Institution

The Library was first housed on the third floor of the state Capitol building until 1895. That year a new building was constructed on the eastern side of the Capitol Square. In 1940, the Library moved into an Art-Deco designed building next to City Hall. Eventually, the Library outgrew this building as well and opened its current and fourth home in 1997.

The Library of Virginia is the state's library and archives.

Website

Created by the General Assembly in 1823 to establish a place where the growing collection of books and records could be stored and preserved, the Library of Virginia houses the most comprehensive collection of materials on Virginia government, history, and culture available anywhere. The collections, which include maps, manuscripts, and photographs, illustrate the rich and varied past of the commonwealth, documenting the lives of Virginians whose deeds are known to all, as well as those of ordinary citizens whose accomplishments are the foundation of our heritage. The Library, which attracts researchers from around the country and world, also publishes books, offers educational programming, and other events such as lectures and book signings.

Library of Virginia

This walking tour starts at the Virginia State Capitol and makes a small loop that includes museums dedicated to the antebellum and Confederate history of the city as well as monuments that commemorate civil rights leaders.  Highlights of the tour include the Old City Hall, several historic churches,  the John Marshall House, the Library of Virginia, and Richmond's statue of Edgar Allen Poe. 

Downtown Richmond Virginia Short Walking Tour

After Richmond was made the capitol in 1780, it was found that Richmond needed a permanent capitol building. Thomas Jefferson was the primary architect. He used the Maison Carree as the inspiration for the building, creating the first recreation of a classical temple on American soil. Construction began in 1785 and continued until it was functional until 1792. The Capitol building is notable because, unlike most of Jefferson's designs and many state buildings in America, it does not include a dome of any kind. This building also served as the Capitol of the Confederacy from 1861-1865. On April 27th, 1870 tragedy struck the Capitol. The original courtroom was on the second floor of the Capitol building and was a single level. As Richmond grew, they found it was necessary to create a galley above the courtroom floor for spectators. This construction was done hastily. On the morning of April 27th a large crowd had gathered to for a mayoral contestation. Without warning, the galley floor gave way falling into the center of the courtroom. The weight from the fall caused the courtroom floor to collapse onto the Hall of Delegates. Over 60 people were dead at the scene and 130 were wounded. Soon after the tragedy the public called for the Capitol to be demolished as it was unsafe. The building underwent serious renovations from 1870 to 1904. Two wings were added to the original building so there would be room for growth. In 2003 Virginia worked to restore the building and bring it up to modern building compliances. The grounds of the Capitol include several statues that continue to attract large numbers of visitors each year. In 1869, the largest of these&nbsp;monuments were completed--a number of monuments to Virginia's leading members of the Revolutionary and early national period. A statue of George Washington stands at&nbsp;the center of these statues, flanked smaller figures of Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Lewis, John Marshall, George Mason, and Thomas Nelson Jr. While these statues reflect the immediate post-war&nbsp;desire to memorialize Virginia's role within the founding of the nation, pro-Confederate sentiment returned to the forefront during the final years of Reconstruction.&nbsp;In 1875, a statue commemorating "Stonewall" Jackson was added to the grounds--an act that would have been unthinkable just ten years prior.&nbsp;&nbsp; The most recent additions further demonstrate the ways that historic commemoration reflects contemporary values and beliefs.&nbsp;In 2008, the state dedicated the&nbsp;Virginia Civil Rights Memorial. More recently,&nbsp;state leaders launched an effort to create a&nbsp;memorial related to the role of women within&nbsp;Virginia's&nbsp;history.&nbsp;

Designed by Thomas Jefferson and in operation since 1788, this is the oldest state capitol in the United States and even predates the United States Capitol in Washington. The capitol building is the 8th home of Virginia's government which began in the colonial era with the establishment of the House of Burgesses in 1619. This building also served as the Capitol of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Capitol Square includes monuments and statues honoring Virginians such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, John Marshall, Stonewall Jackson. Newer statues honor leaders of the Civil Rights Movement such as Barbara Johns.

