Fun facts about richmond va

 
Fun facts about richmond va that are made up and not true at all

1) Richmond is the only city in Virginia that has a statue of George Washington on its bank.

2) Richmond's largest employer is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which built and maintains the nation's dams.

3) The city was named for James Henry "Rich" Richmond who served as governor from 1790 to 1804.

4) In 1803, an act of Congress granted Richmond the right to tax itself. This law is still in effect today.

5) The oldest public high school in continuous operation is Brutus' Grammar School, founded in 1653.

6) The city's baseball team was named the Rebels in honor of the American Civil War when the town supported the Confederacy. In 1956, with the war over, the name was changed to the Braves. In 1970 it was changed again to the Flying Squirrels.

7) In August 1864, Union General David Hunter led a raid on the city in an attempt to take control of it. He lost 40% of his troops in the attack and was denied his prize by a small group of civilians who drove him out of the city.

8) In 1901, a Richmond family saved eight people from a burning building by using a washing machine to funnel the smoke free of smoke. The family was awarded a prize of $5,000.

9) In the early 1960's in response to the city's severe racial divide, four black students at the University created a secret organization called the White Citizens' Council. Their goal was to stop racial violence in the city.

10) George Washington once owned over 6,000 acres in what is now Richmond.

11) James Monroe lived in the city for over thirty years before he became president.

12) The Jefferson Davis Memorial is under construction and was to be completed in 2008.

13) In 1747, William Goforth arrived in what would become Richmond. He was the first permanent English settler in the area.

14) In the early 19th century, American Indians were not allowed to live in the city or even to set foot in it. This policy was created to encourage White American settlers to live there.

15) In 1871, The First National Bank of Richmond was founded with a capital of $100,000.

16) The James River originally ran east of where the city is located before a 1737 flood changed its course.

17) The city of Richmond adopted a new seal in 1886. It was designed by John Callahan and is the oldest official city seal in continuous use.

18) Before 1703, Richmond had no permanent bridge across the James River. People forded the river by foot or in boats.

19) The first cotton mill in the city opened in 1792. It produced clothing for slaves working on the nearby plantations.

20) In the 18th century, tobacco was a more important crop than corn.

21) In 1780, James River pirates run by the infamous Blackbeard attacked the city. They burned the courthouse and held the town for a week before being driven out by a British warship.

22) The Old Exchange Building in what is now the heart of Shockoe Bottom was built in 1815 and was the center of trading for the entire mid-19th century.

23) In 1835, a yellow fever epidemic killed more than 4,000 people in a single year. It was the largest and deadliest epidemic until the 20th century.

24) In 1871, a massive fire burned much of the city. It destroyed 2,526 buildings, left 5,000 people homeless and caused $7 million in damage (nearly $100 million today).

25) The most popular drink in the city for much of the 19th century was Southern sweet tea, not coffee.

26) The city of Richmond was originally home to the Powhatan Indians. The English colonists pushed them out and named the town after King George II.

27) In 1801, the city of Richmond officially became the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

28) In 1861, during the American Civil War, the city of Richmond was captured by Robert E. Lee's Confederate forces. They held it for almost a year before being driven out by U.S. General George B. McClellan's army.

29) In 1885, the first telephone call was made in the city. It was between two friends.

30) In 1901, the city of Richmond was completely destroyed by a fire that started at the General Assembly Building and spread to the tobacco and cotton warehouses in the heart of the city. It burned for two days and left much of the city in ruins.

31) In 1932, a large statue of Confucius was placed in front of City Hall. It was removed by the U.S. Army in 1950 due to complaints that it looked threatening.

32) In 1936, a statue of Confederate General J.E.B. "Jeb" Stewart was installed in Monument Avenue. City officials at the time said it was a gift from the people of Virginia, but in recent years some historians believe that Stewart's family ordered it. The statue has been the source of several protests and vandalism since its installation.

