Hike the Slave Trail with Urban Scale Richmond

Urban Scale Richmond does a great job of exploring some history of the Slave Trail with ALONG THE BANKS OF SHOCKOE CREEK posted this morning. Current photos are mixed with images from the past. Definitely worth checking out, maybe even bookmarking in your fancy smart phone for the next time you want to mix some history with a stroll in the neighborhood. A little taste of the post is below.

View east along Marshall Street from Shockoe Hill, Online Postcard Collection, VCU Library

The view from the the top of the hill on Broad Street probably looked similarly steep in the early nineteenth century. After Broad Street was extended to the valley in 1845, Shockoe Creek flowed through a narrow bridge under the road. Parts of this still stand, as seen below, although the creek, uncovered throughout the nineteenth century, is now fully underground. The area between the rail tracks was an ideal one for unloading materials. Hungerford Coal and Oil Company is located here.