Virginia State Capitol

The Virginia Civil Rights Memorial commemorates the protests that lead to the desegregation of schools in Virginia. Barbara Johns was a 16 year old girl fed up with the substandard facilities at&nbsp;R.R. Morton Highs School. R.R. Morton did not receive regular funding as it was an African American High School during a time when segregation was still rampant.&nbsp;After weeks of planning,&nbsp;Barbara Johns faked notes to the teachers of the school noting an assembly in the auditorium. Johns took the stage and convinced the students that they were being treated unfairly because of the color of their skin. She led a walkout of over 400 students.&nbsp; This walkout caught the attention of the NAACP lawyers who were working throughout the country on issues of race. A federal suit was brought to Richmond,&nbsp;Virgina. The&nbsp;Davis v. Prince Edward illustrated the inequalities between White and African American educations. After significant deliberation the Supreme Court&nbsp;officially ended segregation in public schools throughout the United States.&nbsp; The Virginia Civil Rights Memorial was constructed on the grounds of the Virginia Capitol in 2008. The artsit commissioned for this was Stanley Bleifeld.&nbsp;The memorial depicts various civil rights leaders coming forward from the granite base. The base includes quotes from Barbara Johns and Thurgood Marshall. The sculpture of the monument is notable because it depicts the figures more naturally than many monuments.&nbsp;

Located in the shadow of the former Confederate Capitol, the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial commemorated the long movement that led to the desegregation of Virginia's schools. The memorial was opened in July 2008. It features eighteen statues of leaders in the civil rights movement, including high school student Barbara Johns. At the age of 16, Barbara Johns lead a high school walkout to protest the inequality of segregated schools. 

Virginia Civil Rights Memorial

History of the Site&nbsp;

The block now occupied by Old City
Hall once held three notable buildings: Governor Edmund Randolph's House, built
around 1800; the first City Hall, built in 1818; and the First Presbyterian
Church, built in 1853 and moved elsewhere in 1873. After a fatal collapse of
the gallery in the first City Hall in 1870, it and the Randolph House were both
demolished to make room for a new City Hall. Wilfred Cutshaw, Richmond's City
Engineer, led the project, holding a national architectural competition for the
design. Elijah E. Myers, designer of the State capitols of Michigan, Colorado,
Texas, and Idaho, as well as the Parliament Buildings of Rio de Janeiro, won,
and his plans were accepted in 1886.&nbsp;

The massive and elaborate High
Victorian Gothic building cost over a million dollars more than estimated to
construct. Supplying the project with materials required the construction of a
special railway along Broad Street. Nearly all the granite was quarried locally
from the James River, the stonework overseen by English immigrant James
Netherwood, who brought British steam-powered saws and polishing tools to the
job. Iron founder Asa Snyder was responsible for the fenestration in the
atrium, while Cutshaw served as the project contractor, hiring both
African-American and white locals for the labor. Unfortunately, there were
racial tensions between the workers, according to local news station WRIC (link
below), foreshadowing the slew of Jim Crow policies passed within the building
after its completion in 1894.



After the present City Hall was
constructed in 1970, Old City Hall was threatened with demolition. Through the
efforts of the Historic Richmond organization, the building was saved and
restored, designated a National Historic Landmark and included on the National
Register of Historic Places.

Constructed between 1886 and 1894, this High Victorian Gothic building served as Richmond's City Hall from 1894-1971. It replaced the earlier City Hall and Courthouse buildings on the same site (1816-1875) after the original hall's gallery collapsed. After an architectural competition, internationally noted Detroit architect Elijah Myers' design was chosen for the building. Today, the first floor is open to visitors, while the upper floors house offices leased by Historic Richmond.

