Richmond: A Walk Through History Quiz

Answer: Jamestown

In May 1607, three ships, 'Susan Constant', 'Godspeed' and 'Discovery', landed at what is now known as the Jamestown settlement. In celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, replicas of the three ships were built and visited cities along the East Coast as floating museums. Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg are located about 45 minutes from Richmond. Scenic Route 5 stretches between Richmond and Williamsburg with several historic plantations along the way.

Answer: Powhatan

The group of various tribes under the control of Chief Powhatan was also known as the Powhatans. Richmond was named by William Byrd, who was reminded of Richmond-on-Thames, England. The James River Park system offers hiking, fishing, tubing, and Class IV rapids.

In the 1700s, George Washington led the effort to create a canal system to bypass the falls, and the Kanawha Canal became the nation's first canal system. In 1999, the city opened its Canal Walk in a revitalized area of the canal near downtown Richmond.

The Canal Walk features canal cruises, a Civil War Visitors Center, shopping and other historic attractions. East of the city, below the falls, the James River services ocean-going cargo ships at Deepwater Terminal.

Answer: Patrick Henry

Approximately 120 delegates, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Francis Lightfoot Lee, assembled in Richmond to discuss the colony's readiness for its opposition to King George III. In his speech on March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry urged the delegates to establish Virginia's defenses, and stressed the need for a well regulated militia.

He was named the first governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia a year later, and was a staunch supporter of the Bill of Rights, fearing the Constitution, if left as originally written, gave too much power to the federal government. St. John's Church, built in 1741, and its grounds are open for tours and it remains an active Episcopalian church. Beginning in 1976, re-enactments of Patrick Henry's famous speech have been performed each Sunday during the summer months.

Answer: Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson began levelling the mountaintop site of Monticello in 1768. The first house was, for the most part, completed in 1782, but with subsequent redesigns and renovations, construction went on for a total of 40 years, until 1809. Monticello is located in Charlottesville, an hour or so from Richmond. Also in Charlottesville is James Monroe's restored house, Ash-Lawn Highland, as well as the University of Virginia, founded and designed by Thomas Jefferson.

As well as being one of Virginia's seven signers, Thomas Jefferson is also known as the author of the Declaration of Independence.

Answer: Woodrow Wilson

The Capitol building was completed in 1788 in Jefferson's Greek temple style, and is the second oldest working capitol in the United States. Two wings were completed in 1906. In the mid-1800s, Philadelphia architect and landscape designer John Notman was asked to design the grounds.

The resulting 16-acre park, which includes statues and fountains among its beautifully landscaped hills, along with the Capitol building and the Governor's mansion is collectively known as Capitol Square. The Virginia General Assembly, which has met annually since its creation in 1619, is the oldest legislative body in the United States.

The statue of George Washington was sculpted by Jean Antoine Houdon, and is the only statue posed for by Washington. Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia in 1856, and served as President from 1913-1921. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and James Monroe were also born in Virginia.

Answer: Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Davis was the president of the Confederacy, and lived in Richmond with his family while it was the capital of the Confederate States of America. James Monroe was the 5th president of the U.S., and John Tyler was the 10th. Named after the groves of holly trees on the grounds, the park-like Hollywood Cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. Also buried there are members of the Valentine, Ginter and Williams families, without whose contributions Richmond would not have the Medical College of Virginia, the Valentine Museum, the Jefferson Hotel or Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens.

A 90-foot pyramid erected in 1869, made of dry-stacked James River granite, is a monument to the 18,000 Confederate soldiers laid to rest at Hollywood Cemetery.

Answer: American Civil War

The Monument Avenue Historic District, designated a National Historic Landmark, runs through The Fan district. Italianate, Colonial, Georgian, Mediterranean and other types of architecture are found on the tree-lined, cobblestoned avenue (less a few trees after Hurricane Isabel in 2003).

There are six statues: Robert E. Lee, unveiled in 1890, J.E.B. Stuart and Jefferson Davis in 1907, Stonewall Jackson in 1919, Matthew Fontaine Maury in 1919, and in 1996 a statue of Richmond-born tennis player Arthur Ashe was added.

Answer: Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe first moved to Richmond with his mother, who later died when he was two years old. Poe grew up in Richmond and attended the University of Virginia. After leaving Richmond, Poe returned several times to live there. His work, "The Raven" was published in 1845.

The Poe Museum was opened in 1922, and is located on East Main Street in Shockoe Bottom. Poe's mother is buried in the graveyard of nearby St. John's Church.

Answer: England

Owned by the Langley and Dauntesey families in England, the house was purchased at auction in 1925 by Thomas C. Williams, Jr., taken apart, carefully crated and brought to Richmond. There it was painstakingly reassembled in the new neighborhood of Windsor Farms in Richmond's West End.

The house and grounds, which feature an Elizabethan knot garden as well as a sunken garden, is a must-see in Richmond.

Answer: True

In response to banking panics which triggered depressions in the late 1800s and early 1900s, some thought a centralized bank under banker control was the way to go. What President Wilson signed into law, after being passed by Congress in December 1913, was a compromise, a decentralized system which is both public and private.

The federal reserve is essentially a bankers' bank which operates independently within the government. In addition to Richmond, Federal Reserve Banks are also located in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Chicago, Kansas City, Cleveland and San Francisco.

The federal reserve issuing your paper currency is indicated on the front of the bill by a letter corresponding to the district number, located to the left of the portrait. On the $1 bill, the city is also printed, on the other denominations, it is indicated by the letter and number, for instance, E5 is Richmond (5th District, E is fifth letter of alphabet), or L12 for San Francisco (12th District, L is twelfth letter of alphabet).

The Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond offers tours of its cash and check processing facilities (each high-speed sorter can count, sort or destroy an average of 80,000 notes per hour), as well as the Money Museum which tells the story of money from different time periods (you can take a virtual tour online).