Tides & Towns
Virginia Rivers · VA

Richmond

Virginia's capital, at the falls of the James.

Population
226,610 (2020 census)
Laid out
1737
State capital
Since 1780

Then

  1. 1607

    Weeks after Jamestown is founded, Christopher Newport leads explorers up the James to a Powhatan town at the falls.

  2. 1737

    William Byrd II has the town laid out, naming it for Richmond on the Thames, which the bend in the river recalls.

  3. 1775

    Patrick Henry gives his “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech at St. John's Church.

  4. 1780

    The state capital moves here from Williamsburg on April 18.

  5. 1865

    Richmond, capital of the Confederacy, is evacuated in early April. Fires set during the retreat destroy about a quarter of the city.

Now

Richmond sits at the fall line, the head of navigation where the Piedmont meets the Tidewater. Rapids run right through the city, and the tide reaches the river locks below them.

4 tide stations around Richmond

Sources