Old City Hall, Richmond

Richmond’s famous Monumental Church came into existence out of tragedy. The site on which the church presently sits was once where the Richmond Theatre stood, a wood framed theatre building. The night of December 26, 1811 saw the Richmond Theatre welcome a full house to an evening performance. During the second act, however, stage scenery caught fire. The flames soon engulfed the wooden building and led to the death of 72 attendees, which included Virginia Governor George William Smith and his wife. The death toll would have been higher were it not for the rescue effort by Gilbert Hunt, an enslaved Blacksmith. The fire at the Richmond Theatre was so voracious that only ashes were left of those who perished inside the building.Richmond’s civic leaders decided to honor the deceased by erecting both a monument and a church at the location of the former theater. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall headed the committee that raised public funds for the project and commissioned the architectural design. In 1812, the committee chose a design put forth by Roger Mills. Mills, once a student of Thomas Jefferson and draftsman for Benjamin Henry Latrobe at the time, is considered by many as the first American-born professional architect. Mills’ design combined both monument and church within a single structure, being one of the country’s earliest and most distinct examples of Greek Revival architecture. Serving two purposes as a church and a memorial, the Monumental Church possesses distinct sections for each purpose: the gable front portico, with its square, memorial-like design, covers the monument honoring those lost in the fire; and the domed, octagonal center serves as the church. The octagonal body of Monumental Church is decorated with classical motifs as well as with funerary imagery. The capitals of the columns that stand on both sides of the pulpit feature upside-down torches – symbolizing the end of life, stars—symbolizing heaven, and drapery—symbolizing a burial shroud. Mills’ redesign of the church sanctuary, by shifting the congregation’s primary focus to the pulpit, initiated a new wave of religious architecture. The remains of those who perished in the fire are buried in a brick crypt below the sanctuary. When completed in 1814, the Monumental Church became the one of the most unique architectural designs in not only Virginia but in the United States. The church is now the only remaining among the four domed churches that Mills designed in the country.Most individuals who donated to the construction of the Monumental Church became members of the newly erected Episcopal&nbsp;church. Notable members were Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, John Wickham, and John and Frances Allan, foster parents of Edgar Allan Poe. The Allans donated $230 and subsequently owned pew #80. Poe spent his childhood Sundays in this pew, listening to biblical scriptures and sermons. Interestingly enough, Poe’s actress mother, Eliza Poe, gave her last performance in the Richmond Theatre in December 1811, two weeks before the theatre burned.The Monumental Church survived the Civil War and continued to serve an active congregation until its de-consecration in 1965. At that point, the church was donated to the Medical College of Virginia and used as the school’s interfaith chapel. In 1983, Historic Richmond purchased the church and has worked to restore and rehabilitate the building and surrounding property. The Monumental Church is available for weddings and by appointment.&nbsp;The Monumental Church was designated a Virginia Landmark on November 5, 1968, added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 16, 1968, and designated a National Historic Landmark on November 11, 1971.

Richmond’s famous Monumental Church came into existence out of tragedy. The night of December 26, 1811, the Richmond Theatre caught fire during a theatrical performance. In all, the death toll reached 72 and included the Virginia Governor George William Smith and his wife. Richmond’s civic leaders decided to honor the deceased by erecting both a monument and a church at the location of the former theater. In 1812, the committee chose a design put forth by Roger Mills. Mills, once a student of Thomas Jefferson and draftsman for Benjamin Henry Latrobe at the time, is considered by many as the first American-born professional architect. Mills’ design combined both monument and church within a single structure, being one of the country’s earliest and most distinct examples of the burgeoning Greek Revival architecture. Notable congregants of the Monument Church were Notable members were Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, John Wickham, and John and Frances Allan, foster parents of Edgar Allan Poe. The Monumental Church survived the Civil War and continued to serve an active congregation until its de-consecration in 1965. In 1983, Historic Richmond purchased the church and has worked to restore and rehabilitate the building and surrounding property. The Monumental Church was designated a Virginia Landmark on November 5, 1968, added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 16, 1968, and designated a National Historic Landmark on November 11, 1971.

