RICHMOND, VA: 
 
 AN OUTLINE OF ITS 
 
 Attractions and Industries 
 
 W. D. CHESTERMAir 
 
 Prepared by Order of the Chamber of Commerce and pub- 
 lished under the directioyi of its Committee on 
 Information and Statistics. 
 
 COVtMITXEE ; 
 
 F. S. Myers, Chairman, J. H. Whitty, 
 
 Thomas Christian, R. H. Whitlock, 
 
 John B. Cary. 
 
 RICHMOND: 
 
 WM. ELLIS JONES, BOOK AND JOB PRINTER. 
 1888. 
 
Fi34 
 
 OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Richmond Chamber of Commerce, 
 
 1888-'9. 
 
 OFFICERS. 
 President, - - . . - George A. Ainslie. 
 
 First Vice-President, - - - Richard A. Dunlop. 
 
 Second Vice-President, - - - George L. Christian. 
 
 Secretary, . . - . \v. D. Chesterman. 
 
 Treasurer, ----- John H. Montague. 
 
 DIRECTORS. 
 Henry Bodeker, S. H. Hawes, 
 
 Robert S. Bosher, E. G. Leigh, Jr. 
 
 C. P. E. Burgwyn, L. Levy, 
 
 O. L. Cottrell, F. S. Myers, 
 
 S. D. Crenshaw, Geo. D. Thaxton, 
 
 John S. Ellett, W. H. Weisiger, 
 
 F. T. Glasgow, R. H. Whitlock, 
 
 R. F. Williams. 
 
 The Board meets in the rooms of the Chamber of Commerce, 
 Merchants National Bank Building, Main and Eleventh streets, on 
 the second Thursday in each month at 6 P. M. 
 
 By Transfer 
 Gteologioal Survey 
 
 MAR 16 1931 
 
Virginia's Capital and Largest City. 
 
 Richmond will have an extraordinary attraction from October 
 3d to November 21st of this year, 1888, in the Virginia Exposition, 
 which will exhibit to the world the resources of the fields, forests 
 and waters of the State, and the handiwork of her people in almost 
 every department of useful human industry, while special promi- 
 nence will be given to those objects of general interest which illus- 
 trate the history of this the oldest of the American Commonwealths. 
 
 Richmond is a favorite city with tourists. It has a charming 
 climate and beautiful site. From high hills it looks down on the 
 James river which, flowing from the mountains and Piedmont 
 country, here comes upon many islands and rocky impediments 
 causing it to divide into various streams, and break into falls and 
 cascades, until it approaches the shipping in the harbor where it 
 reunites and meets tidewater, and thence quietly and majestically 
 winds its way through fertile fields and picturesque woodlands to 
 the sea. 
 
 It is a city abounding in landmarks of the Colonial, Revolutionary 
 and Confederate struggles ; indeed, is richer in historical associations 
 than any other city in this country — being the centre of a district 
 where the shocks of the recent war were felt more frequently and 
 severely than in any other part of the land, and around which are 
 still to be seen many of the breastworks and rifle-pits whence the 
 two armies, at times from 1862 to 1865, dealt to each other their 
 missiles of death. 
 
 It is particularly interesting as the capital of the " Old Dominion," 
 and as having been the capital of the Confederate States; and its 
 streets, parks and suburbs are crowded with buildings and localities 
 connected with stirring events of which every school-boy, even, has 
 heard or read. 
 
 It is a city, too, keeping well abreast of the activity and progress 
 of the age. It owns its water works and gas works and is develop- 
 ing both to meet the demands of the growing population. No city 
 
4 Richmond, Va : its 
 
 has a superior sewerage and drainage system. The streets are well 
 paved and every rain washes the dust and dirt from them down 
 into the river. It has a moderate debt, and ample assets to give the 
 highest credit. It possesses a street-car system that is good and is 
 rapidly improving and enlarging. It is sometimes called "the 
 Electric City " by reason of the fact that electricity is here employed 
 for so many purposes— for propelling street-cars ; for furnishing 
 motive power to manufactories; for unloading ships; for street and 
 house lighting, etc., and it is the place of the first experiments in 
 and the first invention of electric-heating apparatuses. 
 
 It is a distributing point for provisions, dry goods, clothing, 
 notions, medicines, hardware, agricultural machinery, etc., and 
 most of the Southern and many of the Western States are among 
 our patrons. 
 
 It is a city plenteously supplied with water-power, and rich in 
 facilities by river and rail for receiving raw material and sending 
 out manufactured products. Its goods, tobacco particularly, go to 
 every State in the Union and to almost all the lands of the earth. 
 It has a location enabling it to do business advantageously with the 
 people of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
 Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky, and with the markets of New- 
 York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, Charleston, Atlanta, 
 Cincinnati, Chicago, etc. In fact, with its lines of steamers and 
 numerous railroads, connected with great systems, its business men 
 can receive and ship freight, in unbroken bulk, from or to any por- 
 tion of this continent. 
 
 In the five years just past, Riv^hmond has made astonishing strides 
 in population ; in manufactures; in the jobbing trade; in general 
 commerce and business of every description; but in nothing has 
 her progress been more strikingly exemplified than in the great 
 number of elegant residences built. 
 
 Much capital has been brought here from other States. Agricul- 
 tural, coal and iron lands in this section are being bought by settlers 
 from the North and West, who find in this genial and reliable cli 
 mate homes free alike from the rigors of northern and western 
 winters and from the enervating summers and malarious influences 
 of some southern localities. 
 
Attractions and Industries. 5 
 
 Richmond is one hundred and sixteen miles south of Washington 
 by the nearest railroad route, and is one hundred and twenty-seven 
 miles from the Atlantic Ocean following the meanders of the river's 
 channel. Vessels drawing sixteen feet of water come to our 
 wharves, and Congress is pledged to a plan of improvement which 
 will give us, at high tide, twenty-five feet to the sea. The value of 
 the James river as a national highway ; the importance to the States 
 south and west of us of the work of improvement the United States 
 Government is doing (and for which it has this year appropriated 
 1225,000), is the subject of a valuable pamphlet by Colonel Frank G. 
 Rufifin, published by the Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 That Richmond is a healthy place never has been questioned. 
 Yellow fever has never made a lodgment here. Patients have come 
 here from mfected communities, but the disease took no root in 
 our well-drained and high hilled city. 
 
