Forest Hill Park

Forest Hill Park Entrance Gate, 1910 

Forest Hill Park Entrance Gate, 2017

Site Name: Forest Hill Park (formerly “Boscobel” and “Forest Hill Amusement Park”)

Date of Construction: First Purchased 1768; First Developed (as Rhodes’ Estate) 1836; Redeveloped (as Amusement Park) 1890; Developed by the City of Richmond (1932)

Reason for Construction: The park was originally developed as part of the Rhodes Estate, then as an attraction for a trolley stop, finally as a public city park.

Site History: The land on which the park currently resides was first owned by William Byrd III in the mid 1700’s. Byrd III was passionate gambler, and this costly hobby led him to sell many of his riverfront properties in order to pay off his extensive debts. In 1836, Holden Rhodes, a prominent and wealthy railroad entrepreneur, purchased the land and constructed a Greek-inspired estate--which he called “Boscobel.” Masons constructed Boscobel from locally quarried granite, and the stone house still stands today as the centerpiece of the park. The land was later developed after Rhodes’ death by many owners, the Richmond and Manchester Railway Company being the most prominent. The railway company established the site as an electric streetcar terminus. In order to draw more customers, the company also constructed an amusement park which had a carousel, roller coaster, fun house, dance hall, golf course, and arcade in the 1890’s. The amusement park and streetcar terminus closed in 1932 due to the Great Depression. It was then developed into the current park by the City of Richmond in 1933.

Area History: Like much of Richmond, some of Forest Hill Park and its surroundings were plantations where crops were cultivated and livestock was raised. Eventually, as trolley companies, like the Richmond & Manchester Railway Company, bought and developed land in this area to create trolley lines in areas away from the bustling downtown, residents followed the lines, creating trolley suburbs in today’s neighborhoods of Forest Hill, Westover Hills, and Woodland Heights. These neighborhoods were the first of their kind, as Richmond became the first city to implement a widespread electrical streetcar system in the late 1800s. Even after the popularity of the streetcars declined in the late 1920s, the neighborhoods remained as the personal automobile became more popular.

What about the site has changed? After the City of Richmond took over in 1933, all of the old amusement park rides were demolished and removed. Under the Works Progress Administration created by Theodore Roosevelt, unemployed construction workers built park walkways, picnic tables, gazebos, and huts to improve the park’s atmosphere. The Forest Hill Garden club grew beautiful flower gardens and earned recognition from the National Council of State Garden Clubs. Forest Hill Park is still a popular destination for biking, picnicking, jogging, and even bird watching in the Richmond community.

What about the surrounding area has changed? Southside Richmond experienced a great economic boom in the 1910’s with the coming of World War I. The area’s shipping factories assisted with the war efforts, which created increasing jobs and populations in Southside neighborhoods like Forest Hill. This period of overall expansion continued until the onset of the Great Depression, when many factories closed and workers were laid off. Under FDR’s Works Progress Administration, formerly unemployed workers helped to build the Robert E. Lee Bridge which connected the Northside and Southside industries.

Since the 1960’s, the metro-Richmond white population has been decreasing in urban centers and increasing in surrounding counties’ suburbs. This pattern of “white flight” may be attributed to the desegregation of Richmond Public Schools after the Brown v. Board of Education decision. White flight significantly decreased the percentage of the white population in Southside neighborhoods like Forest Hill.

The migration of the white population coincided with the westward movement of businesses. In recent years, these businesses have started to return to the Southside area. The arrival of new businesses like Suntrust bank has sparked real estate market in the area. Buildings along the river are now being transformed into new housing complexes.

Reflection: While we had known some aspects of the history of the park, it was interesting to learn more details about local history, which feels more tangible than history in more distant locations. It was fascinating to research about how advancements in technology and transportation like the electrical streetcar had essentially created the neighborhoods we live in and around, along with how major historical organizations, such as the Works Progress Administration, established areas we grew up in.  Learning about how major events yielded development nearby that can still be seen today has made it easier to understand how major parts of history impact small places.

Authors: Jess Liu and Maya Román

Sources:

“Forest Hill Park.” National Parks Service: US Department of the Interior. Accessed

March 19, 2017. https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/richmond/ForestHillPark.html.

George, Lynne Ann., and Monica S. Rumsey. An Illustrated History of Forest Hill Park.

Richmond, VA: Friends of Forest Hill Park, 1999.

Koziol, Bryan. “White Flight in the Richmond Region, 1960-2010.” Virginia Memory.

            Published 2013. Accessed March 19, 2017. http://www.virginiamemory.com/online-   

            exhibitions/items/show/29

“Southside Richmond History.” Southside Richmond. Accessed March 19, 2017.

http://www.southsiderichmond.org/southside-richmond-history.

United States Department of the Interior. NRHP Registration Form Forest Hill Park.
            Richmond: Monica Rumsey and Debra McClane, 2002. Accessed February 16, 2017.
            http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Cities/Richmond/1276027_Forest_Hill_Park_20
            02_Final_Nomination.pdf.