobacco warehouses, and burned the bridges directly after crossing them, which caused a most extensive conflagration in the principal business sections. On 27 April 1870, at a contest over the mayoralty before the Su preme Court of Appeals, over 60 persons were killed by the giving away of the floor of the court room. A large number of people were in the building.
The suburbs of Richmond contribute to the charms of the city and to its history pages. The broad, shady avenues of stately, beautiful trees lead out to battle grounds now covered with the houses and business establishments of busy, peaceful people.
The population in 1890 was 81,388 and in 1900, 85,050 but these figures by no means in dicated the growth and prosperity of the city. With the exception of the annexation of Lee District, which was just beginning to be built up, the corporate limits had not been extended since 1867, and in many quarters the suburbs were thickly settled and were indistinguishable from the adjacent districts of the city. The population was increased by some 30,000, when the much-needed expansion of the city limits went into effect. This placed it where it properly belonged, in the ranks of cities of over 100,000 inhabitants. Pop. (1910) 127,628; (1919 est.) 160,000; with suburbs 191,000.
Consult Henry, \V. W., "Richmond on the fames" in 'Historic Towns of the Southern States' (New York 1900); Mordecai, S., 'Richmond in By-Gone Days' (Richmond 1856; 2d ed., 1860) ; "Richmond since the Warn in Scribner's Monthly (New York 1877) ; Wood, 'The Industries of Richmond' (Richmond 1886). • F. D. Dubri.or, Secretary and Treasurer Richmond Chamber of Commerce.