 The climate is dry and invigorating. Freezing weather but sel- 
 dom comes and rarely lasts longer than three or four days at a time. 
 The mean temperature for the past July was only 75° ; but of all 
 seasons of the year in Virginia, October, November and December 
 are the most truly delightful. 
 
 Below are historical and industrial details believed to be of inter- 
 est to those who may visit the Virginia Exposition, or who take 
 interest in the affairs of Richmond and Virginia: 
 
 OBJECTS OF INTEREST. 
 
 The battlefields of Drewry's Bluff (Fort Darling), Seven Pines 
 (Fair Oaks), Mechanicsville, Gaines's Mill, Frazer's Farm, Savage's 
 Station, Malvern Hill, Cold Harbor, Fort Harrison, and Yellow 
 Tavern, are within from five to fifteen miles of the corporate limits, 
 and most of them are of easy access. 
 
 Among the objects of interest to travellers generally are the 
 following: The State Capitol, the foundations of which were laid in 
 1785. Here the Confederate Congress held its sessions, and in the 
 building is a great collection of objects pertaining to American 
 wars; also, many portraits of historical personages, books, MSS., 
 and Houdon's celebrated statue of Washington, made from casts 
 taken from the person of the Father of his Country. Near by the 
 
6 Richmond, Va : its 
 
 Capitol is the Washington Monument— upon which is the most 
 magnificent bronze statuary in America — and close by it is the 
 statue of Stonewall Jackson, presented to Virginia by the English 
 admirers of the great soldier. 
 
 Close around the Capitol Square are a number of places of in- 
 terest which were identified with the Confederate Government — 
 viz: The Post-Ofiice Department; the office of Hon. Jefferson 
 Davis and of his Cabinet; the house in which Mr Davis and family 
 resided ; the church in which he worshipped, and where he was 
 seated when notified that Lee was about to evacuate Petersburg, 
 and that Richmond, too, must fall ; the Treasury Department, &c. ; 
 the residence occupied by the family of General Lee during the 
 war, and where he rejoined them after the surrender at Appo- 
 mattox. Further off are Libby Prison and Belle Isle. 
 
 "The Old Stone House," euphemistically called by the hack- 
 drivers, "Washington's Headquarters," dates back to 1737, and has 
 interesting history and traditions associated with it. 
 
 St. John's church, in which Patrick Henry made his celebrated 
 speech ''Give me liberty or give vie death,''' is another of Rich- 
 mond's venerable attractions, as also is the Monumental cnurch, 
 which marks the spot where in 181 r the theatre was destroyed by 
 fire, when the Governor of the State and sixty-three others lost 
 their lives. 
 
 Hollywood is one of the most picturesque cemeteries in America. 
 It is undulating ground, and is filled with oaks and hollies of origi- 
 nal growth. In the early summer it is also fragrant with magnolias and 
 roses. Here an immense granite pyramid stands in memory of 
 12,000 Confederates buried around it, and here are the graves of 
 Presidents Monroe and Tyler, of John Randolph of Roanoke, of 
 Henry A. Wise (Congressman, Governor, and General), and of 
 Generals A. P. Hill, J. E. B. Stuart, George E. Pickett, William ' 
 Smith (who was twice Governor and several times a Congressman), 
 Commodore Maury, and others. The view from the cemetery is of 
 the falls, of Belle Isle, the Tredegar Works, the islands of the James, 
 and the pretty farming lands of Chesterfield. 
 
 The Confederate Soldiers Home, on grounds adjoining the spa- 
 cious Reservoir Park, is a place visited by all strangers. 
 
 1 
 
Attractions and Industries. 7 
 
 At the other end of the city is Oakwood, a cemetery where 
 16,000 Confederate soldiers are buried. This, too, is in the midst of 
 picturesque scenery. 
 
 One of the most beautiful features of Richmond is its numerous 
 parks. They are all on high hills and charming views spread out 
 before them. All are reached by street cars. 
 
 The Penitentiary (State's Prison) is one of the oldest institutions 
 of the kind in the land. Here Aaron Burr was confined while on 
 trial for treason. 
 
 The studio of Valentine contains models of nearly all the works 
 of this great sculptor. 
 
 Richmond College has an attractive museum, a large library and 
 imposing buildings set in spacious grounds. 
 
 The Virginia Medical College building is unique in design and 
 commanding in appearance. 
 
 It is hoped that the United States Iron-clad fleet, now at City 
 Point, will be ordered to Richmond harbor during the Exposition. 
 
 April 3d, 1865, upon the evacuation of the city, the Confederates 
 kindled a fire to destroy the tobacco in the public warehouses, and 
 the flames, spreading therefrom with great rapidity, destroyed one- 
 half of the business portion of the city and many other costly struc- 
 tures. Nearly all traces of this, the most disastrous event in the 
 city's history, have long ago been obliterated by the erection of 
 new and statelier houses. 
 
 EVIDENCES OF ENTERPRISE. 
 
 Largely with Richmond capital the Danville Railroad system has 
 been extended from Clarksville to Oxford, N. C. (24 miles), and is 
 now being finished from Oxford to Durham (32 miles), giving Rich- 
 mond what nearly amounts to a third railroad into North Carolina. 
 
 The Farmville & Powhatan Railroad, now being rapidly con- 
 structed, will strike the Danville road, and give Richmond a shorter 
 route to Farmville and open up to this city a fine timber and agri- 
 cultural country. 
 
 A tunnel is now being built under Eighth street of this city at a 
 cost of 1750,000. When completed it can be used by the Fredericks- 
 burg road (instead of its present route) and the Chesapeake and 
 
8 Richmond, Va : its 
 
 Ohio road to reach the Union depot (Byrd street station, Atlantic 
 Coast Line), built two years ago at a cost exceeding $200,000. 
 
