Richmond on the James

One of the nation’s most historic cities, Richmond was first visited by colonists in 1607 and officially established as a town in 1742. Throughout its long and lively history, Richmond’s landscape has been dotted with notable monuments and statues, prestigious institutions of higher learning, lush parks, tranquil cemeteries, and thriving commercial and residential communities. Images preserved on early twentieth-century postcards reveal many facets of this remarkable city, from the original State Capitol building designed by Thomas Jefferson to the nineteenth-century Governor’s Mansion, which still serves as home to Virginia’s chief executive, and from the Edgar Allan Poe Museum located in Richmond’s oldest home to the oldest Masonic building in the United States.