Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Richmond (Va.) James River Park System Conservation Easement, 2009 June. Local government records collection, Richmond (City) City Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer from the Richmond City Council under the accession number 44364.

Historical Information

The James River Park System Conservation Easement represents the first action by a city in Virginia to place approximately 280 acres of a major urban park system under a conservation easement. Protection is now in place for properties including the Historic Falls of the James State Scenic River, substantial undeveloped land adjacent to the river, significant habitat for wildlife including bald eagle nesting sites, historic resources include remnants of Foushee Mill, the first canal built in the United States including a stone arch from the 1790s, foundations of the Belle Isle Iron Mill built in the 1840s, traces of a 1902 hydroelectric plant on Belle Isle, the site of a Civil War prison on Belle Isle, the site of a Confederate shipyard, the site of the first railroad in Virginia that dates to the late 1700s, a ship lock created in the 1850s as the easternmost part of the Kanawha Canal, and the Three-Mile Locks that are the earliest part of the Kanawha Canal.

The James River Park system is a 550 acre park composed of several parcels stretching about eight miles along the river and Kanawha Canal from the western boundaries of the city down through the river rapids that mark the falls of the James, to the tidal reaches at the eastern boundary of the city. The city began acquiring the parcels that make up the park in the 1960s and 1970s. It is largely undeveloped, being retained as much as possible in its natural state.

An easement is a device by which the owner of property, in this case the city of Richmond, agrees voluntarily to give up some ownership rights, including the right to sell the property and the right to develop or permit to be developed commercial, industrial or residential properties in the park. The city gives to a second party, the easement holders, the right to enforce the terms of the agreement. The easement holders in this deed are the Richmond Recreation and Parks Foundation, the Capital Region Land Conservancy, and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Scope and Content

Richmond (Va.) James River Park System Conservation Easement, 2009 June, consists of a photocopy of the deed of easement, a ceremonial copy of the deed of easement, and a magazine article about the history of the easement project.

The photocopy of the deed of conservation and open-space easement between the City of Richmond, Virginia and Capital Region Land Conservancy, Inc., Richmond Recreation and Parks Foundation, and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation contains the text of the deed as well as fifteen maps and plats, and the first page of Exhibit A, a Conservation Easement Baseline Document produced by the Richmond Recreation and Parks Foundation. The original deed was recorded amongst the deeds of the City of Richmond on 2009 June 9.

The ceremonial copy of the deed is from the official signing ceremony on 2009 May 29. It features a description of the intent of the conservation easement and the original signatures of the mayor of Richmond, the president of Richmond City Council, the acting chief administrative officer of Richmond, the governor of Virginia, the director of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, the president of the Richmond Recreation and Parks Foundation, and a board member of the Capital Region Land Conservancy.

The April 2009 issue of Virginia Town and City: The Magazine of the Virginia Municipal League (Vol. 44 No. 4) features a cover article on the history of the project to create the park system conservation easement including the major efforts of city council member Kathy Graziano and Charles Price of the Sierra Club of Richmond.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Richmond (Va.). City Council.

Subjects:

• Conservation easements -- Virginia -- Richmond.
• James River (Va.)
• Parks -- Virginia -- Richmond.
• Public records -- Virginia -- Richmond.

Geographical Names:

• Richmond (Va.) -- History -- 21st century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Deeds -- Virginia -- Richmond.
• Land records -- Virginia -- Richmond.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Richmond.
• Magazines (periodicals) -- Virginia -- Richmond.
• Maps -- Virginia -- Richmond.
• Plats (land) -- Virginia -- Richmond.