 The tunnel, however, is a part of the line of the Richmond and 
 Chesapeake Railroad Company, which corporation means to build 
 a line from this city to Wicomico, on the Chesapeake Bay, where 
 by boats it can connect with extensive Northern systems. 
 
 A City Hall is now being erected of the beautiful James river 
 granite. The appropriations already made for it amount to $640,- 
 000. The new building stands on the site of the old hall. The 
 United States Government is bringing to completion the enlarge- 
 ment of the custom-house and post-office, for which nearly |20o,ooo 
 was appropriated. The Masons have begun the erection of a tem- 
 ple to cost |ioo,ooo. A retail store is now being erected here which 
 will be the largest south of Philadelphia. Very few vacant business 
 houses are to be found in Richmond ; none, indeed it may be said, if 
 we exclude from the list a few that have not been remodelled to suit 
 the demands of the times. 
 
 The corner-stone of a monument to Lee was laid last fall, and 
 the work (which up to this time has been delayed to await the draw- 
 ings from Merci^, the French sculptor,) is now about to be pushed 
 forward with great vigor. The monument will be located in an ad- 
 dition to the city to be known as Lee Circle. It is a fine piece of 
 high ground, nearly opposite the Exposition Hall. 
 
 A movement that has a successful start is being made to erect in 
 Marshall Park (Libby Hill) a monument to the private soldiers of 
 the South. This will be a column crowning one of the most con- 
 spicuous eminences of the city, and it will be in plain view, not only 
 of the business centres, but of the river and railroads, and within 
 sight of some of the battlefields. 
 
 The National Government has just completed a fine macada- 
 mized road, connecting Chimborazo Park (site of the great Con- 
 federate hospital) with the nearest Federal soldiers' cemetery. 
 
 Two large paper mills began operations last year. A great 
 wheel and hub-factory is one of our new industries. Four acres of 
 ground opposite the Exposition grounds have just been bought for 
 a basket factory site. Several of the iron works and other manufac- 
 tories are enlarging their plants. 
 
Attractions and Indtistries. 9 
 
 POPULATION. 
 
 Richmond and Manchester are separated by the James river, and 
 are connected by five bridges, and their present population, as ac- 
 curately ascertained upon the basis of the assessments for poll-tax, 
 is as follows : 
 
 Richmond 83,037 
 
 Manchester 7.865 
 
 Suburbs 8,000 
 
 Total 98,902 
 
 A plan now on foot for the extension of our corporate limits, will, 
 if adopted, increase our population several thousand. 
 
 VALUE OF PROPERTY — TAXATION. 
 
 The value of real property here is $33,970,131 ; personal pro- 
 perty, ^14,360,952— total, 148,331,083. The last general assessment 
 of real estate was made in 1885, and the next one will be made in 
 1890, when our taxable property will be run up many millions. 
 Property here, owned by the city, State, and Federal Government, 
 by churches and benevolent organizations, not taxed, may be esti- 
 mated at from |6,ooo,ooo to |7,ooo,ooo. 
 
 The State levy is 40 cents on the |ioo value ; the city tax, I1.40. 
 
 Manchester has about $3,000,000 of taxables. 
 
 RICHMOND BANKS. 
 
 The aggregated capital and surplus of the Richmond banks is 
 nearly $4,000,000, and the following half yearly statement, compiled 
 by Mr. J. H. Whitty, Bradstreet's Richmond agent, in comparison 
 with a like period for 1887, shows the clearings: 
 
 1887. 1888. 
 
 $38,299,462.08 $42,108,372.35. 
 
 Increase, $3,808,910.27. 
 
 This is more significant when the fact is taken into consideration 
 that the clearings of most of the other large cities show a decrease 
 for this same period of 1888. 
 
10 Richmond, Va : its 
 
 THE BUILDING INTEREST, ETC. 
 
 The number of new houses erected in Richmond in 1887 was 557, 
 in Manchester 60 or 70 more. By the close of this year we will be 
 able to make even a better showing. 
 
 The churches and places of worship number 67, and the de- 
 nominations represented are: Baptist, Methodist, Christian, Catho- 
 lic, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Jewish, Lutheran (English and Ger- 
 man), Friends, etc. 
 
 A recent table, prepared to show the percentage of crime in the 
 principal cities of the country, puts Richmond in the place of honor 
 as a well-ordered community. 
 
 The principal streets and many houses are lighted by electricity. 
 
 THE WATER-POWER. 
 
 Within five miles of Richmond the James river begins a very 
 rapid descent, and falls altogether 116 feet, which, with the canals 
 paralleling the stream, affords an immense water-power. 
 
 With the full development and utilization of this great and cheap 
 power, Richmond will take a mighty stride in advance of her pre- 
 sent position as a manufacturing city. 
 
 The Chamber of Commerce will furnish detailed information on 
 the subject. 
 
 COMMERCIAL BODIES. 
 
 The commercial organizations of Richmond are as follows : The 
 Tobacco Trade, which has a large and handsome Exchange, where 
 there are daily sales of the finest tobaccos produced in this coun- 
 try ; the Grain, Cotton and Flour Exchange, with a commodious 
 building and daily sales of all articles on their list; the Commercial 
 Club, which maintains a conveniently-arranged club-house for the 
 use of its members, who are chiefly business men, and the Chamber 
 of Commerce, which has elegant rooms and a large membership. 
 
 STREETS. 
 
 The chief business streets of the city are paved with Belgian 
 block or spalls, both from the superb granite beds of this vicinity. 
 The best residential portion has macadamized streets; but every- 
 where in Richmond the thoroughfares have good roadways, and 
 
Attractions and Industries. 11 
 
 smooth, well-paved sidewalks. The streets are from 65 to 120 feet 
 in width, and usually intersect at right angles. In the section occu- 
 pied by private residences, the sidewalks are shaded by beautiful 
 trees of maple, elm, linden, etc., giving the appearance of a con- 
 tinuous park. Richmond is one of the best drained cities in the 
 world. Every shower washes the streets clean and nice, while the 
 system of culvertage, which has been in operation many years, 
 carries off with great rapidity all the sewage, and empties it into 
 suitable places in the river, whence it finally reaches the sea. 
 
