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Forest Hill Park (Richmond, Virginia)
Encyclopedia
Forest Hill Park, also known as Holden Rhodes House and Boscobel, is a popular and historic 105 acre (0.4249203 km²) urban park in Richmond, Virginia
. Starting as a private property, the park has had several owners and uses before its present one, the City of Richmond.
(1728-1777), son of William Byrd II
(1674-1744), founder of the city of Richmond. Like his father, the younger Byrd owned extensive properties in Richmond along the James (James River (Virginia)
), and in 1768 he sought to repay his extensive gambling debts by auctioning off 100 of his lots in a public auction
. As a result, some 1730 acres (7 km²) between Reedy Creek and Powhite Creek came to be owned by Bernard Markham.
In 1820, Holden Rhodes (born Canada, 1798-99; died Richmond, Virginia, 1857) a graduate of Middlebury College
in Middlebury, Vermont, came to Manchester, Virginia
(near Richmond) to tutor the sons of Judge Samuel Taylor. Rhodes eventually studied law and became a noted jurist in the Chesterfield County court systems, as well as a railroad entrepreneur, being one of the first presidents of the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad
, chartered in 1836 and opened in 1838 (later the Atlantic Coast Line
, now part of CSX Transportation
).
After Rhodes married Eliza Anne Cunliffe Heth in 1833, he purchased 103 acre (0.41682658 km²), known as “Dunstan’s,” from John N. Dunstan, Jr. Rhodes built his country estate, “Boscobel” (from the Italian for “beautiful woods”) some time between 1836 and 1843. The house, now known as the Old Stone House in Forest Hill Park, was constructed of granite that is believed to have been quarried on the property. When Rhodes died in 1857, his estate passed to his nephew and adopted son, Charles H. Rhodes, Jr.
In 1862, during the American Civil War
(1860-1865) young Rhodes sold the property to Richard D. Mitchell, and the estate was eventually sold, in turn, to James and Charles Labott, and later to William H. Benson, who in 1871 sold it to a group of New York investors.
In 1889, the former Rhodes property was sold to the Southside Land and Improvement Co., and became a terminus for the Forest Hill trolley, part of one of the first successful trolley systems in the United States. The Virginia Passenger and Power Company (later VEPCO, now Dominion Virginia Power) took over the enterprise in 1925.
To attract passengers to the countryside, the Rhodes residence was converted into a trolley
terminus, complete with wrap-around porch and belfry, and an elaborate turn-of-the-century amusement park was built on the grounds, complete with carousel
, roller coaster
, fun house, dance hall, penny arcade
, and golf course, as well as bath house, swimming area, and boat lake in the former quarry pond. The park remained a popular Richmond attraction until it closed in 1932, due to the economic constraints of the Great Depression
.
When the land was deeded to the City of Richmond in 1933, the wooden amusement structures were demolished to convert the dilapidated estate into a landscaped urban park. The Rhodes home was renovated to serve as a community library and meeting house, and the wooded ravine that once held a quarry pond and boating lake returned to its natural state.
During the Works Progress Administration
(1935-1943), unemployed craftsmen and stonemasons working under the auspices of the National Relief Act were hired to pave the old park footpaths with cobblestones, adding a stone-and-slate octagonal gazebo and a small warming hut for use by winter ice-skaters. New landscaping features included a small Azalea Garden that later provided plant stock for the extensive Joseph Bryan Park Azalea Garden
, on Richmond’s North Side.
The new Forest Hill Park soon became a quieter, more restful place for family picnics, strolling, hiking, and bird-watching. In the 1940s, the Forest Hill Garden Club received a national garden club award for its plantings of native Virginia species in a 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) area of the park’s wooded slopes.
, river otter, and great blue heron
. The park, though a favorite for neighboring residents, suffered a long decline through lack of repair.
In 2002, Forest Hill Park was placed on the Virginia and the National Registers of Historic Places, for its distinction as an early trolley terminus, its WPA features, and its pivotal role in the development of the South Richmond neighborhoods of Forest Hill, Woodland Heights, and Westover Hills.
In October, 2009, the City of Richmond completed dredging/restoration of the original lake, the creation of a managed wetlands silt capture system to both provide biodiverse habitat as well as prevent future silting of the lake, and the restoration of the park stonework and structures. Various improvements to the once neglected park are continuing for 2010, including the creation of a new trails network and the construction of a new pedestrian bridge over Reedy Creek.
Since 1997, Friends of Forest Hill Park, a volunteer support group, has been working with the City of Richmond’s Department of Parks and Recreation, along with the Forest Hill Neighborhood Association, the Richmond Recreation and Parks Foundation and the Richmond chapter of M.O.R.E., to ensure that Forest Hill Park continues to serve visitors’ recreational needs for generations to come.
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. Starting as a private property, the park has had several owners and uses before its present one, the City of Richmond.
History
The first documented owner was William Byrd IIIWilliam Byrd III
William Byrd III was the son of William Byrd II and the grandson of William Byrd I. He inherited his family's land in Virginia and continued their planter prestige as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.He chose to fight in the French and Indian War rather than spend much time in Richmond...
(1728-1777), son of William Byrd II
William Byrd II
Colonel William Byrd II was a planter, slave-owner and author from Charles City County, Virginia. He is considered the founder of Richmond, Virginia.-Biography:...
