Richmond, cities, United States

Richmond.

1 City (1990 pop. 87,425), Contra Costa co., W Calif., on San Pablo Bay, an inlet of San Francisco Bay; inc. 1905. It is a deepwater commercial port and an industrial center with oil refineries and railroad repair shops. Richmond is a major center of trade with East Asia, Hawaii, and Alaska. The city's diverse manufactures include machinery and instruments, metal products, chemicals, motor vehicles, and construction materials. There is ship building and biotechnology development. Originally part of a Spanish ranch on the site of Native American shell mounds, it was settled in 1823 and then grew with the coming of the Santa Fe RR at the turn of the 20th cent.

2 City (1990 pop. 38,705), seat of Wayne co., E Ind., near the Ohio line; settled 1806 by Quakers from North Carolina, inc. as a city 1840. In the fertile Whitewater River valley, Richmond is primarily an industrial city. There are printing and publishing industries, and metal products, construction materials, foods, animal feed, electronics and electrical products, machinery, and motor vehicle parts are manufactured. Earlham College and Indiana Univ. East are in the city.

3 City (1990 pop. 21,155), seat of Madison co., central Ky., in the bluegrass region; inc. 1800. It is a tobacco and livestock (cattle and thoroughbred horses) market, and there is diversified manufacturing. In the Civil War the battle of Richmond (Aug. 30, 1862) was a Confederate victory. Eastern Kentucky Univ. and a U.S. army depot are in the city.

4 Former name of the New York City borough of Staten Island Staten Island (1990 pop. 378,977), 59 sq mi (160 sq km), SE N.Y., in New York Bay, SW of Manhattan, forming Richmond co. of New York state and the borough of Staten Island of New York City.
..... Click the link for more information. .

5 City (1990 pop. 203,056), state capital, E Va., at the head of navigation on the James River; settled 1637, inc. as a city 1782. It is a port of entry and a financial, commerical, shipping, and distribution center, with a deepwater port. Richmond is a major tobacco market; tobacco and tobacco products are among its leading manufactures. Clothing; chemicals; pharmaceuticals; metal, wood, and paper products; and computer components are also produced. There are printing and publishing enterprises and numerous corporate headquarters in the city. Richmond is the seat of the Univ. of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., Virginia Union Univ., and a theological seminary.

Places of interest include the state capitol (1785), designed by Thomas Jefferson; the Washington Monument; the Valentine Museum; the White House of the Confederacy, once the home of Jefferson Davis and now the Confederate Museum; St. John's Church (1741), where Patrick Henry made his famous "Give me liberty, or give me death" speech; the Edgar Allan Poe Shrine (the oldest building in the city, built c.1686); the Robert E. Lee House (1844); Monument Ave., with its statues of Confederate leaders and tennis player Arthur Ashe Ashe, Arthur Robert, 1943–93, American tennis player, b. Richmond, Va. Ashe rose from his hometown's public courts to become the first African-American male to reach prominence in tennis. He won the 1965 intercollegiate singles championship while at the Univ.
..... Click the link for more information. ; Hollywood Cemetery (1847); and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

The first permanent settlement was made in 1637. Fort Charles was built in 1645, and the site became a trading center. The city was laid out in 1737 under the patronage of William Byrd Byrd, William, 1674–1744, American colonial writer, planter, and government official; son of William Byrd (1652–1704). After being educated in England, he became active in the politics of colonial America.
..... Click the link for more information. . It was made the capital of Virginia in 1779 and was raided by the British in 1781. During the Civil War, Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy Confederacy, name commonly given to the Confederate States of America (1861–65), the government established by the Southern states of the United States after their secession from the Union.
..... Click the link for more information. and the constant objective of Union forces. The city was seriously threatened in the Peninsular campaign Peninsular campaign, in the American Civil War, the unsuccessful Union attempt (Apr.–July, 1862) to capture Richmond, Va., by way of the peninsula between the York and James rivers.

The Plan

Early in 1862, Gen. George B.
..... Click the link for more information. (1862), when it was saved by the Seven Days battles Seven Days battles, in the American Civil War, the week-long Confederate counter-offensive (June 26–July 2, 1862) near Richmond, Va., that ended the Peninsular campaign . After the battle of Fair Oaks the Union general George B.
..... Click the link for more information. ; in the Wilderness campaign Wilderness campaign, in the American Civil War, a series of engagements (May–June, 1864) fought in the Wilderness region of Virginia. Early in May, 1864, the Northern commander in chief, Grant , led the Army of the Potomac (118,000 strong) across the Rapidan
..... Click the link for more information. (1864); and in Grant's campaign of 1864–65 around Petersburg Petersburg, city (1990 pop. 38,386), politically independent and in no county, SE Va., on the Appomattox River; inc. 1850. A port of entry and an important tobacco market, it has industries producing chemicals, pharmaceuticals, furniture, structural steel, lumber,
..... Click the link for more information. , which culminated in Richmond's fall. Much of the city was burned during the Confederate evacuation, Apr. 3, 1865. Richmond National Battlefield Park (see National Parks and Monuments National Parks and Monuments

National Parks
Name Type¹ Location Year authorized Size

acres (hectares)

Description
Acadia NP SE Maine 1919 48,419 (19,603) Mountain and coast scenery.
..... Click the link for more information. , table) includes several of the battlefields.

Bibliography

See E. M. Thomas, The Confederate State of Richmond (1971); L. White-Raible, Richmond: A Renaissance City (1988).

Richmond, city, England

Richmond, former municipal borough, SE England. See Richmond upon Thames Richmond upon Thames, outer borough (1991 pop. 154,600) of Greater London, SE England. The borough was created in 1965 by the merger of the municipal boroughs of Barnes, Richmond, and Twickenham.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Richmond

City (pop., 2000: 197,790), capital of Virginia, U.S. Located in the east-central part of the state, on the James River, Richmond was established as a trading post in 1637 and incorporated as a town in 1742. It became the state capital in 1779 and played an important role in the American Revolution. During the American Civil War it was the capital of the Confederate States of America. It was taken by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in 1865, and much of the business district was burned. It is now a major tobacco market and commercial and government centre; its universities include the University of Richmond (founded 1830) and Virginia Commonwealth University (1838).