SpringhillRVA.org

Springhill Old & Historic District

Year of Designation: 2006

Total Number of Properites: 52

Total Acreage: 27.8

District Boundaries:

19th to 22nd Sts. & Riverside Dr. to Semmes Ave.

Canoe Run Park and the James River are the area’s two natural boundaries.

The Springhill Neighborhood also includes two apartment buildings

located along W 20th Street closest to the river,

neither building is included in the Springhill Old & Historic District.

The Springhill Area also offers access to the 22nd Street Dry Rocks,

the Buttermilk & Riverbed Trails and Belle Isle,

which are part of the James River Park [3].

Springhill History & Historic Designation:

Springhill was an early twentieth century working class suburb of Manchester [1].  At this time, the “South Bank” of the James River was still mainly farms and woodlands along Old Manchester’s western edge [2].  Early twenthieth-century Richmond was home to an abundance of millwork companies, some of which constructed their own buildings as well. There is a strong liklihood that some of Springhill’s “pre-fab” bungalow-style homes were the result of either speculative building by a single developer using identical purchased components, or an in-house millworks/builder operation [1].

The Virginia Department of Historic Resources has on file a record of a Civil War battery located in the basement of 1906 Stonewall Ave. This is presumably the same battery, referred to by Manchester historian Dr. Benjamin Weisiger, which was almost leveled in 1887 along with plans to build a park at the crest of the hill. There are no individual historic site listings within the area, although Woodland Heights to the immediate west and Blackwell to the southeast have both been flagged by the City as potential historic districts south of the James River [1].

Naturally isolated the geographic barrier of Canoe Run, Springhill’s combination of compact size, unique characteristics and property owner interest make it the first Old and Historic District south of the James River [1].

Sources:

1. Old & Historic Districts of Richmond, Virginia – Handbook and Design Review Guidelines – A Property Owner’s Guide to Preserving and Improving Historic Richmond Buildings http://www.ci.richmond.va.us/communitydev/car.aspx

2. Woodland Heights Wikipedia Page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland_Heights,_Virginia

3. The James River Park Website http://www.jamesriverpark.org

Photos by T. McKelvey unless otherwise noted