Editing Richmond, Virginia (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Richmond, Virginia}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of Richmond, Virginia}}

===Colonial era===
[[File:Portrait, William Byrd II, Sir Godfrey Kneller.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[William Byrd II]] is considered the founder of Richmond. The Byrd family, which includes [[Harry F. Byrd]], has been central to Virginia's history since its founding. ]]
After the first permanent English-speaking settlement was established at [[Jamestown, Virginia]], in April 1607, [[Christopher Newport|Captain Christopher Newport]] led explorers northwest up the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]] to an inhabited area in the [[Powhatan]] Nation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=City of Richmond |title=History |url=http://www.richmondgov.com/Visitors/History.aspx |access-date=August 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025141830/http://www.richmondgov.com/Visitors/History.aspx |archive-date=October 25, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Richmond was Arrohattoc territory where Arrohateck village was located. However, as time progressed relations between the Arrohattocs and English colonists declined, and by 1609 the tribe was unwilling to trade with the settlers. As the population began to dwindle, the tribe declined and was last mentioned in a 1610 report by the visiting William Strachey. By 1611 the tribe's Henrico town was found to be deserted when Sir Thomas Dale went to use the land to found Henricus.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/tripideas/richmond-s-indigenous-heritage.htm |title=History Up Close Near Richmond, Virginia |publisher=United States National Park Service |access-date=August 13, 2024}}</ref>

In 1611, the first European settlement in Central Virginia was established at [[Henricus]], where the [[Falling Creek (James River tributary)|Falling Creek]] empties into the James River. In 1619, early [[Virginia Company]] settlers established the [[Falling Creek Ironworks]] there. [[Anglo-Powhatan Wars|Decades of conflicts]] between the Powhatan and the settlers followed, including the [[Battle of Bloody Run (1656)|Battle of Bloody Run]], fought near Richmond in 1656, after tensions arose from an influx of [[Manahoac]]s and [[Nahyssans]] from the North. Nonetheless, the James Falls area saw more White settlement in the late 1600s and early 1700s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dabney |first=Virginius | author-link=Virginius Dabney |title=Richmond: The Story of a City |year=1990 |edition=revised and expanded |isbn=978-0813912745 |publisher=[[University Press of Virginia]]}}</ref>

In early 1737, planter [[William Byrd II]] commissioned [[William Mayo (civil engineer)|Major William Mayo]] to lay out the original town grid, completed in April. Byrd named the city after the English town of [[Richmond, London|Richmond]] near (and now part of) London, because the view of the James River's bend at the fall line reminded him of his home at [[Richmond Hill, London|Richmond Hill]] on the [[River Thames]]. In 1742, the settlement was incorporated as a town.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Mary Wingfield |title=Houses of Old Richmond |date=1941 |publisher=The Valentine Museum |location=Richmond, Virginia |url=http://www.rosegill.com/ProjectWinkie/Houses%20of%20Old%20Richmond.pdf |access-date=August 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924092051/http://www.rosegill.com/ProjectWinkie/Houses%20of%20Old%20Richmond.pdf |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Harvey2012">{{cite book |last1=Harvey |first1=Eleanor Jones |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2CPJyvqk4CUC&pg=PA162 |title=The Civil War and American Art |last2=Smithsonian American Art Museum |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-300-18733-5 |page=162}}</ref>

