Neighborhood History Bits
BRYAN PARK
Joseph Bryan Park, a public park in the city of Richmond, VA, was a memorial to Joseph Bryan (1845–1908), 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, even though the park was located in Henrico County.
It is important to understand that Northside Richmond and the Lakeside area was still mostly undeveloped around 1910, so the park was part of rural Henrico County. A trolley-line extended from downtown north to the Lakeside quarries and the Lakeside Amusement Park, while new housing subdivisions, such as Bloomingdale, were still in the planning stages.
The country's economic boom following the end of World War I ushered in the next phase of park construction. With renewed automobile construction and greater mobility, Bryan Park was expanded for development as an auto-tourist camp, which was open between 1921 and 1930. In its heyday, the park accommodated over 40,000 visitors annually. The camp was operated by the Park Bureau and was free of charge for auto-campers. Campers could stay from one night up to the maximum of ten days. Due to the growing number of visitors to Bryan Park and the need for other facilities such as bathrooms, the Camp House was built in the summer of 1922. The house was equipped with a lobby/library room, which contained an open fireplace, library table and seats. The men’s and women's bathrooms contained showers and a laundry-tub facility, both providing hot and cold running water 24 hours a day.
In the 1930s, the WPA built shelters #1 and #2 as well as the cobblestone cooking hearths.
During the 1940s, the Park Bureau focused on beautification and establishing a tree nursery in the park. Bryan Park was annexed from Henrico County into the City of Richmond in 1942.
The Azalea Garden was started in 1952 by Mr. Robert E. Harvey, a former Richmond Recreation and Parks Superintendent of Grounds and Structures. Over an almost fifteen-year span, Mr. Harvey, helpers from the city, garden clubs and volunteers planted 450,000 azaleas (50 different varieties) in approximately 76 separate beds. They also built a small pond with a stone fountain and planted a large red and white cross made of azaleas, framed by boxwoods started from slips from boxwoods at Dogwood Dell. Eventually, these 17 acres of Bryan Park would be recognized as a major tourist attraction (and money generator), bringing 450,000 visitors per year to Bryan Park.
Unfortunately as Richmond, like many cities across the United States, came under financial strain, the Azalea Garden fell into disrepair. Efforts are slowly being made to bring it back to its former glory by Friends of Bryan Park.
DUMBARTON
The community of Dumbarton began many years ago as Staples Plantation or Staples Mill. On this land, the Staple family owned and operated a large mill for grinding corn on a nearby pond. After the War Between the States, a man by the name of Major Courtney bought the estate and changed the name from Staples Mill or Staples Plantation to Dumbarton Grange. He chose this name because his uncle, who had raised him, once owned an estate in Scotland named Dumbarton. The road that ran through the estate to the main road, which is now Broad Street, was at that time and is still referred to as Staples Mill Road.
This area was once known as Mountain Road Crossing. It was comprised of a few obscure dwellings and broad stretches of forest interspersed with patches of Indian corn and tobacco. Earlier, before it was settled by the colonists, it was the “happy hunting ground” of the Chickahominy Indians. It was not until the War Between the States that the area was referred to as Glen Allen. The name came from the homestead of the widow, Mrs. Benjamin Allen, who operated a small post office for her neighbors in her home. In military dispatches, the area was called “Allen’s Crossing” because the Allen property served as a landmark to the soldiers who were fighting in the area. Mrs. Allen became the wife of a Confederate scout and Captain, John Cussons, who built Forest Lodge.
This locality, in the north western part of the county was once called Hungry. Hungary was the site of a water station for the R.F. & P. Railroad. Maps of the area indicate that Hungary was either a crossroads or a small community that grew up around the tracks. Hungary Spring Road derives its name from the settlement of Hungary – supposedly the road ran to a small spring in the area. Deep Run Baptist Church was originally called Hungary Baptist Church that had been re-organized from Chickahominy Baptist Church which was established as far back as 1792.
Hungary came to be known as Laurel sometime around the Civil War.
This area has developed over the years into a community. Major Lewis Ginter built a amusement park here by the lake and named it Lakeside. The park had a small zoo, games were played for adults and children, and the lake was used for winter and summer water sports. The first actual golf course in Richmond was constructed at Lakeside. The game had been played before in the open fields that once surrounded the Lee Monument, but the first formal course was at Lakeside. The area is now privately owned by the Jefferson Lakeside Country Club.
Longdale is an area in Henrico County between Mountain Road and U.S. Route 1. Longdale was named for E. T. Long, who moved into the area around 1924. He built, rented, and sold more homes than anyone else in the area had prior to this time.
HENRICO COUNTY COURTHOUSE.jpg)
The Henrico County Courthouse was established in 1752 at 22nd and Main St in Richmond, VA, and remained there even after the city's government became fully independent of the county in 1842. It was moved in 1974 to a complex in the western portion of the county at the intersection of Parham Road and Hungary Springs Road. Strange that our county’s courthouse was located within the city limits during our school days from first grade and beyond our senior year.
Memory from Wayne Chambliss
YES, HHS, it has 50 years. A lot has transpired in this time frame. Woodman Road was almost never heard of. The majority of HHS-67 are still "alive and kicking." Many are not. And we remember those who have
passed away. They, too, were a very important part of who we are. And we will remember when we come together in October. Not far away. We hold many memories of the CLASS OF '67. And we will share those memories. We will do some laughing, crying, happiness and sadness. All of us went our separate ways. At this time I want to express my appreciation to ALL OF THE COMMITTEE for the awesome task of the work that has gone into this endeavor. As the saying in the movie, "WE ARE MARSHALL" is a slogan which has been repeated many times, never let us forget WE ARE THE PANTHERS OF HERMITAGE HIGH SCHOOL.