> I hope it is o.k. to post this information here. > > The Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods presents The > Sixth Annual Susan Carter Williams Memorial Seminar ~ Historic > Fulton: Past, Present & Future ~ on Saturday, May 15th, from11 am > until 2 pm at the Richmond Public Library (Main Branch), 101 East > Franklin Street, Richmond VA. > > This program will shed light on a place which is certainly one of > our most historic neighborhoods but today is unknown to many > Richmonders. The early residents of Fulton, situated on the banks > of the James River, were Native American. > > The Powhatan Indians were on the site when the first English > explorers-- led by John Smith-- landed in 1607. America won its > independence, and the Fulton of colonial times included Rocketts > Landing, a seaport that employed Irish dockworkers who lived in > shacks near the water while sea captains lived in fine homes nearby > on higher ground. In the second half of the eighteenth century, > when the ports at Norfolk and Newport News grew, factories took over > much of the Fulton port area . Twelve acres housed the Richmond > Cedar Works, which produced cigar boxes among other things. The > Millhizer Bag Company made tobacco pouches and burlap "crocus bags" > for produce. What was called the "stem factory" by Fulton residents > dealt in tobacco by-products. The main employers, however, were the > Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the Philip Morris and Lucky Strike > tobacco factories located on Main Street to the west. The factory > town of Fulton contained German merchants, Irish saloon keepers and > some free Blacks who came to the city from the countryside after the > Civil War. Although many black families soon left during the Panic > of 1893, more arrived at the turn of the century to join the factory > workers living in crowded tenements and shacks. > > The history of Fulton includes great diversity until, by 1929, most > white families had moved out, leaving Irish newcomers and Blacks. > After World War II the Fulton factories began to close, more white > families moved up to the Hill (called Montrose Heights) or farther > away, poor black families moved in from the country until, by the > late 1960s the community was primarily black and contained only half > the number of people as were there before World War I. As the > population's income base shifted to welfare and retirement checks, > blight and crime increased. A flood in 1972 ensured the activation > of the planned redevelopment, and that changed everything. As > stated by author, Harry Kollatz, "Richmond's officials couldn't > figure how to solve Fulton's problems except, ultimately, to get rid > of Fulton altogether." > > Lunch will be included along with the following presentations: > Fulton: A Visual History of the Hill & Valley ~ Selden Richardson, > architectural historian and author of Built By Blacks: African- > American Architecture and Neighborhoods in Richmond, VA > Moments in Fulton Time, from Powhatan to "Patience Gromes" ~ Harry > Kollatz, historian and author of True Richmond Stories, and Richmond > in Ragtime: Socialists, Suffragists, Sex & Murder > Hope, Renewal & Revitalization ~ Veronica Jemmott, Virginia Local > Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) > A panel discussion, with a question-and-answer period open to the > audience, to consider: Can Fulton's Future Honor Its Past? The > panel will include Paul DiPasquale (longtime resident of the Greater > Fulton Area), Spencer Jones (Fulton Family Reunion Committee), > Veronica Jemmott, Brooke Hardin (Richmond Department of Planning and > Development Review), The Honorable Cynthia Newbille (Richmond City > Council), and Selden Richardson. > Admission for the seminar is: $10 ~~ $5 for Seniors and Students > (with i.d.) ~~ FREE for members of the Alliance to Conserve Old > Richmond Neighborhoods and Mount Calvary Baptist Church > RSVP REQUIRED BY MAY 13th TO RESERVE A SPACE. To RSVP or to get > more information, call 804.644.5040 or send an email to [log in to unmask] > . > > ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html