===American Revolution===

[[File:Patrick Henry speaking before the Virginia Assembly.tiff|thumb|[[Patrick Henry]] delivered his "[[Give me liberty or give me death!]]" speech at [[Saint John's Church, Richmond, Virginia|St. John's Church]] in Richmond, helping to ignite the American Revolution.]]
In 1775, [[Patrick Henry]] delivered his famous "[[Give me liberty or give me death!]]" speech in Richmond's [[Saint John's Church, Richmond, Virginia|St. John's Church]], greatly influencing Virginia's participation in the [[First Continental Congress]] and the course of the [[American Revolution]].<ref name="liberty_death">Grafton, John. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=Pfaag5M6zSIC&dq=give+me+liberty+or+give+me+death&pg=PA1 The Declaration of Independence and Other Great Documents of American History: 1775–1864] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115091755/https://books.google.com/books?id=Pfaag5M6zSIC&pg=PA1&ots=8ajFS0_ad6&dq=give+me+liberty+or+give+me+death&sig=DeTt2XiAZBxHr1IB_mc_CvXtdP4#PPA1,M1 |date=January 15, 2016 }}." '''2000''', Courier Dover Publications, pp. 1–4.</ref> On April 18, 1780, the state capital was moved from [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] to Richmond, providing a more centralized location for Virginia's increasing western population and theoretically isolating the capital from a British attack from the coast.<ref name="VHS">"[http://www.vahistorical.org/education/april.htm April dates in Virginia history] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301212616/http://www.vahistorical.org/education/april.htm |date=March 1, 2012 }}." ''[http://www.vahistorical.org/ Virginia Historical Society] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331122431/http://www.vahistorical.org/ |date=March 31, 2018 }}.'' Retrieved on July 11, 2007.</ref> In 1781, [[Loyalists fighting in the American Revolution|Loyalist troops]] led by [[Benedict Arnold]] led a [[raid on Richmond]] and burnt it, leading Governor [[Thomas Jefferson]] to flee while the [[Virginia militia]], led by [[Sampson Mathews]], unsuccessfully defended the city.<ref name="Waddell">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_rZbEC1kEdpcC |title=Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, from 1726 to 1871 |publisher=C. R. Caldwell |last1=Waddell |first1=Joseph Addison |year=1902 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_rZbEC1kEdpcC/page/n290 278]}}</ref>

===Early United States===

Richmond recovered quickly from the war, thriving within a year of its burning.<ref name="Yorktown_1781">Morrissey, Brendan. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=r--9D24q4ncC&dq=1781+benedict+arnold+richmond&pg=PA14 Yorktown 1781: The World Turned Upside Down] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114204414/https://books.google.com/books?id=r--9D24q4ncC&pg=PA14&ots=6TIkUk31ng&dq=1781+benedict+arnold+richmond&sig=fnooW303Sxbtck7DWktPJoAUU3U#PPA14,M1 |date=January 14, 2016 }}." Published 1997, Osprey Publishing, pp. 14–16.</ref> In 1786, the [[Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom]], drafted by Thomas Jefferson, was enacted, separating church and state and advancing the legal principle for [[freedom of religion]] in the United States.<ref name="Religious_Freedom">Peterson, Merrill D.; Vaughan, Robert C. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=I9v9aVcsfJ8C&dq=virginia+statute+for+religious+freedom&pg=PP1 The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom: Its Evolution and Consequences in American History] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420191917/https://books.google.com/books?id=I9v9aVcsfJ8C&pg=PP1&ots=I1-IfSQYjF&dq=virginia+statute+for+religious+freedom&sig=hyrkj0zyKqP0iQil8AQqPdJ26XE |date=April 20, 2016 }}.'' Published 1988, Cambridge University Press. Retrieved on July 11, 2007.</ref> In 1788, the [[Virginia State Capitol]], designed by Jefferson and [[Charles-Louis Clérisseau]] in the [[Greek Revival architecture|Greek Revival style]], was completed.