Monumental Church

First African Baptist Church was founded in 1841 and although the&nbsp;law of that time required the white leadership, free and enslaved African Americans served as deacons. Frist African Baptist Church was one of the first churches led by Black members in Virginia and the church was an anchor for the African American community prior to the Civil War. The church leaders had to be careful to avoid the appearance of radicalism and laws prohibited African Americans from gathering or holding meetings in public without whites being present after several slave rebellions were connected to Black congregations.&nbsp;

In 1867, aDr. James Holmes became the first Black minister of the church. Under Dr. James Holmes’ ministry, 5,800 people were baptized including&nbsp; John Jasper, Henry “Box” Brown, and Maggie L. Walker. Under Dr. Holmes leadership, the original "white" church building was torn down and a new building was completed in 1876. Pastor Holmes passed away in November 1900 after 32 years of service, and the church was draped in Black for 30 days to pay homage to Holmes.On the night of June 2, 1904, the church was almost destroyed by a fire that began in a&nbsp;neighboring theater. Pastor W. T. Johnson said, “I want to thank God that this house of worship was spared to us. I would, were the organist of the church here, hold a service of Thanksgiving at this time.”2 A fireman at the scene was also an organist, and he performed a concert on the spot. The organ remained in the church until the church moved in the fifties.

The building&nbsp;was sold to the Medical College of Virginia for $60,000 in 1955, and the&nbsp;congregation relocated to northern Richmond the following year. The old church building was converted into offices and classrooms and is now the Randolph Minor Hall at the Virginia Commonwealth University. Some prominent visitors to the church are Jefferson Davis, who gave his last speech as the President of the Confederacy at the church. The African American educator Booker T. Washington also gave a lecture in this building.&nbsp;

Richmond's First African Baptist Church traces its roots back to 1780 when enslaved people attended services with their owners. In 1841, white members of the First Baptist Church sold the original church building to its approximately 1,000 African members, both free and enslaved, for $65,000. The original building was replaced in 1876 with a building that is now the Randolph Minor Hall at Virginia Commonwealth University. The current First African Baptist Church is located at 2700 Hanes Ave in northern Richmond.

 First African Baptist Church; Randolph Minor Hall 

The board for Richmond's Medical College had been housed in the old Union Hotel in town and knew there was a strong desire and need for an official building to be the home for the city's medical college. To make this dream and reality, the college and city hired Ireland-born, Philadelphia-raised&nbsp;architect,&nbsp;Thomas Somerville Stewart. This was a convenient choice since Stewart was already in town having just completed the St. Paul church. The new building was called simply "College Building" when finished. After a while it became known as the "Old College Building."&nbsp;As the construction
was finished in 1845, medical students poured in to learn their skills. The
Egyptian Building did not only have medical lecture halls, but also a&nbsp;dissecting&nbsp;room
and an infirmary, as well as hospital beds. &nbsp;Although great efforts have been made to keep
its exterior as it was originally intended, the interior has been renovated
multiple times, since the building has been in continuous use since it first was
opened to students. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; In 1939, the building was restored in honor of an 1862 graduate of the college, Simon Baruch. The restoration included Egyptian revival architecture, which would give the building it's current name, the "Egyptian Building."

This five-story
building is made mainly of brick, cast iron, and stucco. The impression of both
solidity and height is achieved by a combination of the building’s walls, which
are thicker at the bottom than at the top, and the minimal diamond-paned windows.
Also relevant are the Egyptian Building’s columnns, each has a delicate palm-frond
pattern on its capital while its shaft represents bundles of reeds. 

The traditional Egyptian symbol of the Winged Sun, traditionally
associated with the divine, appears repeatedly in the cornices that cap the
pylons. Certain areas of the interior have maintained the Egyptian Revival
style, and hieroglyphics celebrating to the gods&nbsp;Amun&nbsp;and&nbsp;Aten decorate
the antechamber to the auditorium. Similarly, the floor tiles in that room portray
a scarab beetle. The building is still in use by the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), or as it's also known, as the VCU Medical Center, a branch of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).&nbsp;

Egyptian Revival architecture is quite uncommon in the US, but Richmond’s Medical College of Virginia boasts its own Egyptian Building. Although the style chosen for this structure may seem bizarre at first, there is a perfectly logical reason behind it. When the Medical Department at Virginia Commonwealth University decided that they needed a space created for the specific purpose of medical education, architecture Thomas Somerville Stewart proposed using the Egyptian architectural style, arguing that the origins of medicine could be traced back to ancient Egypt. Specifically, he was referring to the famous Egyptian physician Imhotep, the first healer recorded in written History.