 HEALTH. 
 
 Richmond is one of the cleanest cities in the land, and hygienically 
 considered is greatly favored by nature. Yellow-fever has no homfe 
 here, and our history shows a remarkable exemption from ravaging 
 epidemics of all kinds ; so much so, that Richmond is known far 
 and wide as a healthy place. It is a locality where the severity of 
 winter is rarely such as to hinder business operations, and where 
 the heat of summer is scarcely ever great enough to deter an active 
 man from the industrious pursuit of his calling. The climate is dry 
 and invigorating, and the yearly average of bright, pleasant days is 
 very large. We are about ninety miles equidistant from the Blue 
 Ridge Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, and, having the advan- 
 tage of considerable elevation, get the breezes that break the se- 
 verity of summer's heat and, at the same time, are near enough to 
 the Gulf stream to feel its influences in moderating the keenness of 
 winter's cold. 
 
 EXHIBIT OF MORTALITY IN COMPARISON WITH SEVERAL OTHER 
 
 CITIES. 
 [Rate per i,ooo per annum.] 
 
 New York, N. Y 26.27 Providence, R. 1 21.48 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y 22.72 Patterson, N. J 21.81 
 
 Baltimore, Md 19.16 Fall River, Mass 21.90 
 
 St. Louis, Mo 21.8 Memphis, Tenn 23.56 
 
 Boston, Mass 25.18 Wilmington, Del 19 • 10 
 
 Buffalo, N. Y 20.38 Mobile, Ala 28.00 
 
 Washington, D. C 22.21 Richmond 20.25 
 
 Newark, N. J 23.80 
 
12 Richmond, Va : its 
 
 STREET CARS. 
 
 The street railways of Richmond and Manchester have a mileage 
 of routes of i8f, most of which is laid with double track, and 6K 
 miles of which is operated by electricity (Edison-Sprague " over- 
 head wire'') and carrying from 50,000 to 60,000 passengers per 
 week. This is the longest electrical street railway in the world, 
 and the most successful, inasmuch as it climbs steep hills, turns 
 sharp curves and threads crowded streets with a rapidity of move- 
 ment, an ease in management and an economy in expenses hereto- 
 fore unknown. Our entire street car system is to be run by electricity 
 by the ist of October — horses and mules will be utterly discarded. 
 In addition to these improvements, all the lines will extend their 
 tracks to the Exposition Grounds (one-half mile beyond the western 
 corporate limits), and franchises have been granted a new com- 
 pany, which is running a line from Manchester, through several of 
 the principal streets to the Exposition Grounds — a distance of 
 some five or six miles. All this done, we will have street car routes 
 twenty-five miles in length, most of them laid with double track. 
 
 A company has also been organized, and will proceed to build an 
 electrical railway from the city to the battlefield of Seven Pines 
 (Fair Oaks), a distance of eight miles. 
 
 In the utilization of electricity for street railways, Richmond leads 
 the world, and she is up with nearly any other city in using it for 
 motive power in manufactories, etc., and for lights in buildings and 
 on streets. 
 
 Electrical exhibits and displays will be a prominent feature of 
 the Exposition. 
 
 RICHMOND'S JOBBING TRADE. 
 
 The following statistics are compiled from figures and opinions 
 obtained by Mr. J. H. Whitty, Bradstreet's Richmond agent, after 
 an extensive inquiry among the jobbing houses of the city. They 
 are instructive and show the character, growth, and enormous in- 
 crease in the volume of business. 
 
 In 1885 the sales amounted to |i7,ooo,ooo; in 1886, $22,000,000; 
 in 1887, 125,290,000— an increase over 1886, of 13,290,000— a most 
 gratifying exhibit, and yet 1888 will overshoot it by several millions. 
 
Attractions and Industries. 
 
 13 
 
 Capital in Annual 
 
 Class, Article, or Kind. Business. Sales. 
 
 Groceries and liquors fi,50o,ooo $9>535.ooo 
 
 Meatand lard 375.ooo 3.500,000 
 
 Dry goods 820,000 2,250,000 
 
 Fancy groceries and tobacco 325.000 1,850,000 
 
 Boots and shoes 495.ooo 1,530,000 
 
 Hardware 250,000 950,000 
 
 Drugs 330,000 750,000 
 
 Hides, leather, &c 225,000 550,000 
 
 Notions and millinery 165,000 475,ooo 
 
 Railroad and plumbers' supplies 150,000 465.000 
 
 Clothing 100,000 375,000 
 
 Stationerj', &c 125,000 360,000 
 
 Sewing-Machines 210,000 350.000 
 
 Oils and paints 100,000 3251O00 
 
 Licorice 100,000 320,000 
 
 Furniture 165,000 300,000 
 
 Hats and caps 150,000 285,000 
 
 Earthenware and china 90,000 265,000 
 
 Stoves and tinware 110,000 225,000 
 
 Pianos, organs, &c 140,000 220,000 
 
 Carpets and upholstery 85,000 175,000 
 
 Woodenware 65,000 135,000 
 
 Rubber supplies 40,000. 100,000 
 
 Total $5,115,000 $25,290,000 
 
 Besides the figures shown in the jobbing statistics, there are 
 shippers of hay, dealers in mill-feed, ice, coal and other branches 
 that would add materially to sales exclusive of manufactures. The 
 sales in wheat, hay, &c., alone amounted to some |5,ooo,ooo ; coal 
 and ice, |i, 250,000, and cattle, |8,9oo,ooo. With these and retail 
 sales in various lines 141,000,000 would be considered a conserva- 
 tive estimate of sales last year outside of manufacturers. 
 
 The Coal Elevator here is a great aid to the city trade and of 
 much advantage in shipping. 
 
 MANUFACTURES. 
 
 The figures following show the great importance of Richmond 
 as a manufacturing centre : 
 
 Number of establishments .-- 690 
 
 Number of hands 19,980 
 
 Capital in business $12,360,546 
 
 Annual sales $27,887,340 
 
14 
 
 Richmond, Va : its 
 
 The kinds of manufactories are as follows : 
 
 Furniture, mattresses, &c. 
 
