Forest Hill Makes News

by Sue on September 23, 2011

Yesterday Kerri O’Brien of WRIC attended the combined board hearing and created the following segment for the 5 & 6:00 news:

We are in the process of requesting the full roll from the hearing. If we’re able to obtain it, we’ll post it here with their permission.

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Nomination Hearing Update

by Sue on September 22, 2011

Today the Historic Designation committee had the opportunity to present the Forest Hill historic district nomination at a joint meeting of the State Review Board and the Historic Resources Board. More than 20 neighborhood residents also attended the meeting, and 11 gave 2 minute prepared remarks to the boards.

The State Review Board voted unanimously against recommending the nomination as written for listing in the Virginia Landmarks Register, echoing Virginia Department of Historic Resources staff concern that: the period of significance of 1804-1961 was unsupported by existing resources, the boundaries included a discontinuous architectural character and that criterion D, archeology, was unsupported by the existing research.

The Historic Resources Board voted unanimously to defer the nomination to the National Park Service for an intensive level review.

The Historic Designation committee was allowed 15 minutes to present 37 new historic sites and structures requested at the December 16 2010 Board hearing.

We will begin posting additional information regarding the proposed boundaries, period of significance and architectural character here next week, as well as clarifying the path forward for Historic District status.

If you support historic designation for the area, please sign our petition!

edited 9.26 to change architecture to archeology

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Show Your Support

September 15, 2011

On Thursday, September 22, 2011, the Forest Hill Historic Designation Committee will meet with the Department of Historic Resources Boards’ to present our nomination for the neighborhood. Having strong neighborhood support for the nomination is critical to its passage. If you support Historic Designation status for the Forest Hill Neighborhood, please sign our petition of [...]

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Forest Hill Waterworks

September 8, 2011

Waterworks (Structure) 127-6069-0790 The potential for harnessing the power of the Falls shaped the development of Forest Hill in the nineteenth century. Frederick Clarke, from his plantation (Maple Crest, 127-6069-0550) in Forest Hill, and his cousin Chastain Clarke, who owned land on the James River east of Maple Crest, coordinated efforts to produce water power [...]

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The Richmond & Danville Railroad, 1847

September 7, 2011

The Richmond & Danville (R&D) Railroad was chartered in 1847, with the railroad tracks completed by 1850 between the City of Richmond and Coalfield Station in Midlothian, Chesterfield County, Virginia. Within the boundaries of Forest Hill, Rockfield Station was situated near the north end of West 43rd Street. The station was the third stop on [...]

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Bernard Markham

September 6, 2011

Bernard Markham was one of the first prominent resident-owners of the land area encompassing the Forest Hill Historic District. On June 18, 1768, Markham purchased a 1,730-acre tract of land from William Byrd III. It is likely that Markham lived in a dwelling near the site of Maple Crest as subsequent property deeds refer to [...]

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John Cullen Robertson

September 5, 2011

John Cullen Robertson, a native of Amelia County, moved to Manchester shortly after the Civil War, joining an impressive list of lawyers, including Frederick Clarke, Holden Rhodes and Richard Archer, who worked in the nearby cities of Manchester and Richmond, but commuted to suburban homes in Forest Hill. He established a law practice in Manchester, [...]

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Holden Rhodes

September 2, 2011

In the decade prior to the Civil War, the inauguration of railway service by the Richmond & Danville Railroad triggered a real estate investment plan to transform Forest Hill from a the semi-rural suburban village into a suburban extension of Manchester. Holden Rhodes, a local attorney and businessman, played a major role in laying the [...]

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Charles S. Morgan

September 1, 2011

Charles S. Morgan was born in 1799 near Morgantown, West Virginia (then Virginia). At the age of 20, he moved to Richmond after being elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. He was then elected to the Virginia Senate, an office he held for ten years. While a Senator, he participated with Monroe, Madison, and [...]

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The Men Who Made Forest Hill

August 31, 2011

The Men Who Made Forest Hill Forest Hill Historic District is significant for its association with three men, each of whom played a pivotal role in the development of transportation systems that underpinned the evolution of suburban Forest Hill. Charles S. Morgan’s financial investment in promoting the canal system and the railroad, connections to investors [...]

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