Manchester, Virginia

Manchester, Virginia was the original county seat of Chesterfield County, Virginia in the United States when it was formed from Henrico County in the Virginia Colony in 1749.

Originally known as Rocky Ridge, it was located on the south bank of the James River at the fall line opposite the state capital city of Richmond on the north side of the river. Manchester was an active port city, and was a port of entry for slave ships principally in the 18th century. The port shipped out tobacco and coal which was transported 13 miles overland from the Midlothian-area mines on the Manchester Turnpike, first paved toll road in Virginia in 1807, and the Chesterfield Railroad, the state's first in 1831. Manchester became an incorporated town in 1769 and an independent city in 1874. In 1910, it merged by mutual agreement with the larger state capital City of Richmond, achieving another "first" as the earliest of Virginia's independent cities to lose its identity and become one of the Lost cities of Virginia.

In modern times, "Old Manchester" is considered a neighborhood of Richmond. Many vestiges of its past are clearly visible, notably the courthouse, the Hull Street business district, a number of historic houses, and several former railroad and street railway buildings. As part of the community's African American heritage, a "slave trail" traces the route into the downtown area from where the slave ships are believed to have docked along the river. Interstate 95, and four other major highways, U.S. Routes 1, 60, 301 and 360 all cross the James River and enter downtown Richmond from Manchester.

Rocky Ridge, seaport, mills and railroads

First known as "Rocky Ridge", Manchester became a major seaport in the 17th through 19th centuries, as did its neighbor Richmond on the north bank of the river. Both were located at the head of navigation of the tidal James River at the geological fall line. Above that point, the river consists of seven miles of rapids before become more navigable again west of Richmond, although much shallower.

In 1769, Manchester became an incorporated town in Chesterfield County. Before the American Revolutionary War, tobacco industries made the town their home. It was also known as a major slave market. Manchester was commercially successful primarily due to its agricultural mills and docks.

From northwestern Chesterfield County, coal from the Midlothian area 13 miles west was transported to the docks at Manchester, first on the Manchester Turnpike, a toll road and Virginia's first graveled road of any length completed in 1807. Later, beginning in 1831, the congested turnpike was supplemented by the gravity and mule-powered Chesterfield Railroad, the first railroad in Virginia, partially engineered and funded by the Virginia Board of Public Works. For its final several miles, the line followed present-day Maury Street, which was the southern border of Manchester for many years. It crossed over the steam-powered Richmond and Petersburg Railroad (later Atlantic Coast Line Railroad) tracks (now abandoned) on a high trestle between what is now Clopton Street and Jefferson Davis Highway. When the new Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) was completed between Manchester and Coalfield Station (now Midlothian) in 1851, the older Chesterfield Railroad was unable to compete and portions were acquired by the R&D, with the remainder dismantled before the Civil War took place.

County seat of Chesterfield County

Manchester was the original county seat of Chesterfield County when it was formed from a portion of Henrico County in 1749, and remained so until it became an independent city in 1874 (and was therefore no longer located in Chesterfield County). The county seat was then relocated to the current location at Chesterfield Court House, Virginia. The former courthouse complex on Hull Street is now the Manchester Division of the Richmond City courts.

Manchester agrees to consolidate with Richmond

For over 250 years, the James River divided Richmond on the north bank from its sister, Manchester, located on the south bank. A major issue for Manchester and Richmond residents in the 19th and early 20th century were the toll ferries and toll bridges over the James River. The latter were subject to frequent destruction by ice flows and flooding on the river.

There were periodic talks and negotiations for over 35 years between the cities before, in 1910, Manchester agreed to a political consolidation with the much larger independent City of Richmond. Richmond's better-known name was used for both areas as it contained the location of Virginia's state capital. Two of the key features of the consolidation agreement were requirements that a "free bridge" across the James River be built and that the separate courthouse in Manchester be maintained indefinitely. Instead of barrier between neighboring cities, under the consolidation, the James River became the centerpiece of the expanded Richmond.

Today, Manchester is recognized as a historic district in state and national registers. Although Manchester is extinct as an independent city, vestiges can be found in the Manchester Bridge, Manchester Slave Trail, and the Manchester Courthouse. Manchester and other areas of the City of Richmond south of the James River are locally referred to as "South Richmond", "Southside Richmond" or simply "Southside."

ee also

*Chesterfield County
*Richmond, Virginia
*Neighborhoods of Richmond, Virginia
*independent city
*Lost counties, cities and towns of Virginia

References

* Weisiger, Benjamin B. III, "Old Manchester & Its Environs, 1769-1910".
* Casuga, Jay-Anne, [http://www.richmond.com/economic-development/10010 Richmond.com "Sister City: Manchester is stepping out of the shadows] 2003 article"