John Cullen Robertson

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, taking an active role in reconstruction and serving as the chairman of the Democratic Party in the district.

In the 1870s, he lived in Baltimore where he promoted the development of the coal and timber industries. Upon his return to Virginia, Robertson became “active in suburban and municipal railway development”. His connections in Baltimore proved beneficial; Robertson obtained financing for the development of Forest Hill from the City of Baltimore. Robertson may be credited for naming the historic district. “Jno. C. Robertson…Forrest Hill” is inscribed on the Rhodes’ survey plat. no. 29-C-2, for the eastern lobe of Forest Hill.

Robertson is credited with developing both Woodland Heights and Forest Hill; with directing the construction of the Forest Hill street railway; with organizing and serving as the president of the Richmond Telephone Company; with constructing the Westhampton streetcar line and the Westhampton suburb in Richmond on the north side of the James River; with directing the Broad Street Traction Company; and with “perfecting the preliminary work” which led to the construction of the Richmond-Petersburg electric railway. In Forest Hill and throughout the Richmond metropolitan area, Robertson was instrumental in popularizing the telephone and in organizing local telephone companies to enable long distance communication. He was working on a plan to build a railway from Richmond to West Point and Urbanna when a paralyzing stroke ended his career.

The Chamber of Commerce published a laudatory account of John Robertson, with a handsome photograph of “Brookside: Chesterfield county, fronting Forest Hill Park, in the West End of Manchester”. Robertson served as a trustee for the Forest Hill School. Robertson was married to DeGraffenried Taylor, daughter of Dr. Samuel Taylor of Manchester and one of the first teachers in the Forest Hill School. The Robertsons lived throughout their long marriage in Forest Hill. After her husband’s death, Mrs. Robertson continued her husband’s vision, developing the Brookside residential section of Forest Hill in the 1920s. John C. Robertson is buried in Hollywood Cemetery.