The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-09-17
battles of modern warfare vas fought on her

battles OF mOucIh noi'o4o JUS iO"b' W.
soil.
when The small remnants Of Lees army
surrendered at Appomattox Virginia wa
PROSTATE !.
Four wears Of war bad stripped her; be'
labor was metemcrphased into an incubus
her institutions we're oyerthrown; her debts
md burdens were increased; Der property
snd taxable values were annihiiated; hei
energies were paralyzed; her very existence
was suspended.
THIS was twenty-three years ago During
large part of this period the problem Oh
existence, the paramount question OF simple
be;ng enerossed all her powers Misunder-
stood and Stunned by all without threat
ored and burdened by many within, she had
IN devote all her facilities to the imperative
demand Of the hour, the preservation oil her
being as State and people.
AZ last she stands upright again in the
v;cor of renewed strength, in the JOY OF re-
stored health, in the full power Of a sovereign
state and the pride Of hale and prosperous
l
people. bo,se,l
Richmond on the James now sets her
house IN order, prepares her feasts' sets out
ber wares and stretching out her hands unto
her sister cities, sayst to them
GONE AND SEE NE"
Richmond the Capital Of Virginia Is the
oreer oftbe South enthroned upon her tree
o,od hills and crowned with the diadem OF
beauty and health.
situated on the elevated plateau at the
Fills ofJanes River once the Powhatan' she
stands at the gateway between the uplahoS
Of the Piedmond and the lowlands OF the
Tideyater. The breath OF the mountain
fa,,s her brow. the tides Of the Ocean wash
her leet. L..
o,d William Byrd Of Westoyer' whose
h;s,o-ic mansion not many miles fellow is
ono If the landmarks Of the continent anc
ONO of the he.rlooms Of American history
cortIoran of Virginia. member Of the King
Council. Representative Of the Colony bur
cess Of his County, was entrusted TO run the
mnob Questioned line between Virginia and
her sister North Carolina Thus occupied
WING awake one night in the juniper recesses
oftbe Dismal Swamp, came TO INN thoughts
Of his home. and with them one OF those IN
sniratious which may be tie whisper oi a
nas.;-g angel. and may bethe emanauon oil
genius. He would found a city, nay De
would fou1ldtwo, one shouli be on the APP
nomattox but the other should be Oh yet
fairer SPOT on queenher river, his own
majestic James.
He knew the spot for it. There Nature
herselfh had laid the site-a more skilliui en-
gineer than be had drawn the pian-a u'ihei
architect had laid the foundations.
1t was already a city and wanted but the
buildings and the people. These must IN
evitablv come in time. Indeed that most
rash but most brilliant and farseeing young
man who had been once his fathers neigh-
Dor. had chosen the spot with his rare WIS
dom and hal there a plantation or quarter,
and when the Indians had come down ana
killed his overseer and cattle had he not
clamored for revenge until be had started
revolution " hich came deuced near up ettng
His Naiesty's Government, and played the
devil generally. 1t would be the chei Gil!
in yirgpia, the largest in the southern
colonies if not on the continent, if the peo-
ole would but recognize its advantages and
build it up. What a spot 1t was!
An elevated plateau right at the falls OF
the river. above malaria and ague' with
the fresh air of the mountains, keeping IL
cool in summer, and Incompatible climate
and purest water from unpopuiateu
springs; view Of the foamlng
waters. CHANGING and dashing over
immense boulders for nearly two miles
made a Landscape whose beauty was I'M
rivaled as place ofresdencefora beauty-ioY-
ing people. tbs side of the oak clad reaches OF
the Thames. The river front was easily &C
cessible, and evenly distributed and at the
same time so immense that it would gnnd
the grain Of continent, and run the factor
les of a nation. Behind it was the rich Pied
mont running up to the Blue Ridge and yet
further back behind the azure mountains an
unexplored region which sire ches to the
French territory, Louisiana. Before ii was
the
HEAD OF DEEP WATER NAVIGATION
with its diornal tides which could float any
vessel that His Majesty's marine could send
across the seas.
How could j. be otherwise than a city?
Thus must have thought Colonel VIM.
Byrd lying under the stars reading the future
with prophetic vision, for on the completion
of his mission he laid out the streets and
squares of a city, on the fairspot at the Falls
Of the james. and the head OF deep water
which had haunted his dreams IN that then
far distant shore Of the Dismal Swamp, and
as there was nc, place this side the sea whose
beauty was comparable, he named il after
that incompatible spot upon the loved and
winding Thames,
RICHMOND.
This was in 1887 and from that day to the
present. Richmond has been the Gem City Of
the South.
For beauty, for salubrity, for convenience,
for all the charms and advantages which can
make home delightful, or place Of bust
ness desirable Richmond stands supreme.
Since il was founded the most momentous