Branch Building

The Branch Building on E. Main St., across from the U.S. Court of Appeals, was built in 1866 as the Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company's headquarters. Much of downtown Richmond burned in 1865 at the close of the Civil War in the Evacuation Fire, including a building standing at this location. The new four-story building featured a cast-iron front to be fire-resistant and an elaborate first-floor loggia with five Corinthian columns. The name came from new owners in 1953, the Branch Company, a brokerage firm that later became Branch, Cabell & Co. In 1970, the Branch Building became a National Register of Historic Places listing and is also a part of the Main Street Banking Historic District. The building currently holds commercial office suites including attorneys' offices.

Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company of Richmond was chartered in 1832. The company president in 1861 was W. L. Cowardin, with William Willis Jr. as secretary. The firm offered insurance for buildings, merchandise, and other property, from their office at 181 Main St. The president and secretary were the same in 1866 when the new building was constructed at 1015 E. Main; the office was still elsewhere (108 Main St., upstairs) in March 1866, according to their newspaper ads. The company had paid up losses of a million dollars including all past liabilities and had built up its assets to $175,000 by spring of 1866 when they issued new stock to investors. William's brother, Samuel P. Willis was appointed a clerk in the firm in 1865 and became the secretary in January 1877; he served until his unexpected death from illness in November 1877. In 1871, the company acquired the North British and Mercantile Insurance Agency of London and Edinburg, with assets of over fifteen million dollars. The company's financial statement as of April 1st, 1871 included office furniture valued at $500 and rental income of $535. Attorneys McRae & Christian were tenants in the building in 1873 in upstairs offices; another tenant was stock and exchange broker R. H. Maury & Company, who moved from 1014 Main across the street. One general insurance agent who had an office in the building in 1877, John B. Cary, represented the Lynchburg Fire-Insurance Company and Farmville Insurance and Banking Company. Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company was still located at 1015 Main in 1896; its assets were then worth $650.000. Stock and bond broker offices at 1015 Main included Richard W. Maury in 1911 and Caskie G. Burch & Company in 1913.

The Branch Building is one of three surviving cast-iron front buildings in the area; the original cast-iron front survives and was manufactured by Hayward Bartlett & Co. of Baltimore. Constructed on a brick foundation, the brick building was four stories tall. The four-bay front was 26 feet wide, and the building was 140 feet deep. Across the front of the ground floor was a loggia with five free-standing Corinthian columns supporting semicircular arches. Steps in the bay at the east (right) end led up from the sidewalk to a porch and covered entrance to the first floor. Access to the basement level was provided from steps leading down from the sidewalk.

William H. Palmer served as the company's president in 1921; assets then totaled over $2.7 million. In 1953, Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company sold the building to Branch Patteson and others for $28,000. Branch & Company, a stock brokerage firm, occupied the building in the early 1970s when it was documented for the Historic American Buildings Survey; the owner was still Branch Patteson. The interior was modernized by then on the first and second floors. The National Register-listed Main Street Banking Historic District was established in 2005 and expanded in 2013. The Branch Building is a part of the historic district, which covers E. Main Street from Seventh St. to Governors St. plus parts of Sixth and Seventh Streets S. Tenants in the commercial office suites of the Branch Buidling are mainly attorneys currently. The lobby of the building near the elevator was recently renovated.

Anonymous. "Local Matters: Prominent Citizens Dead." Richmond Daily Dispatch (Richmond) November 17th, 1877. 2-2.

Burch, Caskie G. & Co. "Richmond Stock Market." Richmond Times Dispatch (Richmond) August 23rd, 1913. 8-8.

Cary, John B. "John B. Cary, General Insurance Agent." Richmond Daily Dispatch (Richmond) November 6th, 1877. Classifieds sec, 17-17.

Hill, Tucker. Loth, Calder. HABS survey of Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company Building, 1015 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia. Volume HABS VA-845. Historic American Buildings Survey. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1969-1973.

Maury, R. H. & Co. "R. H. Maury & Co., Stock and Exchange Brokers." Richmond Daily State Journal (Richmond) November 28th, 1873. Classifieds sec, 4-4.

Maury, Richard W. "Richmond Stock Market." Richmond Times Dispatch (Richmond) February 25th, 1911. 8-8.

McRae & Christian. "McRae & Christian, Attorneys at Law." Richmond Daily State Journal (Richmond) November 28th, 1873. Classifieds sec, 4-4.

Virginia Department of Historic Resources. 127-1096, Branch Building, Historic registers. June 2nd, 2023. Accessed January 2nd, 2024. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/127-0196/.

Virginia Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs. Bureau of Vocations for Women. Directory of Business and Professional Women in Richmond, Virginia. Edition 1921. Richmond, VA. Virginia Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, 1921.

Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company. "Fire Insurance, Marine Insurance." Daily Richmond Whig (Richmond) September 16th, 1861. Classifieds sec, 10-10.

Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company of Richmond. "Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company of Richmond." Richmond Daily Dispatch (Richmond) February 17th, 1866. Classifieds sec, 10-10.

Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company of Richmond. "Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company of Richmond." Richmond Daily Dispatch (Richmond) March 5th, 1866. Classifieds sec, 10-10.

Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company of Richmond. "Home Enterprise Triumphant!!!" Richmond Daily Dispatch (Richmond) March 30th, 1866. Classifieds sec, 10-10.

Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company of Richmond. "Statement of the Condition of the Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company on the 1st of April 1871." Richmond Daily Dispatch (Richmond) April 17th, 1871. Classifieds sec, 9-9.

Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company. "Organized 1832." Richmond Times (Richmond) February 21st, 1896. Classifieds sec, 6-6.