Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States located between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" due to its status as the first English colonial possession established in mainland North America and "Mother of Presidents" because eight U.S. presidents were born there, more than any other state. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which provide habitat for much of its flora and fauna. The capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond; Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealth's estimated population as of 2018 is over 8.5 million.
Interstate 95 (I-95) runs 179 miles (288 km) within the Commonwealth of Virginia between its borders with Maryland and North Carolina. I-95 is concurrent with I-64 for 3 miles (4.8 km) in Richmond, and meets the northern terminus of I-85 in Petersburg. Although I-95 was originally planned as a highway through Washington, D.C., it was rerouted along the eastern portion of the Capital Beltway. From Petersburg to Richmond, I-95 was most of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike
Falling Creek is a tributary of the James River located near Richmond, Virginia. Approximately 23 miles (37 km) in length, it varies in width between 10 feet (3.0 m) at its source to several hundred feet in the Falling Creek Reservoir. Falling Creek rises in the Salisbury section of northwestern Chesterfield County and empties into the James River roughly one mile south of the Richmond city limits. A dam located in the Meadowbrook section of the county at Hopkins Road forms the Falling Creek Reservoir, formerly used as northern Chesterfield's drinking water supply.
Nearby, portions of the original Warwick Road extended through what is now South Richmond and Chesterfield County to the Bon Air, Virginia area.
Chesterfield County is a county located just south of Richmond in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county's borders are primarily defined by the James River to the north and the Appomattox River to the south. Its county seat is Chesterfield Court House.
Bon Air is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. The population was 16,366 at the 2010 census. The community is considered a suburb of the independent city of Richmond in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a part of the Southside neighborhoods. Originally developed as a resort, a central portion of Bon Air has been designated as a National Historic District with many structures of Victorian design from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its name means "good air," reflecting its role as a resort getaway that wealthy Richmonders enjoyed for its fresh air as opposed to the dirty air of Richmond's industrial downtown of the late 19th century.
Stone Bridge across Falling Creek
Along U.S. 1, also nearby, a historic stone bridge across Falling Creek was destroyed by flood waters resulting from Tropical Storm Gaston in August, 2004.
U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. In the U.S. state of Virginia, US 1 runs north–south through South Hill, Petersburg, Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Alexandria on its way from North Carolina to the 14th Street Bridge into the District of Columbia. It is completely paralleled by Interstate Highways in Virginia – Interstate 85 south of Petersburg, Interstate 95 north to Alexandria, and Interstate 395 into the District – and now serves mainly local traffic. At its north end, on the approach to the 14th Street Bridge, US 1 is concurrent with I-395; the rest of US 1 is on surface roads.
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.
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The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows 348 miles (560 km) to Chesapeake Bay. The river length extends to 444 miles (715 km) if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. It is the longest river in Virginia and the 12th longest river in the United States that remains entirely within a single state. Jamestown and Williamsburg, Virginia’s first colonial capitals, and Richmond, Virginia's current capital, lie on the James River.
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the Lower Peninsula to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the north, the Middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck.
Manchester, Virginia is a former independent city in Virginia in the United States. Prior to receiving independent status, it served as the county seat of Chesterfield County, between 1870 and 1876. Today, it is a part of the city of Richmond, Virginia.
The Robert E. Lee Memorial Bridge in Richmond, Virginia carries U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 301 across the James River at the Fall Line.
The Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike was a toll road located in the Richmond-Petersburg region of central Virginia, United States.
Midlothian, Virginia is an unincorporated area in Chesterfield County, Virginia, U.S. Founded over 300 years ago as a coal town, it is now a suburban community located west of Richmond, Virginia and south of the James River in the Greater Richmond Region. Because of its unincorporated status, Midlothian has no formal government, and the name is used to represent either the original small Village of Midlothian, located near US-60 and Woolridge Road, or a vast expanse of Chesterfield County in the northwest portion of Southside Richmond covered by three zip codes served by the Midlothian post office. These zip codes are not coterminous with the Midlothian Magesterial District associated with the Chesterfield County government.
Tobacco Row is a collection of tobacco warehouses and cigarette factories in Richmond, Virginia adjacent to the James River and Kanawha Canal near its eastern terminus at the head of navigation of the James River.
Edward E. Willey Bridge is a highway bridge which crosses the upper James River in the western portion of Henrico County, Virginia. It carries Chippenham Parkway between Parham Road in Henrico and the southwestern portion of the independent city of Richmond. It was named in honor of Edward E. Willey who was a Pharmacist and State Senator in the Virginia General Assembly from 1952 to 1983. He died in 1986.
Varina-Enon Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge which carries Interstate 295 across the James River near Dutch Gap between Henrico County near Richmond and Chesterfield County near Hopewell, Virginia. It was opened to traffic in July 1990.
The Southside of Richmond is an area of the Metropolitan Statistical Area surrounding Richmond, Virginia. It generally includes all portions of the City of Richmond which lie south of the James River, and includes all of the former city of Manchester. Depending on context, the term "Southside of Richmond" may or may not include some northern areas of adjacent Chesterfield County, Virginia in the Richmond-Petersburg region. With a minor exceptions near Bon Air, VA, the Chippenham Parkway forms the border between Chesterfield County and the City of Richmond portions of Southside, with some news agencies using the term "South Richmond" to refer to the locations in Southside located in the city proper.
Westham Bridge crossed the James River between Henrico County and Chesterfield County. The bridge was located between Bosher Dam and Williams Island Dam just west of the 7 miles of rapids and falls which constitute the fall line of the James River at Richmond, Virginia.
U.S. Route 60 in Virginia runs 303 miles (488 km) west to east through the central part of the state, generally close to and paralleling the Interstate 64 corridor, except for the crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and in the South Hampton Roads area.
The James River Bridge carries Interstate 95 across the James River in Richmond, Virginia.
Warwick was an unincorporated town and port in Chesterfield County, Virginia, located on the navigable portion of the James River about 5 miles south of downtown Richmond, Virginia. Due to a sandbar in the river, although the falls did not begin until the river reached Richmond and Manchester, Warwick was as far upriver as many ships of the day could safely navigate. Regarding navigation on the James River, in his Notes on the State of Virginia, written in 1781–82, then-Governor Thomas Jefferson stated "Vessels of 250 tons may go to Warwick"
Warwick Road in Chesterfield County, Virginia, was one of the older roadways in the area extending across the northern section of the county. Established in the 18th century in the Virginia Colony, the Warwick Road effectively provided a portage around the portion of the James River containing dams and rapids near the fall line in the area of the towns of Manchester and Richmond, Virginia, which were located along the south and north banks of the river respectively.
Ampthill Plantation was located in the Virginia Colony in Chesterfield County on the south bank of the James River about four miles south of the head of navigation at modern-day Richmond, Virginia. Built by Henry Cary, Jr. about 1730, it was just upstream of Falling Creek. It was later owned by Colonel Archibald Cary, who maintained a flour mill complex and iron forge at the nearby town of Warwick. Mary Randolph was born there in 1762.
Granite was an unincorporated community in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was originally located along the Richmond and Danville Railroad five miles west of Manchester and about a mile south of the rapids of the James River along Powhite Creek.
