Westham, Virginia
Westham was an unincorporated town in Henrico County, Virginia. It is located in the present day area of Tuckahoe, Virginia.
[edit] History
Westham was established on land that had been owned by William Randolph II.[1] When Randolph died, his son Beverley, inherited Westham Plantation and planned to create the town of Westham on part of it to facilitate trade in the Piedmont region of Virginia.[1] After Beverley's sudden death, Peter Randolph inherited his brother's land and completed work on the project - renaming the town "Beverley" in honor of his older brother- with help from William Cabell and Peter Jefferson.[1] Jefferson was one of a number of important Virginians, including Carter Braxton, Joshua Fry, John Hunter, Robert Rose, and William Stith. who purchased lots in the new town.[1] Peter Randolph eventually sold Westham Plantation to his younger brother, William, who in turn sold the property to William Byrd III.[1]
Westham Station was established in the 1880s on the Richmond and Allegheny Railroad (R&A), which was laid along the towpath of the James River and Kanawha Canal. The R&A railroad was acquired by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) in the 1890s. Nearby, the Westham Bridge was built across the James River in 1911.
The historic Westham Station building was relocated to a Richmond city park in 1961.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Hendricks, Christopher E. (2006) "The Piedmont" The Backcountry Towns of Colonial Virginia Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press pp. 40–44 ISBN 1572335432, 9781572335431 http://books.google.com/books?id=9af3Sm3hUpAC&lpg=PA20&pg=PA66#v=onepage&q&f=false
Coordinates: 37°35′21″N 77°32′24″W / 37.58917°N 77.54°W
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