Located in eastern Virginia, where the headwaters of the James River flow through the city, Richmond is Virginia's state capital and cultural center. Its gracious homes, many museums, and tree-lined boulevards reflect the city's wealth of history dating back to the time of the original Virginia colony at Jamestown. Today's estimated population is 194,000.
Government and tourism buttress the Richmond area's economy based on manufacturing, distribution, commerce, and finance. Its diversified markets range from tobacco, processed foods, wood and paper products, and textiles to publishing and printing, metals, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. This key port is served by a number of major highways, four railroads, an international airport, and a deep-water terminal.
Points of cultural and historical interest include three universities; the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, housing a prized collection by Russian jeweler Peter Carl Faberge; the Museum of the Confederacy on the grounds of the Confederate White House once occupied by Jefferson Davis; The Edgar Allan Poe Museum; Virginia Historic Society Museum; and St. John's Episcopal Church where, in 1775, Patrick Henry made his fiery speech for independence, concluding: "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death."
In 1607 the present site of Richmond was explored by Captain John Smith, one of the leaders of the original Virginia colony at Jamestown. A town was planted there in 1637 by William Byrd II. A fort was built in the area in 1644 to protect the English settlers from Indian attacks, and a year later the community developed as a trading center. Though it became capital of Virginia in 1779, it was not incorporated as the City of Richmond until 1842. The city was partly destroyed by British raiders under the leadership of turncoat Benedict Arnold in 1781. Made capital of the Confederate States of America in 1861, it was overrun in April 1865 by Union troops led by General Ulysses S. Grant, after the city had been burned and evacuated by its own residents.
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