It’s no big secret that Richmond has an affinity for naming things. Look at our neighborhoods: Church Hill, The Fan, Jackson Ward, Oregon Hill…
Each day, thousands of motorists cross the “Nickel Bridge,” which has cost more than a nickel for decades.
The James River Park System is not immune to this practice. It’s most popular areas and features all have names.
But where did they come from?
The easiest one to tackle is “Huguenot Flatwater.” It’s called that because it sits directly below the Huguenot Bridge. Here’s where it gets interesting: In the early days before Richmond was Richmond, many of the people who settled here were immigrants from Europe. Among them were French Protestants fleeing religious persecution. They were known as “Huguenots.” When William Byrd I was running things, he gave the Huguenots around 10,000 acres south of the river, and the path they took became known as “The Huguenot Trail.”
Speaking of Byrd, he has ties to another spot in the Park: Belle Isle.
The first settlers in Richmond took one look at it and called it “Broad Rock Island.” Byrd bought it in 1676, calling it “Byrd’s Island,” and it stayed in the family for generations. Over time, it became a home for industry, like nail-making and quarrying stone. On such business was the “Belle Manufacturing Company,” who made the copper pots and stills popular with Richmond’s legions of brewers, cider makers, and distillers.
What about “Pony Pasture?” Another easy one. The banks in that area are basically a large meadow. Families above the river kept their horses there to take advantage of the plentiful forage and fresh water.
“Buttermilk Trail” is a cool one – quite literally.
Down near Chapel Island was an area known as “Richmond Commons.” Very early in our history, this was a spot for people to congregate, gather the latest news, and do a bit of shopping with the merchants and vendors who utilized the James River to move goods. Among them were farmers who kept cattle in the western wilds of town. As they made their way east along the James, the passed a spring, and used it as a spot to keep their milk and butter cool until it was ready to sell. It’s just off Riverside Drive near the 22nd Street Parking Lot, and it became known as the “Buttermilk Spring.” “Buttermilk Trail” follows the route these farmers took to get back and forth from Richmond Commons.
And about Chapel Island…
For centuries, Chapel Island was nothing but a small sand bar that moved and changed shape with each storm and flood. But from the earliest Native Americans through the settlers of Richmond, it was a good spot to set up nets across the James to catch the shad and other fish that traveled up and down the river. That, of course, attracted industry, and soon enough, a company called the “Sandy Bar Fishery” set up shop. The fishery and later docks and a shipyard changed the flow of the James, allowing Chapel Island to grow and stabilize. It grew stable enough that a local congregation built a small Episcopal church there, and a place name was born.
* Photo by Bill Draper