33) In 1952, the first integrated primary school in the city opened. It is now known as John Rolfe Middle School.

34) In 1956, boxer Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali, joined the local boxing team.

35) In 1958, the "under God" portion of the Pledge of Allegiance was added to the nation's pledge. The year before, a group of high schoolers in the city turned the phrase "under God" into a chant to express their patriotism. The year after that, a group of girls in the city created the now famous "Here Comes Honey" anti-Communist campaign song. The girls won a national contest for their efforts.

36) In 1960, the National Guard fired on civil rights demonstrators in Jackson, Mississippi. The following year, a group of students at the University of Virginia started a similar movement at the college. Students organized sit-ins and freedom rides across the South to challenge racial segregation.

37) In 1963, civil rights leader Medgar Evers was shot and killed in his driveway in Jackson, Mississippi. By the following year, protests organized by the influential clergy group "The Fund for Community Action" helped integrate many state and local facilities throughout the South.

38) In 1974, a massive fire destroyed much of the city, leaving more than sixty blocks of mostly residential and low-income buildings in ruins. It took firefighters almost two weeks to put it out.

39) In 1979, the original T.G.I. Friday's restaurant opened in the city. It featured low lighting, live music and a small dance floor. It was an immediate success and inspired many similar bars across the nation.

40) In 1987, the city lost its bid for the Super Bowl. Miami was chosen instead.

41) In 2000, the city's first NFL franchise, the Virginia Destroyers, took the field. They were affiliated with the Cleveland Browns and played at the University of Richmond's Memorial Coliseum. The team folded after the 2001 NFL season.

42) In 2000, the "king of clubs" was officially ranked as the fourth most important symbol in the United States. The "two" immediately following it, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, were ranked 5th and 6th respectively.

43) In 2004, the city's current MLS team, the D.C. United, opened its new stadium, RFK Stadium. It replaced the team's previous home at MCI Center. The stadium features a giant soccer stadium that seats nearly 20,000 fans.
The home team's bench is built into the stands, while a giant video screen hangs over each side of the field. The flag of D.C. flies over the stadium.

44) In 2010, the city experienced a power outage lasting a week that left nearly 300,000 residents in the dark.

45) In 2010, George Washington University students occupied Willard Hall to protest university landlord plans to convert the building into student housing. The occupation lasted twenty-seven days before the protesters agreed to leave the building. Students at the university have used the tactic of squatting to protest numerous development projects and condemn landlord behavior on campus.

46) In the same year, a group of college graduates took over the house of a real estate developer in Texas and have lived in the home as an example of what not to do when buying a house. The graduates pledged to turn the home into a retirement community that would provide affordable housing for working people.
The group has successfully prevented the development of the property three times. In 2011, the group finally abandoned the house after the city of El Paso issued a stop work order to force the students out.

47) In the same year, students at Eastern Missouri State University protested a proposed $700 million dollar sporting goods store on campus. The students took over the administration building and have remained there for over a month. The occupation has been successful in delaying and stopping the project from being built.
The group of students has claimed the protest as an example of how higher education no longer provides affordable quality education.

48) In the same year, artist and activist Matthew Teetsel took up residence in a boarded up house in Philadelphia. He intended to use the house as a place of rest and to display his art. The city declared the house uninhabitable and ordered a demolition crew to tear it down, which they started to do when Teetsel and his wife moved out.
Teetsel fought back by filing a lawsuit against the city and won. In October of 2012, a judge ruled that the city must halt any further demolition efforts until a new trial could be held to determine whether or not the house was indeed uninhabitable.

49) In the same year, a group of students at Central Missouri State University protested a proposed dorm expansion by locking themselves inside an empty house. They have remained there for thirty-one days. The group converged on the property after a long day of protesting another school administration building. They locked themselves inside the vacant house that night and have remained there since.

50) In the same year, a group of students at St. Louis Community College took over an abandoned building on their campus and renamed it the "Innocence Project Building"

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