Ralph White retired as the Manager of the James River Park System. It has been said that what we know of today as the James River Park System can be attributed to White.
On this episode, he talks about the history of the James River Park System, the history of the James River and answers some questions from HRT listeners on social media.
Dale Wheary is the Curator and Director of Maymont Mansion. She talks about the history of Maymont and James and Sallie Dooley who left their house and estate Richmond.
There was so much interesting information in this conversation with Wheary that it will be released as a 2 part episode. This first episode is mostly about the Dooleys and the and the second is mostly about Maymont as a park. The people and their land is so connected that the topics are only loosely assigned to each episode. The second part will be released on May 1, 2014.
Thank you to Maymont for all three of these images.
John Marshall House at 818 E Marshall St, Richmond, Va c. 1900
Which Richmonder do you think has had the largest influence on the United States Government? It may be short list but at the top of that list, or at least near the top, has got to be John Marshall. On this episode Bobbie LeViness, Site Coordination of The John Marshall House at 818 E Marshall St discusses Marshall’s life.
Marshall built the house at 818 E Marshall St in 1790 and lived there until his death in 1835. Since the early 1900’s Preservation Virginia has owned the house and now runs it as a museum to the man who built it.
Marshall’s amazing life includes being an officer in the Continental Army and he was the first person, and still one of only a few, to serve in all 3 branches of the federal government. He is best know as the third confirmed Chief Justice of the United State. He is the longest serving and is known as the “Great Chief Justice”.
You are encouraged to visit the John Marshall House which closes during some of the colder months but reopens on Feb 28, 2014 and is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Richmond has often been called a Civil War town, but how much do we know about the average Richmonder during the tumultuous 4 years that were the Civil War? This is the first of a series new periodic series called Civil War Life in Richmond. The series will examine what it would be like for civilians to live in RVA. This first episode features Historian and Park Guide from the National Park Service Mike Gorman. Gorman was on episode 10 Lincoln in Richmond.
Topics rang from how the newspapers covered daily life in RVA to the reaction to already having a city government, housing the Virginia state government and then mixing in a federal government that was housed in the same building as the state government.
Mike Gorman maintains a fantastic website with a great mount of information about Civil War Richmond. It can be found at mdgorman.com
The Wickham House where The Valentine opened, seen after 1933. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
On this episode, Bill Martin, The Director of The Valentine Richmond History Center discusses the history of The Valentine, which is the oldest museum in Richmond. The museum opened its doors in 1898 in the Wickham House on the corner of Clay and 11th St. Over the years the museum has gone through many changes as RVA and its needs for a museum have changed, including expansion. The museum now takes up the entire block of East Grace St between 10th & 11th Streets. Martin also tells History Replays Today about the current renovations of the museums main galleries. The renovation is allowing Martin and The Valentine to reexamine what its means to live in a city like Richmond, that is layered with history and how that history should be taught and related to.
The Valentine Richmond History Center is a must visit for any one that wants to know anything about Richmond. The museum (like this podcast) focuses on ALL of Richmond’s history not just the Civil War. In fact Martin lays out why the Civil War may not even be the most important time in RVA’s history.
The Wickham House and Edward Valentine’s Studio remain open through out the renovation. The renovations progress can be monitored every Wednesday at the “Hard Hat Happy Hour”. The Valentine’s Community Discussions will also continue. Find out more information on the Valentine’s calendar of events.
Benjamin Ross, Historian at 6th Mount Zion Baptist Church which dates back to 1867and started in a Confederate horse stable by the James River.
Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in 1887 for the church’s collection
The Church was started by the charismatic Rev John Jasper who is most famous for his “Stars Do Move” sermon that proved the Earth was flat and that the Sun revolved around the Earth using the bible.
Mike Gorman talks to host Jeff Majer about President Abraham Lincoln’s historic trip to Richmond less then 48 hour after the evacuation of the Confederate Government. The Confederates had held the strong hold in RVA for 4 years and on their way out of town the business district will be set ablaze.
When the President appears on the banks of the James River he will be mobbed by newly freed slaves as he tries to push his way through Shockoe.
Gorman is a historian with the National Park Service and compiles sources about Civil War Richmond at www.mdgorman.com.
This episode of History Replays Today, The Richmond History Podcast features Dale Brumfield, the author of Richmond Independent Press, The Underground Zine Scene and a founder of Throttle. This episode covers Richmond’s (dis) connection to Martin Luther King’s assignation, King’s version of his “I have a dream speech” to protest VA’s failure to integrate its schools, how Allen Ginsberg accidentally started a riot in the fan, why James Brown and other black musicians were banned in Richmond, why the section of Franklin St through VCU is so well preserved, local lore like a poet who lived on the Kanawha Canal and why he through a cow in the canal, & much more.
Mark Greenough, Tour Supervisor and Historian at the Virginia State Capitol talks about the early days of the building. Many folks know that Thomas Jefferson designed the Virginia State Capitol, but the story is far more complicated and dramatic then a founding father dabbling in architecture.
The conversation addresses why the capital of Virginia was moved from Williamsburg to Richmond, why Thomas Jefferson designed the building, why it is where it is, what RVA was like as a young capital and much more.