 Granite-works. 
 
 Ground glue. 
 
 Gunsmiths and sporting supplies. 
 
 Hair-workers. 
 
 Agricultural implements, machinery, &c. 
 
 Ale, beer and mineral waters. 
 
 Bags and cotton-bagging. 
 
 Bakers. 
 
 Bark and sumac. 
 
 Barrels and hogsheads. 
 
 Blacksmiths and wheelwrights. 
 
 Blank books, paper-boxes, and paper- 
 bags. 
 
 Blueing-factory. 
 
 Boots, shoes, leather, and leather goods. 
 
 Boxes -Cigar, tobacco and packing, 
 wooden and paper. 
 
 Brand, stencil and stamp cutters. 
 
 Bricks. 
 
 Brooms, wood and willow ware. 
 
 Candy and confections. 
 
 Carriages, wagons, carts, &c. 
 
 Carpenters and builders. 
 
 Cigars and cigarettes. 
 
 Coffee, spice and flavoring mills. 
 
 Clothing and merchant tailors. 
 
 Cotton factories. 
 
 Cotton-mill supplies. 
 
 Drugs, medicines, meat-juice and bit- 
 ters. 
 
 Dyeing and bleaching. 
 
 Earthen and stoneware. 
 
 Engraving and lithographing. 
 
 Fertilizers. 
 
 Flour and corn-meal. 
 
 IRON WORKS. 
 
 Ice-factory. 
 
 Iron and nail-works, machine-works, 
 foundries, stove-works, architectural 
 iron-works, tobacco-fixtures, &c. 
 
 Lubricators, oil and grease. 
 
 Marble and stone-works. 
 
 Matches. 
 
 Mica. 
 
 Newspapers and job-printers. 
 
 Paper-mills. 
 
 Picture-frames and ornamental wood- 
 work. 
 
 Pork-packing. 
 
 Saddles, harness and horse-collars. 
 
 Sash, blinds, doors, &c. 
 
 Slate-works. 
 
 Soap. 
 
 Sulphuric acid and sulphate of ammonia. 
 
 Tanners. 
 
 Tinware, gas-fittings and plumbing. 
 
 Tobacco — Chewing and smoKing. 
 
 Tobacco — Stemmeries and reprizers. 
 
 Trunks and valises. 
 
 Underwear — Ladies and gentlemen. 
 
 Wheel-hubs, spokes and plow-handles. 
 
 Iron is as much an essential of the prosperity of the city as it is 
 an indispensable element of the healthy human system, and the 
 manufactories of it here are of great and growing importance. In- 
 dependent of mere blacksmith shops, we have twenty-three iron- 
 working establishments, employing 3,800 hands, operating upon a 
 capital of 12,225,000, and having an annual output of $4,500,000. 
 The chief articles of manufacture are bar iron, nails, horse-shoes, 
 spikes, bolts, fish plates, car- wheels, car-axles, and other forgings, 
 locomotives, freight-cars, street cars, steam-engines of great variety, 
 
Attractions and Industries. 15 
 
 stoves, iron and brass castings, water and gas pipes, agricultural and 
 other machinery, and architectural work, and plants are being 
 equipped for doing naval work. 
 
 Many of these factories are operated by water-power, but other 
 very large establishments use steam. 
 
 Coal and iron are to a great extent supplied by the Virginia 
 mines, some of which are quite near the city. 
 
 The advantages of Richmond as a distributing point— the ease 
 with which a car can be loaded in a manufactory and switched off 
 upon railroad tracks reaching all parts of this continent — are among 
 the many advantages the city possesses as a manufacturing centre. 
 
 A well known writer here, who is recognized as high authority, 
 kindly supplies the following: 
 
 Tobacco was cultivated in Virginia in the beginning of the seventeenth century, 
 and its use then and subsequently for a long time, connects it with a great part 
 of the history of our State and people. It remains to-day our staple and, as it is 
 called, " money crop." Its culture extended from the lower counties on the Atlantic 
 westward, until it embraced a greater part of the State, varying in quality with diverse 
 soils chiefly. To Virginia is due the credit of beginning exportations from this 
 country by establishing tobacco as an article of commerce. In the early days of 
 the colony large fleets were employed in transporting it to foreign countries, 
 and it continues until to-day to constitute our chief trade. 
 
 Many varieties have been produced from the original of Virginia, and its culture 
 extends now from the State, and the knowledge of it to all countries. Only as cigar 
 tobacco is the soil and climate of Virginia not adapted, though recent experiments 
 prove that even the fine, silky, high-priced, modern Sumatra wrapper can be raised 
 in some parts of Virginia successfully. In bright and fancy yellow leaf Virginia, 
 like North Carolina, is without a rival, and the rapid and enormous growth of the 
 cigarette-smoking habit is due to the mild and excellent quality of this comparatively 
 new product. The earlier products were dark and heavy, and were for export almost 
 exclusively. 
 
 The milder types are now in demand, yet Virginia still produces to perfection a 
 greater variety of tobacco than any country of the world, and the fame of Virginia 
 tobacco extends the earth over, whether in plug, cigarette, smoking or shipping, 
 and the superiority of her manufactures is everywhere acknowledged. The cultiva- 
 tion extending to other States has not diminished the production or fame of our own 
 State, though through over two hundred years' home experience, excellent and 
 skilled men have carried the art of making and manufacturing to many other States. 
 Virginia and especially the district of Richmond and Petersburg export more plug 
 than all the rest of the United States, or nine-tenths of the plug exported ; with 
 
16 Richmond, Va : its 
 
 cigarette she holds first rank in manufacture, and in the past few years has made the 
 most rapid strides also in cigar and cheroot making, and is extending this branch 
 continuously and successfully. Necessarily the manufacture of machinery adapted 
 to the manufacture of tobacco is also a leading industry of this city, and from the 
 curing of the leaf to the perfected out-put of the factory, progress is being steadily 
 made. Tobacco producing experience, for two hundred years past, has brought 
 the product in all lines to perfection, while Richmond has always been the centre 
 of trade for this State, and North Carolina and West Virginia. Richmond keeps, 
 however, abreast of the times in all tobacco products, and with the introduction of 
 the new variety of Burley leaf in the West numerous factories are now devoting their 
 attention successfully to that class here. The climate and soil conditions are all 
 favorable and, in this State, we are out of the storm belt. Tobacco is cured by everj' 
 known mode in every variety, for all nations of the earth, and gives, from first to 
 last, profitable employment to a vast and varied class of people. 
 
