Claim: Richmond, Virginia is a city.

Richmond -LRB- -LSB- ˈrɪtʃmənd -RSB- -RRB- is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States . It is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area -LRB- MSA -RRB- and the Greater Richmond Region . It was incorporated in 1742 , and has been an independent city since 1871 .   As of the 2010 census , the population was 204,214 ; in 2016 , the population was estimated to be 223,170 , the fourth-most populous city in Virginia . The Richmond Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029 , the third-most populous metro in the state .   Richmond is located at the fall line of the James River , 44 mi west of Williamsburg , 66 mi east of Charlottesville , and 98 mi south of Washington , D.C. Surrounded by Henrico and Chesterfield counties , the city is located at the intersections of Interstate 95 and Interstate 64 , and encircled by Interstate 295 and Virginia State Route 288 . Major suburbs include Midlothian to the southwest , Glen Allen to the north and west , Short Pump to the west and Mechanicsville to the northeast .   The site of Richmond had been an important village of the Powhatan Confederacy , and was briefly settled by English colonists from Jamestown in 1609 , and in 1610 -- 1611 . The present city of Richmond was founded in 1737 . It became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780 . During the Revolutionary War period , several notable events occurred in the city , including Patrick Henry 's `` Give me liberty or give me death '' speech in 1775 at St. John 's Church , and the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom written by Thomas Jefferson . During the American Civil War , Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America . The city entered the 20th century with one of the world 's first successful electric streetcar systems . The Jackson Ward neighborhood is a national hub of African-American commerce and culture .   Richmond 's economy is primarily driven by law , finance , and government , with federal , state , and local governmental agencies , as well as notable legal and banking firms , located in the downtown area . The city is home to both the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit , one of 13 United States courts of appeals , and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond , one of 12 Federal Reserve Banks . Dominion Resources and MeadWestvaco , Fortune 500 companies , are headquartered in the city , with others in the metropolitan area .