To bypass Richmond's rapids on the upper James River and provide a water route across the [[Appalachian Mountains]] to the [[Kanawha River]], which flows westward into the [[Ohio River]] and converges with the [[Mississippi River]], [[George Washington]] helped design the [[James River and Kanawha Canal]].<ref name="JRKCHD">{{cite web|author=Tucker H. Hill and William Trout |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District: From Ship Locks to Bosher's Dam |url=https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/127-0171_James_River_and_Kanawha_Canal_Historic_District_1971_Final_Nomination.pdf |date=June 23, 1971 |access-date=February 8, 2024 |publisher=Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission}}</ref> The canal started in [[Westham, Virginia|Westham]] and cut east to Richmond, facilitating the transfer of cargo from flat-bottomed [[James River bateau]]x above the fall line to the ocean-faring ships below.<ref name="JRKCHD" />  The canal boatmen legacy is represented by the figure in the center of the city flag.<ref name="Flag">{{cite web |url=https://richmondmagazine.com/news/when-statues-move/ |date=July 7, 2020 |last=Kollatz, Jr. |first=Harry |title=When statues move |website=richmondmagazine.com |publisher=Richmond Magazine |access-date=February 8, 2024}}</ref>

Because of the canal and the [[hydropower]] the falls generated, Richmond emerged as an important industrial center after the [[American Revolutionary War]] (1775–1783). It became home to some of the largest manufacturing facilities, including iron works and flour mills, in [[Southeastern United States|the South]] and the country.

By 1850, Richmond was connected by the [[Richmond and Petersburg Railroad]] to [[Port Walthall]], where ships carrying over 200 tons of cargo could connect to [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]] or [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]. Passenger liners could reach [[Norfolk, Virginia]], through the [[Hampton Roads]] harbor.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=huxDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA196 |title=The New American Encyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge |publisher=D. Appleton |year=1872 |page=196 |access-date=August 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406122343/https://books.google.com/books?id=huxDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA196 |archive-date=April 6, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the 19th century, Richmond was connected to the North by the [[Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad|Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad]], later replaced by [[CSX Transportation|CSXT]].

[[File:Une vente d'esclaves, à Richmond, capitale de la Virginie (États-Unis), 1861.jpg|thumb|[[Slavery in the United States|Slave auction]] in Richmond, 1861]]
The railroad also was used by some to escape [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] in the mid-19th century. In 1849, [[Henry Box Brown|Henry "Box" Brown]] had himself nailed into a small box and shipped from Richmond to abolitionists in [[Philadelphia]] through [[Baltimore]]'s [[President Street Station]] on the [[Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad]], often used by the [[Underground Railroad]] to assist escaping disguised slaves reach the free state of [[Pennsylvania]].<ref name="Brown">Switala, William J. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=WPFYoBL6bGsC&dq=Henry+%22box%22+brown&pg=PA1 The Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116024940/https://books.google.com/books?id=WPFYoBL6bGsC&pg=PA1&ots=RfR3Xdk02-&dq=Henry+%22box%22+brown&sig=Ogui2KimjOc5A8mcUWBh4HFDW1Y |date=January 16, 2016 }}." Published 2001, Stackpole Books. pp. 1–4.</ref>

===American Civil War===
{{main| Richmond in the American Civil War}}
Five days after the Confederate attack on [[Fort Sumter]], the Virginia legislature voted to secede from the United States and join the newly created [[Confederate States of America]] on April 17, 1861. The action became official in May, after the Confederacy promised to move its national capital to Richmond from [[Montgomery, Alabama]].[[File:White House of the Confederacy - entrance, May 2013.JPG|thumb|upright|The [[White House of the Confederacy]]]]Richmond held local, state and national Confederate government offices, hospitals, a railroad hub, and one of the largest slave markets. It also had the largest Confederate arms factory, the [[Tredegar Iron Works]]. The factory produced artillery and other munitions, including heavy [[Ordnance ammunition|ordnance]] machinery and the 723 tons of armor plating that covered the [[CSS Virginia|CSS ''Virginia'']], the world's first [[ironclad]] ship used in war.<ref name="Tredegar">Time-Life Books. ''[[iarchive:blockaderunnersr00time|<!-- quote=CSS Virginia Tredegar Iron Works 723 tons. --> The Blockade: Runners and Raiders]] {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8DcvAAAAMAAJ&q=CSS+Virginia+Tredegar+Iron+Works+723+tons |title=The Blockade: Runners and Raiders |year=1983 |publisher=Time-Life Books |isbn=9780809447091 |access-date=October 17, 2015 |archive-date=January 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115004242/https://books.google.com/books?id=8DcvAAAAMAAJ&q=CSS+Virginia+Tredegar+Iron+Works+723+tons&dq=CSS+Virginia+Tredegar+Iron+Works+723+tons&pgis=1 |url-status=bot: unknown }}''. Published 1983, Time-Life, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-8094-4709-1}}</ref> The [[Confederate Congress|Confederate States Congress]] shared quarters in the Jefferson-designed [[Virginia State Capitol]] with the [[Virginia General Assembly]]. The Confederacy's executive mansion, known as the "[[White House of the Confederacy]]," was two blocks away on Clay Street.

