The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-01-23
'MANCHESTERMUCH
IN THE L|ME ! |
Second Oldest Town in
Virginia, Record An
tedates Richmond
| ANCIENT HISTORY
BROUGHT TO FRONT
Manchester Was Town Before
Richmond Was Born-Mos-
quitoes Scared the City s
Fathers Away From City
Greatness ~ History
and Tradition.
BY FRANK 8. NOODsON,
industrial Editor.

by FRANK 8. yvOoDsoN,
Industrial Editor.
Manchester Is very much In the
limelight In these latter days. The /
question Of annexing that good city on
the south side of the James to Rich-
mond Is an old one. According to the
records 1t has bobbed UP every now
and then ever since old Father Byrd
laid off the city of Richmond.
Every time the question has come
up 1t has been settled. whether for
good or for bad this deponent sayeth
not. by the politicians and the states
men. 1t Is to be doubted If the people
have ever had a real say is the mat
ter. 1t looks now as II they are going
to get word In edgewise or other.
wise, and when the people begin to
talk something Is going to be done.
and 1T Is pretty certain that 1t Will
be done right. The people may decide
IN favor Of annexation; they may de-
eide the other way. but whatever may
be their decision 1t will come mighty
near being the right thing, at least
that Is my opinion.
One of the Oldest.
am sure I do not know how the
people are going to settle the matter
at this go round, but 1t now looks
very much as If Manchester Is to
become part of Richmond. AS for
that matter, It has always been a part
or Richmond. and a very important
part in industrial and commercial
ways.
Some few remarks about Mancles-
ter Just at this time may not he out
of place. Manchester people and Rich
mond people OF this day and genera
ton may not know 1t. but the fact Ia
that the town on the south side of
the river is really older than Rich
mond itself 1t was town, an In
corporated town, guess. before old
Father Byrd laid off Richmond. In
deed. ancient history tells us that Man
chesteris the second oldest town in
| Virginia. and therefore the second old.
est In the United States. being incor-
porated next to Jamestown and long
before Williamsburg was laid off and
made city" I am not sure
that there are any records to prove
this fact, but sometimes tradition and
history that come down by word of
mouth" as the Masons say. is moro
reliable than written history itself.
OId-Time Cities.
4 Anyhow. some very ancient history
or tradition that have gotten hold
of tells me that Manchester, next to
jamestown, is really the very oldest
settlement in Virginia, having been
laid off and settled in the spring
Of 1909. a little more than 800 years
ago. and at least three-quarters OF a
century before William Penn got busy
with Philadelphia. Manchester was
called city before Father Byrd
tackled Richmond. but in those ancient
days any kind Of a settlement was
called a city. jamestown and VIII
liamsburg when they We're only stray
Cling conglomerations OF log cabins
We're called cities.
The settlement was referred to be-
fore the Revolutionary War as a city.
and 1t is to be doubted If 1t had a
thousand Inhabitants a t that time, and
for many years after that time AS a
matter of fact. it was after the days
OF railways that Manchester really
became city. II we speak of a thick
~ populated place as a city, and apply
the term only to. such places.
Factories Made 1t.
Nevertheless, even before the days
of railways Manchester was a town or
a city of no mean report. The iron
mines and the coal mines of the upper
James emptied their wealth In the lap A
of Manchester. and the result was
iron works and smelling foundries and
all that kind of thing. And then, away
back yonder, cotton found its way to-
Manchester. and there were cotton s
mills galore. Paper mills and FIGURING
mills and woodworking factories fol-
lowed. and thus in the early days Man
chester became, like It's English name
sake. manufacturing town and the
home of many factory operatives.
There were old fogies in Manchester
In the olden time who did not want to 8!
see the town grow to great propor-
lions. When the question of a canal
up the James was mooted Manchester
had the call for the deep water end
of 1t. The idea was to turn the waters
of the river at Boshers Dam to the
south side and make the eastern end
OF the canal as we'll as the basin and eS
1.-THE docks for ships on the Manchester w
side. Il
Afraid of Mosquitoes.
I have before me an old map and
survey made In 1925, showing the
feasibility of this scheme which map
was given me by Walter e. Grant.
supervisor of Tuckahoe District. In
Henricos Here is its title, which IS
OF survey on the South side OF James
River.
With view to Canal to be Carried
Without Docks
From Rosher's dam to a Basin at
Manchester. H&
And also OF X
Several operations near and below that
town
to ascertain the most eligible way Of
Communicating with The Shipping.
BY c. Cro2et, p, Il.
1922
Richmond for some reason did not
care very much about ethe Virginia
and Kanawha Canal and Manchester
could have gotten II by this survey,
but II declined to receive IT, Trnai-
tion SAYS the powers then in the sad
die gave as their reason foridecllntng
this great internal Niraprovement thsS
fear that the deep water basin. the
dock and the canal would breed
to disturb the slnmbars Of M
the good citizens OF Manchester, Hut
IContinucd on Third PaKe.i #sgf III