 The war tax revenue derived from the Virginia product is astonishingly enormous. 
 The largest stocks of leaf and manufactured are concentrated in Richmond factories 
 and store houses the year round. Strips, leaf, stems, plug, fine cut cigarettes, ex- 
 port plug and twist in every variety are staple with our people. Profits vary, but 
 tobacco has always been profitable, though in late years a greater variety of other 
 agricultural products has greatly enriched our State and soils. Prices vary materially 
 and in diflferent years, and may be put down at from one cent to one dollar per pound. 
 
 W. E. D. 
 FLOUR AND GRAIN. 
 
 Richmond has several of the largest and best equipped flonring 
 mills in the country — all operated by water-power— and their brands 
 have a great celebrity in home and foreign markets. They have 
 long manufactured for the South American cities, and there, as well 
 as in domestic markets, their flour commands high figures. Roller 
 machinery and burr-stones are both used. The flour, meal, bran, 
 etc., sold bring to Richmond a great deal of money and gives to 
 this industry high rank. 
 
 The elevator facilities are good and the city is fast becoming a 
 grain distributing centre. 
 
 The Grain and Cotton Exchange statistics for this year show that 
 in wheat, corn, oats, etc., flour and cotton, Richmond is growing in 
 importance as a market having unusually good facilities for receipts 
 and shipments by rail and water. 
 
 OTHER MANUFACTURES. 
 
 The following briefly alludes to a number of other important 
 Richmond manufactures : 
 
Attractions and Industries. 17 
 
 Most of the cedar-ware (buckets, etc.) seen in the markets of the country- is made 
 here. Commercial fertilizers by the train load leave Richmond manufactories every 
 season to supply the demands of agriculturists in this and other States. Ground 
 glue is a Richmond specialty that has a market in almost all of the Stales. Furni- 
 ture, mattresses, etc., of high grade and elegant design, are made by several factories 
 in this city. Sash, doors and blinds are turned out in large quantities and of superior 
 workmanship. The manufacture of various sorts of paper and blank books and book- 
 binding, lithographing, wood engraving, book publishing, and general printing are 
 prominent in our industries. 
 
 Tanning of leather and the manipulation of it into horse collars, other harness, sad- 
 dles, etc., give employment to many hands. Thousands of women find employment 
 in making gents' clothing and underwear. Paper boxes, from a pill-box up to the 
 largest sizes for packing, are made in the greatest quantities ; here, too, white 
 female labor is employed in great numbers. The Cotton Mill (at Manchester) is a 
 long established and prosperous institution. 
 
 The celebrated Virginia slate is mined and manufactured a short distance from 
 Richmond and is distributed to the world from this point. The Meat Juice Works 
 "here are one of our most novel and prosperous enterprises. Life in many States is 
 sweetened by the candies and confections made in this city. Scores of newspapers 
 throughout the country are printed on Richmond made type. To cure the ills that 
 flesh is heir to, we make and send out, annually, a great many drugs and medicines. 
 .\x\ ice-factory is among our enterprises, and scores of vessels bring cargoes of New 
 England ice to our wharves, much of which is sold in the South. Bags for all com- 
 mercial purposes are made here in amazing numbers and of excellent quality. 
 Sumac, gathered by our roadsides, is ground up at several Richmond and Manchester 
 Sumac Mills. Carriages and wagons of very superior structure are made here in 
 large numbers. The tobacco box factories supply our own trade and their products 
 are largely shipped to other cities. Our Granite Works send the best known paving 
 blocks and building stones to many sections of the country. Trunks and valises are 
 largely manufactured here. 
 
 Richmond is remarkable for the number of white girls who find pleasant and 
 profitable employment in the factories. 
 
 TRANSPORTATION LINES. 
 
 The railroads centering at Richmond are the Chesapeake and 
 Ohio with its extension to Newport News and Old Point, stretching 
 from the Chesapeake bay to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and 
 connecting with the railway systems of the great West. The road it 
 is now building along the Ohio river will shorten the distance 
 from Richmond to Cincinnati 60 miles. The Richmond, Frede- 
 ricksburg and Potomac railroad, with its connections, gives quick 
 access to Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York 
 and all points North, East and West. The Richmond and Pe- 
 2 
 
18 Richmond, Va : its 
 
 tersburg Railroad is the initial link in the Great Atlantic Coast 
 Line system which, traversing Petersburg, Weldon, Goldsboro, 
 Wilmington and Florence, extends to Columbia, S. C, on the West 
 and to Savannah and Jacksonville on the Southeast. The Rich- 
 mond and Danville system, starting at Richmond, passes through 
 some of the most fruitful and productive sections of Virginia, and 
 penetrates the most attractive portions of the Carolinas and Georgia, 
 embracing in its control thousands of* miles of railway with all the 
 dependent lines of natural roadways and water courses, etc., essen- 
 tial to such a system The Richmond and Alleghany Railroad is 
 built upon the banks of the James river, mostly upon the tow- 
 path of the canal, from Richmond to its head-waters in the Alle- 
 ghany mountains. It passes through Lynchburg and connects 
 with the Chesapeake and Ohio at Clifton Forge, and is now about 
 to become a part of the Chesapeake & Ohio system. The Richmond, 
 York River and Chesapeake Railroad (a part of the Danville sys- 
 tem) runs from Richmond to West Point. 
 
 The elegant steamships of the Old Dominion Steamship Com- 
 pany run regularly between Richmond and New York, stopping at 
 City Point (Grant's headquarters during the siege of Petersburg) 
 and Norfolk and Portsmouth. The Philadelphia line runs between 
 Richmond and the Quaker City. The Virginia Steamboat Com- 
 pany's river steamers connect Richmond with all James river land- 
 ings, and Old Point, Norfolk and Portsmouth. 
 
