Richmond: An Illustrated History

ISBN: 9780897811484

定价: 150.00

内容简介

[ reface Today Richmond s identity transcends the city
to encompass a burgeoning metropolitan area.
This larger region consists of the urban nucleus
~_;atewav and Capital City??? Richmond s charm (62.5 square miles); Chesterfield County (446
:ombines both the old and the new. Discovered at square miles); Hanover County (471 square miles);
:he time of the settling of Jamestown??? the city rec- and Henrico County (244 square miles). The fed-
3rds a history as chronologically long as that of erally-defined Standard Metropolitan Statistical
the United States. Through three centuries??? Rich- Area ($MSA) includes Richmond??? Colonial
mond has displayed different faces: Indian village??? Heights??? Petersburg??? and the three counties. Geo-
trading post??? frontier settlement??? town??? city??? and graphically??? greater Richmond is situated at the
thriving metropolitan center. A certain mystique Coastal Plain-Piedmont boundary??? where the riv-
and ambiguity embrace Richmond??? wherein the ers shift from free-flowing to tidal streams. Eleva-
past intrudes on the present??? and the present on tion ranges from zero at the southeastern end of
the past. Ric]mmnd: An Illustrated History seeks the metropolitan region to 312 feet in the western
to tell the story of the making of the city and the section.
development of its people. While the book bal- More than a century ago??? when large numbers
ances economic??? political??? social??? intellectual??? and of German immigrants arrived??? a new resident in
demographic history??? it also strives to explain how the city??? itself??? might well have proclaimed \"Ich
citizens felt and acted??? to convey a sense of what bin ein Richmonder.\" Today \"Richmond\" has a
it was like to be an average Richmonder in any broader connotation. If a resident of one of the
given era. adjacent urban counties visited another part of
From frontier to metropolis??? there have been America and were asked where he or she lived???
growing pains. Urbanization entailed stress??? as the the answer would invariably be \"Richmond\".
local population adjusted to and met the chal- While owing some character to the central por-
lenges of municipal problems. A city of the tion of the state??? Richmond-in-Virginia endures
wealthy and the poor??? with great ethnic diversity??? more as a frame of mind. This illustrated history
Richmond was nearly equally divided between depicts the town s story--its rise from village to
blacks and whites throughout its history. Similar- its current place within the broader metropolitan
ly??? it maintained social and cultural ties to both area. Again??? given the restrictions of space??? it is
the North and the South. Given a nostalgic??? yet impossible to present parallel histories of the four
often progressive temperament??? plus a geographic jurisdictions that now comprise greater Richmond???
location between the Piedmont and the Tide- Broad references note the interaction of the metro
water??? Richmond may be characterized??? above all??? communities??? however??? and coverage is extended
as a city of contrasts??? in the later chapters to call attention to the phe-
When generally treating the history of the city nomenal growth and urbanization which the
and its people??? some neglected aspects of Rich- adjacent counties have witnessed over the past
mond s past surface. Since all issues cannot be half-century.
covered??? however??? the aim has been to achieve Materials for a history of Richmond are abun-
cross-sectional representation of major themes and dant. The Virginia State Library and the Virginia
developrnents. Regrettably??? space precludes corn- Historical Society have particularly extensive hold\"
prchensive discussion of the many heroes--leaders ings which document all phases of Richmond s