Egyptian Building

Jefferson Davis was born in Kentucky and later raised in Mississippi. He attended Transylvania College in Kentucky and shortly thereafter joined the Military Academy at West Point in New York in 1824. After West Point, Davis was under the command of Colonel Zachary Taylor, later 12thPresident of the United States, in 1835. Davis married Taylor’s daughter Sarah Knox Taylor against her father’s wishes. The newlyweds came down with malaria three months after the wedding and Sarah Davis succumbed to the disease. Devastated, Davis moved to Davis Bend, Mississippi afterward and lived alone for eight years while tending his cotton plantation.In 1847, after the Mexican-American War during which Davis excelled as a commander, he declined a Brigadier General position in favor of taking a Senator’s seat in Mississippi. On January 21, 1861, Davis resigned as Senator while the state was seceding from the Union. One month after his resignation, Davis was appointed as the provisional President of the Confederacy for a six-year term. Davis’ appointment was a compromise among the Confederate leaders and a compromise for Davis, he sought a military command position. Davis first led the new Confederate government in a wood-framed house in Montgomery, Alabama from February to August of 1861. When the Confederate government relocated its capital to Richmond, Virginia during that year, a new executive mansion would have to be found.&nbsp;Situated on the crest of a hill overlooking the Shockoe Valley sat a stately Neoclassical house. Completed in 1818 by Robert Mills, architect of the nearby Monumental Church and a previous draftsman for White House architect James Hoban, the two-story, gray stucco house was constructed for Dr. John Brockenborough. Known as the Brockenborough Mansion, the house became one of the finest examples of Classical Revival architecture in Richmond. The Brockenborough family possessed the house until 1844, after which it was sold multiple times and gained a third story which shifted its appearance to the current Victorian-era Italianate. The City of Richmond came into ownership of the Brockenborough House and subsequently leased it to the Confederate government for its executive mansion.&nbsp;On August 1, 1861, Jefferson Davis, his pregnant wife Varina, and their three children moved into the Confederate White House. During the course of the war, the Davises welcomed the birth of two children and suffered the loss of one while living in the White House. After the fall of Richmond on April 2, 1865, Davis was forced to flee to south into the Lower Confederacy, his family fled south the month prior. He was captured by Union soldiers in Irwinville, Georgia on May 10, 1865 and served two years in prison at Fort Monroe, Virginia, refusing any pardon for his crimes so that he might return to the Mississippi Senate. Jefferson Davis lived the rest of his life quietly in Mississippi and published a large book in 1881 called&nbsp;The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.The end of the Civil War resulted in the controversial Reconstruction of the South. During this time, occupying federal troops used the Confederate White House as headquarters for Military District No. 1. Reconstruction in Virginia lasted only five years, and at the end the federal government returned the house to Richmond in 1870. For the next twenty-three years, the house served as one of Richmond’s first public schools, Richmond Center School. Then in 1890, the city announced its plan to demolish the house in order to construct a more modern school. During that same year, the ladies of Richmond’s high society formed the Confederate Memorial Literary Society in order to save the Confederate White House. The Society acquired the house in 1893 and officially opened the Confederate Museum in 1896, becoming the nation’s premiere repository for Confederate artifacts.&nbsp;The Confederate Museum continued to thrive throughout the first half of the 20th-Century, though several major changes occurred to the museum during the second half of the century. In 1960, the house received a much-needed renovation and modernization, in addition to a name change to the Museum of the Confederacy. Due to the ever-increasing collections for the museum, a new building was constructed to serve as the new Museum of the Confederacy in 1976. Located next door to the house, this new contemporary building housed the museum’s exhibits while the house was closed for major renovations that returned the exterior appearance back to that of the mid-1800s. After twelve years of being closed to the public, the museum reopened the Confederate White House in June 1988. For the next 30 years, the Museum of the Confederacy operated out of the contemporary museum building and the white house. In 2013, the Museum of the Confederacy merged with the American Civil War Center at Tredegar and formed the new American Civil War Museum. The goal of the new museum is to offer a wider interpretation of the war from all sides. In late Summer of 2018, the Museum of the Confederacy closed its doors in preparation for its move to the new consolidated museum at Historic Tredegar. The American Civil War Museum is set to open in 2019. The Confederate White House is remains open to the public for daily tours.The White House of the Confederacy was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960, designated a Virginia Landmark on October 15, 1966, and added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