 Many sailing vessels regularly trade with this port. 
 
 The port of West Point, on the York river, is connected with 
 Richmond by rail (38 miles), and from that place there are regular 
 lines of steamers for Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia 
 and Baltimore. 
 
 From Richmond, Newport News and West Point there is con- 
 siderable shipping to foreign countries, the cargoes being flour, 
 grain, tobacco and lumber of our' products, and cotton brought 
 from States South, and oil from States West and North of us. 
 
 SCHOOL ADVANTAGES. 
 
 The annual report recently submitted to the City School Board 
 states that the enrolment of pupils in the Richmond public schools 
 
Attractio7is and Industries. 19 
 
 the past session was 10,867 ; that in the final examinations the re- 
 sult was 85. 4 (out of a possible 100) in the white schools, and 83.3 
 in the colored schools— average 84. 3. The percentage thus ob- 
 tained was higher than that of any previous session, and the per- 
 centage of attendance during the session "the largest ever heard 
 of in any city of the United States"— [a good proof of the health 
 of the city.] The cost of maintenance of these schools, including 
 the High School, was 1110,478.06. Of this sum the City Council 
 appropriated $80,362.22, and the State of Virginia $28,876.43, and 
 the small remainder came from other sources. 
 
 There are about 3,000 students in the colleges, seminaries, insti- 
 tutes and private schools not embraced above. Educational ad- 
 vantages here are complete and within the range of all. 
 
 OTHER FACTS. 
 
 . The street car fare is five cents. 
 
 The rise of the tide at our wharves is three and a half feet. 
 
 Rainfall h>Te averages 38 inches per annum. 
 
 Price of city gas to consumers is %\ .50 per thousand cubic feet. 
 
 Number of churches here 67; membership, 33,000. 
 
 The most elevated point in the city is 209 feet above tide. 
 
 There are three theatres in regular operation during the season 
 and numerous other halls are open from time to time for concert 
 and other public entertainments. In the Exposition building there 
 will be a very spacious Concert Hall. 
 
 BUILDING M.\TERIAL. 
 
 Richmond is highly favored by Nature with building material. 
 The hills on the river to the west of her are of granite foundation, 
 a beautifully colored, ever-enduring stone, which was selected on 
 account of its excellence in these respects for the State and Navy 
 Department buildings at Washington. It is also of high value as a 
 paving stone. Belgian blocks cut from it have been used for paving 
 in many of the large cities of the country. Richmond bricks are 
 unsurpassed. They are red and hard, make a pretty house without 
 the use of paint or any other coloring material, and will last forever 
 almost. Slate of the finest quality is very convenient to the city. 
 
20 Richmond, Va : its 
 
 Lumber is brought here by wagon and rail from the surrounding 
 counties ; also by the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad from West 
 Virginia, by the Petersburg and Danville railroads from North Car 
 olina, and from the Dismal Swamp region of Virginia, and by vessels 
 from tidewater Virginia and North Carolina and from the Eastern 
 States. 
 
 Richmond workshops supply most of the sash, blinds and doors, 
 nails and architectural iron used. 
 
 MANCHESTER. 
 
 This city is on the south bank of the James, opposite Richmond, 
 and has, with its suburbs, a population of 10,000, and is connected 
 with us by five bridges, two of which are for carriages, wagons and 
 pedestrians ; the other three for railroad trains, but are also to some 
 extent used for foot-passengers. 
 
 The people are largely engaged in manufactures, and have ex- 
 tensive cotton, flour, sumac, tobacco, and other mills and facto- 
 ries ; also exceedingly large railroad shops, tanyards, and very 
 prosperous and numerous manufactories of brick. A line of horse- 
 cars (soon to be made an electric railway), crossing the free-bridge, 
 gives speedy communication between the two cities, and surveys 
 have been made for another street railway shortly to be built. 
 
 The fact is, that Richmond and Manchester are practically one 
 community and at no distant day will probably be united under 
 one municipal government. 
 
 Manchester in many ways contributes much to the prosperity of 
 Richmond, and the products of her industries go to swell the 
 amount of manufactures with which we are credited. Her business 
 houses are lighted by electricity, and fine new water-works are 
 being built. It is a city of good government, good schools, and 
 pleasant homes, and every one who comes to Richmond is expected 
 to visit it. 
 
 PETERSBURG. 
 
 The communication between Richmond and Petersburg (21 miles 
 apart) is so easy and rapid that few tourists come to one city with- 
 out also going to the other. 
 
Attractions and Industries. 21 
 
 The battlefields around Petersburg are on its immediate suburbs 
 and are of exceedingly easy access. That known as the " Crater," 
 has been visited by thousands of people from all parts of the world, 
 and possesses an unfading interest, for it was the scene of one of 
 the most remarkable conflicts of modern warfare— the explosion of 
 the " Mine," which was attended by such disastrous results for the 
 Federal army. 
 
 Petersburg has a population of 25,000 or 30,000; is largely engaged 
 in the tobacco trade, in all of its varied branches, and has numerous 
 thrifty and prospering industries, while its people are noted for 
 their intelligence and hospitality. 
 
 FROM RICHMOND TO NORFOLK. 
 
 James river has been famous in history ever since 1607, when 
 Captain John Smith and his company of explorers sailed within 
 the Virginia Capes. 
 
 In a trip from Richmond to Norfolk the traveller passes Powha- 
 tan, one of the seats of the Indian chief of that name and father of 
 Pocahontas; Drewry's Bluff (or Fort Darling), the locality of the 
 first attack on Richmond in 1862 ; Dutch Gap, where Ben Butler 
 began a cut through the land to pass up his gunboats, which has 
 since been enlarged and made a ship canal, reducing the distance 
 from Richmond to the sea five and one-half miles; Varina, which 
 was neutral ground for the exchange of prisoners during the late 
 war; Bermuda Hundred, where, in the expressive language of Gen- 
 era! Grant, the Confederates "bottled up" Ben Butler's army; 
 City Point, which was the headquarters of General Grant during 
 the siege of Petersburg and Richmond ; Berkley, where General 
 McClellan had his headquarters after the Seven-Days' battles ; 
 Westover, one of the finest specimens of a colonial house in exist- 
 ence, where Lord Cornwallis's army crossed the river going to 
 Yorktown ; Jamestown, the oldest English settlement in America 
 and first capital of Virginia ; Newport News, now the deep-water 
 terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio railway, near which, in 1862, 
 took place the great naval battle between the Virginia (or Merrimac) 
 and the monitor, and other vessels on each side, which revolution- 
 ized naval architecture the world over; Hampton, a historic and 
 
22 Richmond, Va : its 
 
 beautiful town ; and Fortress Monroe, the largest and best known 
 fort in the United States. 
 