Located about {{cvt|100|mi|km}} from the national capital in [[Washington, D.C.]], Richmond was at the end of a long supply line and difficult to defend. For four years, its defense required the bulk of the [[Army of Northern Virginia]] and the Confederacy's best troops and commanders.<ref>Bruce Levine, ''The Fall of the House of Dixie'' (New York, Random House 2014) pp. 269–70</ref> The Union army made Richmond a main target in the campaigns of 1862 and 1864–65. In late June and early July 1862, Union General-in-Chief [[George B. McClellan]] threatened but failed to take Richmond in the [[Seven Days Battles]] of the [[Peninsula campaign]]. Three years later, Richmond became indefensible in March 1865 after nearby [[Petersburg, Virginia|Petersburg]] fell and several remaining rail supply lines to the south and southwest were broken.
[[File:General Robert E. Lee MET DP248323.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Robert E. Lee]] at [[Stewart–Lee House|his home]] in Richmond (1865)]]
On March 25, Confederate General [[John B. Gordon]]'s desperate attack on [[Battle of Fort Stedman|Fort Stedman]], east of Petersburg, failed. On April 1, Union Cavalry General [[Philip Sheridan]], assigned to interdict the Southside Railroad, met brigades commanded by Southern General [[George Pickett]] at the [[Battle of Five Forks|Five Forks]] Junction, defeated them, took thousands of prisoners, and advised Union General-in-Chief [[Ulysses S. Grant]] to order a general advance. When the Union Sixth Corps broke through Confederate lines on the Boydton Plank Road south of Petersburg, Confederate casualties exceeded 5,000, about a tenth of Lee's defending army. Lee then informed President [[Jefferson Davis]] that he intended to evacuate Richmond.<ref>Levine pp. 271–72</ref>

On April 2, 1865, the Confederate Army began Richmond's evacuation. Confederate President Davis and his cabinet, Confederate government archives, and its treasury's gold, left the city that night by train. Confederate officials burned documents and troops burned tobacco and other warehouses to deny the Union any spoils. In the early morning of April 3, Confederate troops exploded the city's gunpowder magazine, killing several paupers in a temporary Almshouse and a man on 2nd St. The concussion shattered windows all over the city.<ref>"The City Magazine" The Richmond Whig, April 27, 1865</ref> Later that day, General [[Godfrey Weitzel]], commander of the 25th Corps of the [[United States Colored Troops]], accepted Richmond's surrender from the mayor and a group of leading citizens who did not evacuate.<ref>Levine, pp. 272–73</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=August 4, 2001 |others=Regimental Losses in the American Civil War William F. Fox |title=The Civil War Archive Union Corps History 25th Corps |url=http://www.civilwararchive.com/CORPS/25thcorp.htm |url-status=live |access-date=November 28, 2021 |website=The Civil War Archive |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050207183702/http://www.civilwararchive.com/CORPS/25thcorp.htm |archive-date=February 7, 2005}}</ref> Union troops eventually contained the fires, but about 25% of the city's buildings were destroyed.<ref>Mike Wright, ''City Under Siege: Richmond in the Civil War'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 1995)</ref>