Constructed in 1818, what became known as the White House of the Confederacy began as a sophisticated Neoclassical style private residence constructed by Robert Mills. The City of Richmond later acquired the house and leased it to the Confederate government as the executive mansion for President Jefferson Davis. After the war, the house served as military headquarters and then a public schoolhouse. In 1896, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society saved the house from demolition and opened the Museum of the Confederacy, becoming the nation’s premiere repository for Confederate artifacts. Throughout the 20th-Century, the museum outgrew the house and a new, contemporary museum building was constructed next door to host the majority of the exhibits. In 2013, the Museum of the Confederacy merged with the American Civil War Center at Tredegar and formed the new American Civil War Museum. The goal of the new museum is to offer a wider interpretation of the war from all sides. In late Summer of 2018, the Museum of the Confederacy closed its doors in preparation for its move to the new consolidated museum at Historic Tredegar. The American Civil War Museum is set to open in 2019. The Confederate White House is remains open to the public for daily tours. The White House of the Confederacy was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960, designated a Virginia Landmark on October 15, 1966, and added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

White House of the Confederacy

Mann Valentine acquired his wealth from the production and sale of something called “meat juice” that was used as a health tonic in the 19th century. He used his acquired wealth to collect numerous historical artifacts and works of art, which he would later donate for the use of public education. The Valentine’s original home was the Wickham House and it has since moved and undergone numerous expansions and renovations throughout the years. Mann’s brother, Edward, served as the museum’s first president until his death in 1930. After Edward's death his collection of numerous sculptures, works of art and historical holdings was donated to the Valentine.The museum has both permanent and rotating exhibits. Its permanent exhibition is called “This is Richmond, Virginia,” and it explores the city’s history, culture and government.The Valentine also has a large collection of textiles and clothing. The museum owns over 30,000 textiles and garments. All of the items in the collection were either manufactured, purchased or used in the state of Virginia. The pieces in the collection range from haute couture items worn by notable Virginians to quilts and samplers made in Virginia during the 19th century. There are also contemporary textile and clothing pieces that have been made by local artist and designers. The museum is also home to the Valentine Store, a gift shop that focuses on selling locally made items. Two popular recurring events sponsored by the Valentine are its walking tour of Hollywood Cemetery and its Along the James Bike Tour. The museum was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and the Wickham House is listed as a National Historic Landmark.

The Valentine, Richmond’s oldest private museum, was created in 1898 with funding, art, and artifacts donated by Mann Valentine II after his death in 1892. In addition to exhibition spaces, a Federal period mansion known as the Wickham House can be found at the museum. This house gives a glimpse into what life was like for a wealthy 19th century Richmond family. The Valentine also manages the First Freedom Center at the corner of S 14th Street and E Cary Street, the same location where Virginia's General Assembly met in the American Revolution. The First Freedom Center includes a monument and exhibits dedicated to the history of religious freedom. 

