A Guide to the Richmond (Va.) Office of the City Engineer, Records, 1809-1975 Richmond (Va.) Office of the City Engineer, Records, 1809-1975

A Guide to the Richmond (Va.) Office of the City Engineer, Records, 1809-1975

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia


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Library of Virginia

The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
USA
Email: archdesk@lva.virginia.gov(Archives)
URL: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/

© 2004 By the Library of Virginia. All rights reserved.

Processed by: Selden Richardson

Repository
Library of Virginia
Accession number
34886a-b
Title
A Guide to the Richmond (Va.) Office of the City Engineer, Records, 1809-1975
Physical Characteristics
Consists of 1400 sheets [blueprints and Diazo prints] (105 folders and 20 roll storage tubes); 2 volumes
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Richmond (Va.), Office of the City Engineer Records, 1809-1975. [cite specific Accession used], Local records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of material from the Richmond (Va.) Department of Public Works, Surveys Division on 12 May 1995 under accessions 34886a-b

Processing Information

Accession 34886a (Barcode number 1205723) consists of 1400 sheets, mostly India ink on linen with some blueprints and Diazo prints (61 x 91 cm. or smaller).

Accession 34886b (Barcode numbers 1156595-1159596) contains 2 volumes (119 p. and 102 p.) of primarily pricking, pencil, pen and ink, and watercolor washes on paper (48 x 33 cm. and 50 x 38 cm.)

Majority of material (folders 1-80 and plat books) processed by Selden Richardson prior to 2004. Remaining material processed by LVA intern in 2023.

Encoded by V. Brooks, 2004; undated by M. Mason, September 2024.

Historical Information

Context for records: The functions of the office of the City Engineer for the City of Richmond had their origins in the work of William Mayo (d. 1744), who drew the original plat of Richmond ca. 1735. In 1780 an official "Surveyor of the City" was appointed. In 1866 the office was abolished and its duties were consolidated with those of the office of the City Engineer, which had been created in 1853. The title was changed to Department of Public Works in 1919.

Locality History Note: The city of Richmond, located between Henrico and Chesterfield Counties, was named by William Byrd (1674-1744), who envisioned the development of a city at the falls of the James River and with the help of William Mayo laid out the town in 1737. The name probably came from the English borough of Richmond upon Thames, which Byrd visited on several occasions. Richmond was established in 1742 and in 1779 was designated the capital of Virginia effective 30 April 1780. It was incorporated as a town, although "stiled the city of Richmond," in 1782 and was incorporated as a city in 1842. It served as the capital of the Confederacy from mid-1861 to April 1865. Richmond was enlarged by the annexation of Manchester (or South Richmond) in 1910, and by the addition of Barton Heights, Fairmount, and Highland Park in 1914. Further annexations from Chesterfield County occurred in 1942 and 1970.

Scope and Content

Richmond (Va.) Office of the City Engineer, Records, 1809-1975, consists of Architectural drawings and plans, 1809-1975; as well as plat books, 1815-1866.

Architectural drawings and plans, 1809-1975, is primarily the surviving papers of the office of the City Engineer during the administration of Wilfred Emory Cutshaw (1838-1907), Richmond City Engineer from 1873 to 1907. In the course of long storage at Richmond City Hall, other, later material was added to the Cutshaw-era files. This collection documents Armories, Bridges, Canals, Cemeteries, Electrical Service, Fire Department, Gas Works, Jails, Maps, Non-city Items, Miscellanious Material, Parks, Plats,Police Department, Ports, Railroads, Richmond City Hall, River and Creeks, Schools, Sewer and Drainage, Streets, Streetcars, and Tunnels .

Plat books, 1815-1866, consists of City of Richmond Plat Book A, 1826-1866, and Plat Book B, 1815-1862, denoting plats of various parts and properties of the city. These often include text that explains the particular surveys and give legal references or citations. These plats are unusual in that they have been elaborately shaded with watercolors.

Arrangement

The records are arranged in the following series:

Series I: Architectural drawings and plans, 1809-1975
Series II: Plats, 1815-1866.

Related Material

See also: Richmond (Va.), Bureau of Permits and Inspections, Building permit architectural blueprints, 1907-circa 2000

Additional Richmond(Va.)records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia.Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Contents List

Series I. Architectural drawings and plans , 1809-1975.
Consists of 1400 sheets [blueprints and Diazo prints] (105 folders and 20 roll storage tubes)

This series is organized into subseries according to project type: Armories, Bridges, Canals, Cemeteries, Electrical Service, Fire Department, Gas Works, Jails, Maps, Non-city Items, Miscellanious Material, Parks, Plats,Police Department, Ports, Railroads, Richmond City Hall, River and Creeks, Schools, Sewer and Drainage, Streets, Streetcars, and Tunnels.

Series I: Architectural drawings and plans is primarily the surviving papers of the office of the City Engineer during the administration of Wilfred Emory Cutshaw (1838-1907), Richmond City Engineer from 1873 to 1907. In the course of long storage at Richmond City Hall, other, later material was added to the Cutshaw-era files. This collection documents the important period of expansion in post-Reconstruction Richmond, a period that saw an increasing number of municipal projects. Among these were the establishment of the city water works and reservoir, numerous city parks, bridges, armories, schools, and the construction of a new City Hall. The collection also documents the expansion of the boundaries of the city, the annexation of Manchester, and the constant efforts of flood control in Shockoe Valley.

This series also contains nineteenth century maps of Richmond drawn by City Surveyors Richard Young (d. 1832) and Micajah Bates (1797-1861). Also included is a partial set of presentation plans for the 1883-1894 Richmond City Hall by Elijah E. Myers (1832-1909), designs by Ruben Shirreffs (d. 1904) for Navy Hill (1893) and Nicholson Street (1893) schools, and, the most important document in the collection, the planof the 1816-1818 Richmond City Hall by Robert Mills (1781-1855). This is the only surviving image of this structure from Mills' hand.

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Series II. Plat books , 1815-1866 .
2 volumes

Partial internal index.

Series II: Plats consists of City of Richmond Plat Book A, 1826-1866, and Plat Book B, 1815-1862, denoting plats of various parts and properties of the city. These often include text that explains the particular surveys and give legal references or citations. These plats are unusual in that they have been elaborately shaded with watercolors. They are generally the work of Richard Young, City Surveyor from 1828 to 1832; Micajah Bates, City Surveyor from 1832 to 1861; and Thomas M. Ladd (1800-1866), City Surveyor and Superintendent of Streets from 1851 to 1866. The two plat books are partially indexed.

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