[[File:Richmond Virginia damage2.jpg|right|thumb|Retreating [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] troops burned strategic war materials so they would not get into [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] hands, but the fires went out of control and one-fourth of Richmond was burned in April 1865.]]On April 3, President [[Abraham Lincoln]] visited Grant at Petersburg and took a launch up the [[James River]] to Richmond on April 4. While Davis attempted to organize the Confederate government in [[Danville, Virginia|Danville]], Lincoln met Confederate Assistant Secretary of War [[John Archibald Campbell|John A. Campbell]], handing him a note inviting Virginia's state legislature to end their rebellion. After Campbell spun the note to Confederate legislators as a possible end to the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], Lincoln rescinded his offer and ordered General Weitzel to prevent the state legislature from meeting.

On April 6, Union forces killed, wounded, or captured 8,000 Confederate troops at [[Battle of Sayler's Creek|Sayler's Creek]], southwest of Petersburg. The Confederate Army continued a general retreat southwestward, and General Lee continued to reject General Grant's surrender entreaties until Sheridan's infantry and cavalry encircled the shrinking [[Army of Northern Virginia]] and cut off its ability to retreat further on April 8. Lee surrendered his remaining approximately 10,000 troops the following morning at [[Appomattox Court House, Virginia|Appomattox Court House]], meeting Grant at the McLean Home.<ref>Levine pp. 275–78</ref>

Davis was captured on May 10 near [[Irwinville, Georgia]] and taken back to Virginia, where he was imprisoned two years at [[Fort Monroe]] until freed on bail.<ref>Levine pop. 279–82</ref>

===Postbellum===
[[File:Freedmen registering to vote in 1870 in the first municipal election in Richmond, Virginia, held after the end of the Civil War.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Freedmen registering to vote in 1870 in the first municipal election in Richmond held after the end of the Civil War]]

[[File:Lewis Ginter.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Lewis Ginter]] was the founder of [[Allen & Ginter]] which was at the time the world's largest tobacco company]]
A decade after the Civil War, Richmond resumed its position as a major urban center of economic productivity with iron front buildings and massive brick factories. Canal traffic peaked in the 1860s, with railroads becoming the dominant shipping method. Richmond became a major railroad crossroads,<ref name="JR&kanawha">Dunaway, Wayland F. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=eRAAgfbWT2IC&q=james+river+and+kanawha+canal History of the James River and Kanawha Company] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115183832/https://books.google.com/books?id=eRAAgfbWT2IC&dq=james+river+and+kanawha+canal |date=January 15, 2016 }}." Published 1922, Columbia University. Retrieved on July 11, 2007.</ref> showcasing the world's first triple railroad crossing. Tobacco warehousing and processing continued to play a central economic role, advanced by the world's first cigarette-rolling machine that [[James Albert Bonsack]] of [[Roanoke, Virginia|Roanoke]] invented between 1880 and 1881.

[[Lewis Ginter]] was the founder of [[Allen & Ginter]] which was at the time one of the world's largest tobacco companies. He would devote his philanthropy to Richmond and was quoted saying "I am for Richmond, first and last." He built the [[Jefferson Hotel (Richmond, Virginia)|Jefferson Hotel]] and suburbs north of Richmond which would go on to be the model for much of the country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Major Lewis Ginter - Namesake of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden |url=https://www.lewisginter.org/visit/about/history/major-lewis-ginter/ |access-date=January 28, 2025 |website=Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden |language=en-US}}</ref>