The Valentine

John Marshall was born in Fauquier County, Virginia on September 24, 1755. He studied for a brief time at The College of William and Mary and married Mary Willis Ambler, more commonly known as "Polly." The couple moved to Richmond together where John Marshall served in the Virginia House of Delegates. He was also elected to the House of Representatives and served as Secretary of State. On January 20, 1801, Marshall was nominated as Chief Justice and began serving in that capacity on February 4th, 1801. He was the fourth Chief Justice and today is known as "The Great Chief Justice" and "Definer of the Constitution" owing to his long tenure and important early Supreme Court decisions.&nbsp;Although John Marshall was a slave owner, his historical&nbsp;memory has not been as closely connected to the institution of slavery as other prominent Americans such as Thomas Jefferson.&nbsp;The legal scholar Paul Finkelman has offered a more critical analysis of Marshall, arguing that he repeatedly upheld the legality of slavery even while expressing his personal opposition to the practice of enslaving others. Finkleman's approach stands as an important corrective to the biographer Jean Edward Smith took great pains to avoid the topic of slavery in his biography of Marshall.&nbsp;Like Jefferson, Marshall's wealth derived from the labor of hundreds of enslaved persons that he owned throughout his life. Marshall did not make arrangements for his slaves to become free as other Virginians of the Founding generation. While Marshall gave his personal servant the option of freedom, the Chief Justice included provisions that made this offer untenable as Marshall's offer of freedom was contingent on the servant leaving the country--a reflection of Marshall's belief that free people of color could not and should not be permitted to remain in America.&nbsp;Some of these enslaved laborers lived and died at this plantation home in the city of Richmond but their existence has not yet become a focus of the interpretation of this home as has occurred at Monticello and other historic Virginia plantations.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Marshall has been remembered largely for his legal decisions and for expanding the power of the federal judiciary. His close friends and associates presented Marshall as possessing&nbsp;both a brilliant mind and a charming personality.&nbsp;The John Marshall house retains many of the features original to the 1790 construction. Federal characteristics and Neo-classical motifs can be found throughout the exterior of the building. A minor restoration was completed in 1976. The house contains furniture and&nbsp;memorabilia from the early 1800s, including many pieces that were owned by the Marshall family. Visitors to the home are also welcome to visit the gardens on the property.&nbsp; One of Marshall's close friends named a small academy for training teachers in honor of John Marshall. Today, that institute has grown into Marshall University and the campus includes a statue of John Marshall. Among Marshall's most important cases, Marbury vs. Madison stands out as it established the precedent that the Court could declare an act of Congress to be unconstitutional. This case established the principle of judicial review and established the federal courts as a branch of government that was both independent of and equal to the Executive and Legislative Branch.&nbsp; &nbsp;

The John Marshall House is located in the Historic Court End of Richmond. Built in 1790, John Marshall and his family lived in the home until his death in 1835. This historic home of the Supreme Court's most influential Chief Justice is open to the public as a Preservation Virginia historic site. Visitors to the home can enjoy guided tours and exhibits related to the influence of John Marshall and the historical significance of many of his court decisions. Visitors also have the opportunity to take a self-guided tour of the Justice Gallery, a rotating gallery space highlighting current judicial issues through exhibits and art.

Marshall was a slave owner and this home and its large estate operated similarly to large plantations, yet the website for the home makes no mention of slavery in contrast to the homes of other  Virginians of the Founding generation such as Jefferson and Washington.   For those who ask questions, however, the tour can include discussions about the enslaved women and men who lived at the home as well as John Marshall's legal decisions related to slavery. Visitors might also request information about Marshall's decisions related to the rights of indigenous peoples. 