(1674-1744), founder of the city of Richmond. Like his father, the younger Byrd owned extensive properties in Richmond along the James (James River (Virginia)
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
), and in 1768 he sought to repay his extensive gambling debts by auctioning off 100 of his lots in a public auction
Public auction
A public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government, or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a government agency with similar authority....
. As a result, some 1730 acres (7 km²) between Reedy Creek and Powhite Creek came to be owned by Bernard Markham.
In 1820, Holden Rhodes (born Canada, 1798-99; died Richmond, Virginia, 1857) a graduate of Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
in Middlebury, Vermont, came to Manchester, Virginia
Manchester, Virginia
Manchester, Virginia is a former independent city in Virginia in the United States. Prior to receiving independent status, it served as the county seat of Chesterfield County, between 1870 and 1876...
(near Richmond) to tutor the sons of Judge Samuel Taylor. Rhodes eventually studied law and became a noted jurist in the Chesterfield County court systems, as well as a railroad entrepreneur, being one of the first presidents of the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad
Richmond and Petersburg Railroad
Richmond and Petersburg Railroad was a regional railroad serving east-central Virginia. It was strategically important to the Confederacy during the American Civil War, when it provided a vital supply and transportation route in late 1864 and early 1865 for Robert E...
, chartered in 1836 and opened in 1838 (later the Atlantic Coast Line
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was an American railroad that existed between 1900 and 1967, when it merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its long-time rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad...
, now part of CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
).
After Rhodes married Eliza Anne Cunliffe Heth in 1833, he purchased 103 acre (0.41682658 km²), known as “Dunstan’s,” from John N. Dunstan, Jr. Rhodes built his country estate, “Boscobel” (from the Italian for “beautiful woods”) some time between 1836 and 1843. The house, now known as the Old Stone House in Forest Hill Park, was constructed of granite that is believed to have been quarried on the property. When Rhodes died in 1857, his estate passed to his nephew and adopted son, Charles H. Rhodes, Jr.
In 1862, during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
(1860-1865) young Rhodes sold the property to Richard D. Mitchell, and the estate was eventually sold, in turn, to James and Charles Labott, and later to William H. Benson, who in 1871 sold it to a group of New York investors.
In 1889, the former Rhodes property was sold to the Southside Land and Improvement Co., and became a terminus for the Forest Hill trolley, part of one of the first successful trolley systems in the United States. The Virginia Passenger and Power Company (later VEPCO, now Dominion Virginia Power) took over the enterprise in 1925.
To attract passengers to the countryside, the Rhodes residence was converted into a trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
terminus, complete with wrap-around porch and belfry, and an elaborate turn-of-the-century amusement park was built on the grounds, complete with carousel
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
, roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
, fun house, dance hall, penny arcade
Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade may refer to:* Penny arcade, a venue for coin-operated devices* Penny Arcade ** Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, a series of video games based on the webcomic...
, and golf course, as well as bath house, swimming area, and boat lake in the former quarry pond. The park remained a popular Richmond attraction until it closed in 1932, due to the economic constraints of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
When the land was deeded to the City of Richmond in 1933, the wooden amusement structures were demolished to convert the dilapidated estate into a landscaped urban park. The Rhodes home was renovated to serve as a community library and meeting house, and the wooded ravine that once held a quarry pond and boating lake returned to its natural state.
During the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
(1935-1943), unemployed craftsmen and stonemasons working under the auspices of the National Relief Act were hired to pave the old park footpaths with cobblestones, adding a stone-and-slate octagonal gazebo and a small warming hut for use by winter ice-skaters. New landscaping features included a small Azalea Garden that later provided plant stock for the extensive Joseph Bryan Park Azalea Garden
Joseph Bryan Park Azalea Garden
Joseph Bryan Park, also known as Bryan Park, is a public park in the city of Richmond, Virginia. The park was a memorial to Joseph Bryan , the founder and publisher of the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper. It was given to the city in 1910 by Belle Stewart Bryan and her family.The park is open...
, on Richmond’s North Side.
The new Forest Hill Park soon became a quieter, more restful place for family picnics, strolling, hiking, and bird-watching. In the 1940s, the Forest Hill Garden Club received a national garden club award for its plantings of native Virginia species in a 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) area of the park’s wooded slopes.
Present day
From the 1970s until the present, due to extensive development upstream along Reedy Creek, storm sediment turned the park’s pond into a de facto wetland and wildlife refuge, attracting animals rarely found in city parks – including bald eagleBald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
, river otter, and great blue heron
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England...
. The park, though a favorite for neighboring residents, suffered a long decline through lack of repair.
In 2002, Forest Hill Park was placed on the Virginia and the National Registers of Historic Places, for its distinction as an early trolley terminus, its WPA features, and its pivotal role in the development of the South Richmond neighborhoods of Forest Hill, Woodland Heights, and Westover Hills.
In October, 2009, the City of Richmond completed dredging/restoration of the original lake, the creation of a managed wetlands silt capture system to both provide biodiverse habitat as well as prevent future silting of the lake, and the restoration of the park stonework and structures. Various improvements to the once neglected park are continuing for 2010, including the creation of a new trails network and the construction of a new pedestrian bridge over Reedy Creek.
Since 1997, Friends of Forest Hill Park, a volunteer support group, has been working with the City of Richmond’s Department of Parks and Recreation, along with the Forest Hill Neighborhood Association, the Richmond Recreation and Parks Foundation and the Richmond chapter of M.O.R.E., to ensure that Forest Hill Park continues to serve visitors’ recreational needs for generations to come.