Another important contributor to Richmond's resurgence was the [[Richmond Union Passenger Railway]], a [[tram|trolley system]] developed by electric power pioneer [[Frank J. Sprague]]. The system opened its first Richmond line in 1888, using an overhead wire and a trolley pole to connect to the current and electric motors on the car's trucks.<ref name="streetcar_2">Harwood, Jr., Herbert H. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=KwtfsspuhKoC&dq=%22Frank+J.+Sprague%22%2B%22richmond%22%2B%22electric+streetcar%22&pg=PT11 Baltimore Streetcars: The Postwar Years] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115152859/https://books.google.com/books?id=KwtfsspuhKoC&pg=PT11&ots=BSv9Gjt-BO&dq=%22Frank+J.+Sprague%22%2B%22richmond%22%2B%22electric+streetcar%22&sig=iY0ftMhGUpXBcloLV89Q1VW7YqY|date=January 15, 2016}}.'' Published 2003, Johns Hopkins University Press, p. vii. {{ISBN|978-0-8018-7190-0}}</ref> The success led to electric streetcar lines rapidly spreading to other cities.<ref name="streetcar_1">Smil, Vaclav. ''[[iarchive:creatingtwentiet0000smil/page/94|<!-- quote="Frank J. Sprague"+"richmond"+"electric streetcar". --> Creating the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations of 1867–1914 and Their Lasting Impact]] {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w3Mh7qQRM-IC&dq=%22Frank+J.+Sprague%22%2B%22richmond%22%2B%22electric+streetcar%22&pg=PA94 |title=Creating the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations of 1867-1914 and Their Lasting Impact |isbn=978-0-19-803774-3 |access-date=October 17, 2015 |archive-date=January 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115043658/https://books.google.com/books?id=w3Mh7qQRM-IC&pg=PA94&ots=HQHiiFD9mC&dq=%22Frank+J.+Sprague%22%2B%22richmond%22%2B%22electric+streetcar%22&sig=5HVXW6OygFef41F5HJ0Pe2H0BiY |url-status=bot: unknown |last1=Smil |first1=Vaclav |date=August 25, 2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press }}.'' Published 2005, Oxford University Press, p. 94. {{ISBN|978-0-19-516874-7}}</ref> A post-World War II transition to buses from streetcars began in May 1947 and was completed on November 25, 1949.<ref>"Transit Topics." Published November 27, 1949, and November 30, 1957, Virginia Transit Company, Richmond, Virginia.</ref>

===20th century===
[[File:14th Street Bridge, Richmond, ca 1917.jpg|right|thumb|By the early 20th century Richmond had an extensive network of electric streetcars, as shown here crossing the Mayo Bridge across the James River, c. 1917.]]
By the beginning of the 20th century, the city's population had reached 85,050 in {{cvt|5|sqmi|km2}}, making it the most densely populated city in the [[Southern United States]].<ref name="GibsonC">Gibson, Campbell. "[https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027.html Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990] [https://web.archive.org/web/20070707153942/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027.html Archived copy] at [[WebCite]] (July 10, 2007).." ''[[United States Census Bureau]]'', June 1998. Retrieved on July 11, 2007.</ref> In the 1900 Census, Richmond's population was 62.1% white and 37.9% black.<ref name="census1">{{cite web |title=Virginia – Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812191959/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |archive-date=August 12, 2012}}</ref> Freed slaves and their descendants created a thriving African-American business community, and the city's historic [[Jackson Ward]] became known as the "Wall Street of Black America." In 1903, African-American businesswoman and financier [[Maggie L. Walker]] chartered St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, served as its president, and was the first black female bank president in the United States.<ref name="MaggieWalker" /> [[Charles Thaddeus Russell]] was Richmond's first black architect, and he designed the bank's office.<ref name="Harry">{{cite news |last1=Kollatz |first1=Harry Jr. |title=Russell House Revival |url=https://richmondmagazine.com/home/special-addresses/russell-house-revival/ |access-date=January 6, 2022 |publisher=Richmond Magazine |date=December 5, 2016 |archive-date=January 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106001351/https://richmondmagazine.com/home/special-addresses/russell-house-revival/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Today, the bank is called the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company and is the country's oldest surviving African-American bank.<ref name="MaggieWalker">Felder, Deborah G. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=7mc8QsyUMjAC&dq=St.+Luke+Penny+Savings+Bank&pg=PA338 ''A Century of Women: The Most Influential Events in Twentieth-Century Women's History''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115235241/https://books.google.com/books?id=7mc8QsyUMjAC&pg=PA338&ots=uUWVqtyekp&dq=St.+Luke+Penny+Savings+Bank&sig=ljb5MGtQkyZe-cTAZotNC1un10U |date=January 15, 2016 }}, 1999, Citadel Press, p. 338. {{ISBN|978-1-55972-485-2}}</ref> Another prominent African-American from this time was [[John Mitchell Jr.]], a newspaper editor, civil rights activist, and politician.