The John Marshall House

<div>Edgar Allan Poe was alive from January 19, 1809 until his mysterious death on October 7, 1849. He is best known today for his poems and short stories,&nbsp;all of&nbsp;which center around dark themes such as murder, insanity, and spirits. His most famous pieces include a poem titled “The Raven” and a short story titled “The Tell-Tale Heart.” However, when Poe was alive, he was known, not for his fiction pieces, but for his work as a critic. His reviews of other writers were published in various magazines throughout his life. He had a reputation for being exceptionally harsh to the author as well as their work.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>Poe lived in Richmond for a large portion of his life. He was adopted at age three by a wealthy Richmond&nbsp;couple, James and Frances Valentine Allan, after both of his parents passed away. The house he grew up in was located close to Richmond’s capitol building, and he visited the building at least once as a teenager. He attended the University of Virginia for a single semester before being forced to drop&nbsp;out due to debt.&nbsp;His first book,&nbsp;Tamerlane, was published in 1827 while he was only eighteen. Poe&nbsp;began his journalism career in Richmond soon after, and he continued writing fiction on the side.&nbsp;</div><div>Poe moved to New York for a few years, but he returned to Richmond in 1836 upon marrying his wife, Virginia&nbsp;Clemm. After a year, they moved away. The next time Poe returned to Richmond in 1849, it was without his wife; she had died of tuberculosis in 1847. He became engaged again to his first love, Elmira Royster Shelton, but he took a trip before their wedding and disappeared in Baltimore. He turned up again at Washington College hospital a few days later where he ended up dying of mysterious causes. It was after&nbsp;Poe's death that his fiction work became popular. Rufus Griswold, an enemy of Poe’s, wrote a false obituary and memoir with the intention of shaming and ruining Poe’s public image. However, it had the opposite effect: people became more intrigued by the mysterious story and dark persona Griswold described him as, and sales of Poe’s short stories and poems skyrocketed.&nbsp;Cities began creating monuments and memorials for the author as early as 1875.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>Richmond, however, did not recognize Poe until halfway through the 20th-century, despite his deep ties to the city. Dr. George Edward Barksdale, an 87-year-old retired physician, was the one who kickstarted the design process. Barksdale, an enthusiast of Poe, sought to erect a memorial for him after visiting the late author's Richmond cottage. In 1956, he contacted Virginia Governor&nbsp;Thomas Stanley and proposed the creation of a statue. Barksdale offered to pay for the statue if the government would cover the costs for the pedestal and installation. &nbsp;</div><div>After gaining the Governor's&nbsp;approval, Barksdale hired Pennsylvania sculpture&nbsp;Charle Rudy to design and build the Poe statue.&nbsp;Before its final design was determined, there were some disputes about the medium with which the statue should be made. A sandstone version of the statue was found in a Virginia landfill; this sculpture now resides in Richmond’s Edgar Allan Poe Museum. The final sculpture, which cost approximately $9,500, is made of bronze with a&nbsp;base of granite. The statue was completed in&nbsp;1957, but&nbsp;plans to install the artwork&nbsp;were not passed until January of 1958. The statue&nbsp;was finally&nbsp;unveiled and dedicated on Oct. 7, 1959, the 110th&nbsp;anniversary of Poe’s death.&nbsp;The statue was placed in Capitol Square near the Bell Tower, across&nbsp;from the old home of his first love, Jane Stith Craig Stanard.&nbsp;Because of this, the program for the dedication included Poe’s poem “To Helen,” a piece he dedicated to Jane.&nbsp;</div><div>On November 22, 2017, the statue was taken from its original place in Capital Square and moved to the corner with the other statues. It was relocated&nbsp;to&nbsp;make room for two other monuments, a Virginia Indian Tribute titled “Mantle” and a Virginia Women’s Monument titled “Voices of the Garden.” The two monuments were planned to be large and people were afraid the statue of Poe would be overshadowed by the new installations. It is now located near Virginia’s Washington Monument, still within Capitol Square.</div>

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an author during the 19th-century known for his ominously themed poems and short stories. He was adopted by John and Frances Allan and grew up in Richmond, VA; he moved away a few times during his life, but he always returned. A century after Poe's mysterious death, Dr. George Edward Barksdale, who was an enthusiast of Poe, petitioned Virginia Governor Thomas Stanley in 1954 to erect a monument for the late author. After gaining approval, Barksdale hired Pennsylvania sculptor Charles Rudy to create a statue of Poe. The statue was placed in Capitol Square near the Bell Tower on January of 1958; it was unveiled and dedicated on October 7, 1959, which was the 110th anniversary of Poe’s death.

Downtown Richmond Virginia Short Walking Tour

Library of Virginia

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