 The thriving cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth are in short dis- 
 tances of Fortress Monroe, and will well repay the visitor, so 
 crowded are they with rich historical associations, and so busy 
 with trade and commerce. 
 
 One of the best of the United State? navy-yards is at Portsmouth. 
 
 VIRGINIA AGRICULTURAL, MECHANICAL AND TOBACCO EXPOSITION. 
 
 The Exposition organization is the legal and actual successor of the 
 Virginia Agricultural Society. Its grounds (Camp Lee) are historic ; 
 for all during the war (i86i-'65) they were used by the Confederate 
 troops as a camp of rendezvous, where soldiers were formed into 
 companies, battalions, and regiments, and then marched to the front. 
 They are situated on high ground, less than half a mile west of the 
 city limits, and between the Broad-Street and Hermitage roads, 
 and cover sixty-seven acres, which for many years past have been 
 used and known as the Fair-Grounds. All the street railways of 
 the city will run their cars to the doors of the Exposition Hall, 
 and the tracks of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac 
 Railroad Company extend not only into the grounds, but into the 
 main hall itself, and in the city connect with the entire railroad 
 system of the United States and Canada. 
 
 The proposed exhibition will commence on the 3d of October, 
 1888, and will continue seven weeks. The citizens of Richmond have 
 subscribed a large sum of money, with which the Society has erected 
 a main exposition building and an art hall. They have also re- 
 modelled the race-track and rearranged all the buildings on the 
 grounds, so as to harmonize with a general plan, which contem- 
 plates the most interesting exhibition ever held in the South. 
 
 The Exposition is designed to show to the world the products of 
 our fields, forests, mines, and waters, and the country at large will 
 be astonished to see the progress made in Virginia and the South 
 generally in manufacturing and mining, in improved agriculture, 
 in cattle-raising, in education and arts. The Exposition will also 
 be an attractive place to visit, in that it will contain many memo- 
 rials of the late war and many curious objects connected with the 
 
Attractions and Industries. 
 
 23 
 
 history of this country, which will interest some who have no con- 
 cern in the industrial display. 
 
 From time to time there will be races for large purses, and there 
 will be a great cattle show, and also a bench show, and many spe- 
 cial features will be hereafter announced. 
 
 The Exposition is under the management of Ashton Starke, Pre- 
 sident ; A. R. Venable, Jr., Secretary; and Henry C. Jones, Di- 
 rector-General, and they have prepared a great many different 
 circulars giving every conceivable sort of information in regard to 
 the exhibition, especially for the benefit of those persons residing 
 in other States who are thinking of visiting Virginia, and will be 
 glad to send them free to all applicants. 
 
 TIME AND DISTANCE. 
 
 Railroads strike out from the city in every direction, and the 
 time-tables show the following facts : 
 
 TO nrs. juues. 
 
 Atlanta 21 549 
 
 Augusta 19 473 
 
 Baltimore 5 156 
 
 Beaufort 24 530 
 
 Boston 20 572 
 
 Buffalo 23 57S 
 
 Charleston 14 457 
 
 Charlotte 10 282 
 
 Chattanooga 21 494 
 
 Chicago 35 930 
 
 Cincinnati 23 636 
 
 Cleveland.. 24 645 
 
 Columbus, Ohio 25 566 
 
 Columbia 15 3S8 
 
 Danville 5 I4i 
 
 Galveston 61 1,532 
 
 Greensboro' 7 1S9 
 
 Indianapolis 28 746 
 
 Jacksonville.. 21 859 
 
 Knoxville 19 382 
 
 Louisville 24 654 
 
 Lynchourg 6 147 
 
 TO ffrs. Miles. 
 
 Lexington, Va S 196 
 
 Lexington, Ky 21 560 
 
 Luray 7 I79 
 
 Memphis 35 i.ooi 
 
 Mobile 32 904 
 
 Montgomery 27 724 
 
 New York 10 344 
 
 New Orleans 37 i,044 
 
 Nashville 26 647 
 
 Norfolk 4 104 
 
 Natural Bridge 8 196 
 
 Old Point 3 85 
 
 Philadelphia S 254 
 
 Pittsburg iS 490 
 
 Raleigh 7 iS" 
 
 Savannah 16 572 
 
 St. Louis 36 914 
 
 St. Augustine 24 900 
 
 Washington 4 116 
 
 Wilmington 7 245 
 
 Weldon 3 84 
 
24 Virginia Generally. 
 
 Virginia Generally. 
 
 Virginia is a State of varied productions and rich in agricultural 
 and mineral lands, and in waters yielding oysters and fish. 
 
 The climate is universally conceded to be excellent: no long 
 winters; no debilitating summers. "Blizzards" and "cyclones" 
 are absolutely unknown. All portions of the State are finely 
 watered, and the intending settler may find lands for sale at low 
 prices in the mountains, in the valleys, in the Piedmont country, on 
 the southside or in the tide-water section. 
 
 Wheat, corn, oats, rye, tobacco, peanuts, the grasses, and (in the 
 extreme southern section) cotton are produced. Table vegetables 
 and fruits grow in great plenty. Coal and iron ore, and numerous 
 other minerals are found in large quantities. Full information on 
 all these subjects can be obtained by addressing " Col. Thomas 
 Whitehead, State Commissioner of Agriculture, Richmond, Fa." 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 014 444 370 6 
 
 CITY HALL BUILDING— BROAD STREET FRONT.