In 1910, the former city of [[Manchester, Virginia|Manchester]] consolidated with Richmond, and in 1914 the city annexed Barton Heights, Ginter Park, and Highland Park in [[Henrico County, Virginia|Henrico County]].<ref name="manchester">Chesson, Michael B. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=PFElAAAAMAAJ&q=manchester+richmond+1910 Richmond After the War, 1865 to 1890] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115185046/https://books.google.com/books?id=PFElAAAAMAAJ&q=manchester+richmond+1910&dq=manchester+richmond+1910&pgis=1 |date=January 15, 2016 }}." Published 1981, Virginia State Library, p. 177.</ref> In May 1914, Richmond became the headquarters of the [[Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond|Fifth District of the Federal Reserve Bank]].

Several major performing arts venues were constructed during the 1920s, including what are now the Landmark Theatre, Byrd Theatre, and Carpenter Theatre. The city's first radio station, [[WRVA (AM)|WRVA]], began broadcasting in 1925. [[WTVR-TV]] (CBS 6), Richmond's first television station, was also the first TV station south of Washington, D.C.<ref name="WRVA">Tyler-McGraw, Marie. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=ViOxxN4lHTkC&dq=WRVA+1925&pg=PA257 At the Falls: Richmond, Virginia, and Its People] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115173209/https://books.google.com/books?id=ViOxxN4lHTkC&pg=PA257&dq=WRVA+1925&sig=SUIk7fLPtPdoqcmjrF63nuajH1M |date=January 15, 2016 }}." Published 1994, UNC Press, p. 257. {{ISBN|978-0-8078-4476-2}}</ref>

[[File:Statue of Thomas J. Jackson - Capitol Square - Virginia State House - Richmond - Virginia - USA (46876104255).jpg|thumb|Statue of [[Stonewall Jackson]] in front of the Richmond's Old City Hall]]
Between 1963 and 1965, there was a "downtown boom" that led to the construction of more than 700 buildings. In 1968, [[Virginia Commonwealth University]] was created by the merger of the [[Medical College of Virginia]] and the [[Richmond Professional Institute]].<ref name="vcu">"[http://www.vcu.edu/about/ About VCU] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704044449/http://www.vcu.edu/about/ |date=July 4, 2007 }}." ''[[Virginia Commonwealth University]].'' Retrieved on July 11, 2007.</ref>

On January 1, 1970, Richmond's borders expanded south by {{cvt|27|sqmi|km2}} and its population increased by 47,000 after several years of court cases in which [[Chesterfield County, Virginia|Chesterfield County]] unsuccessfully fought annexation.<ref name="RichmondvUS">"[http://supreme.justia.com/us/422/358/ City of Richmond v. United States, 422 U.S. 358] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017054414/http://supreme.justia.com/us/422/358/ |date=October 17, 2007 }}." '''1975.''' ''[[United States Supreme Court]].'' Retrieved on July 11, 2007.</ref>

In 1995, a multimillion-dollar [[flood wall]] was completed, protecting the city's low-lying areas from the oft-rising James River. Consequently, the River District businesses grew rapidly, bolstered by the creation of a Canal Walk along the city's former industrial canals.<ref name="floodwall">"{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070703013138/http://www.richmondriverdistrict.com/main.cfm?action=history River District History]}}." ''{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20050127204802/http://richmondriverdistrict.com/ Richmond River District]}}.'' Retrieved on July 11, 2007.</ref><ref name="canal_walk">"[https://archive.today/20090804050555/http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/jul/31/canal-walk/ The Canal Walk]." ''[http://www.richmond.com/ Richmond.com].'' July 31, 2009. Retrieved on January 20, 2010.{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Today the area is home to much of Richmond's entertainment, dining, and nightlife activity.

In 1996, racial tensions grew amid controversy about adding the statue of African American Richmond native and tennis star [[Arthur Ashe]] to the series of statues of Confederate figures on [[Monument Avenue]].<ref name="arthurashe">Edds, Margaret; Little, Robert. "Why Richmond voted to Honor Arthur Ashe on Monument Avenue. The Final, Compelling Argument for Supporters: A Street Reserved for Confederate Generals had no Place in this City." ''[[The Virginian-Pilot]].'' July 19, 1995.</ref> After several months of controversy, Ashe's bronze statue was finally completed on July 10, 1996.<ref name="arthurashe2">Staff Writer. "[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/05/us/arthur-ashe-statue-set-up-in-richmond-at-last.html Arthur Ashe Statue Set Up in Richmond at Last] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330211918/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/05/us/arthur-ashe-statue-set-up-in-richmond-at-last.html |date=March 30, 2017 }}." ''[[New York Times]].'' July 5, 1996. Retrieved on January 20, 2010.</ref>

=== 21st century ===
[[File:RVA 2020 MDPC (50041262732).jpg|thumb|A formerly-focal point of [[Monument Avenue]], the [[Robert E. Lee Monument (Richmond, Virginia)|Robert E. Lee Monument]] was removed in 2021, following the protests of [[List of Confederate monuments and memorials in Virginia|Confederate monuments in Virginia]].]]By the beginning of the 21st century, the population of the greater [[Greater Richmond Region|Richmond metropolitan area]] had reached approximately 1,100,000, although the population of the city itself had declined to less than 200,000. On November 2, 2004, former Virginia governor [[L. Douglas Wilder]] was elected as the city's first directly elected mayor in over 60 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Douglas Wilder, Politician born |url=https://aaregistry.org/story/douglas-wilder-born/ |access-date=November 20, 2024 |website=African American Registry |language=en}}</ref>

Most of the statues honoring Confederate leaders such as the [[Robert E. Lee Monument (Richmond, Virginia)|Robert E. Lee monument]] on [[Monument Avenue]] were removed during or after the [[George Floyd protests]] in June 2020 following the [[Murder of George Floyd|killing of George Floyd]] by Minneapolis police officer [[Derek Chauvin|Derek M. Chauvin]]. The city removed the last Confederate statue, honoring Confederate General [[A. P. Hill|General A. P. Hill]], on December 12, 2022. The [[Arthur Ashe Monument|only statue remaining on Monument Avenue]] is of Arthur Ashe, the pioneering Black tennis player. The [[Bill Robinson|Bill "Bojangles" Robinson]] monument in Jackson Ward was untouched during the protests and remained in place.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Whittney |last2=Streever |first2=David |date=September 8, 2021 |title=Virginia's Massive Robert e. Lee Statue Has Been Removed |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/09/08/1035004639/virginia-ready-to-remove-massive-robert-e-lee-statue-following-a-year-of-lawsuit#:~:text=Northam%20announced%20plans%20to%20remove,the%2061%2Dfoot%2Dtall%20memorial |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110072751/https://www.npr.org/2021/09/08/1035004639/virginia-ready-to-remove-massive-robert-e-lee-statue-following-a-year-of-lawsuit#:~:text=Northam%20announced%20plans%20to%20remove,the%2061%2Dfoot%2Dtall%20memorial |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |access-date=November 10, 2021 |website=NPR}}</ref><ref>Gregory S. Schneider. Washington Post reporter. ( January 2, 2023). "White contractors wouldn't remove Confederate statues. So a Black man did it.". [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/white-contractors-wouldn-t-remove-confederate-statues-so-a-black-man-did-it/ar-AA15T0tX MSN website] Retrieved January 3, 2023.</ref>