Other city businesses that have lasted 175 years strong: Richmond businesses that have stood the test of time

RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH AT 175

INSIDE: A brief history of the RTD and its ownership. Page A4

The Richmond Times-Dispatch isn't the only business in Richmond that's been around for 175 years.

However, it is pretty rare company.

"For more than 400 years, the greater Richmond area has been a magnet for businesses, and for any organization to be successful for 175 years is an amazing accomplishment," said Jennifer Wakefield, president and CEO of the Greater Richmond Partnership. "There are few companies with the legacy of the Richmond Times-Dispatch and - along with other amazing mainstays - I'm proud that our daily newspaper has that longevity."

Here are a few other businesses in the Richmond area that have been around for 175 years and are still in operation today.

Mutual Assurance

Founded in 1794, Mutual Assurance provided homeowners insurance to many of Virginia's Founding Fathers, including Mount Vernon, Monticello, Ashlawn, Marshall House, Stratford Hall and Scotchtown. Mutual Assurance continues to provide homeowners insurance to more than 20,000 members in Virginia today.

Fire was a dangerous threat to homes in the late 1700s, decimating cities and towns.

Mutual Assurance provides a perpetual homeowner policy that never expires. New applicants pay a one-time premium to become a member, followed by smaller annual assessments.

In December 1794, the "Mutual Assurance Society Against Fire on Buildings of the State of Virginia" was the first statewide insurance company created in America. In that first year, the Society's president and directors voted to donate their first year's salaries toward the purchase of the first fire engine for the city of Richmond.

The John Marshall House at the corner of Ninth and Marshall streets, for example, has been continuously insured by Mutual Assurance since 1796.

Hollywood Cemetery

Established in 1847, Hollywood Cemetery is a popular tourist attraction, as well as a fully functional and operating cemetery. Designed by Scottish architect John Notman, Hollywood Cemetery was created as a garden cemetery, a style popular at the time for combining burial grounds with the beauty and tranquility of a park.

Former presidents James Monroe and John Tyler; Confederate President Jefferson Davis; former Gov. Lee Fitzhugh; and Confederate generals J.E.B. Stuart and George Pickett are all buried within the cemetery grounds. The Monument to Confederate War Dead - a 90-foot pyramid - pays tribute to the thousands of enlisted Confederate soldiers also buried at the site.

Hollywood Cemetery continues to operate as a working cemetery with burial options available for purchase, including lots, cremation niches and a scattering garden.

MCV

The Medical College of Virginia got its start as the medical department of Hampden-Sydney College. In 1845, medical classes were moved to the Egyptian Building, at 1301 E. Marshall St. For centuries, the building housed all of the medical college's classes. It featured lecture halls, an infirmary and hospital beds for medical and surgical cases. The Egyptian Building was also where the majority of student autopsies took place, both inside and outside on the veranda.

In 1854, the Richmond Department of Medicine broke away from Hampden-Sydney College and became an independent institution known as the Medical College of Virginia.

In 1968, MCV joined with the Richmond Professional Institute to form Virginia Commonwealth University.

Today, VCU's MCV Campus serves as the university's main medical center. It includes a large teaching hospital and the schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and Health Professions.

Richmond College/University of Richmond

Richmond College began in 1830 as a Virginia Baptist-backed institution to train ministers. The first campus was located on the grounds of an old mansion named "Columbia," which can still be found at the corner of Grace and Lombardy streets. The Richmond College gates still stand at Grace and Ryland streets.

During the Civil War, the college closed, but it reopened after the war and continued to grow, eventually adding the T.C. Williams School of Law in 1870. In 1914, the college moved to its current campus in the West End and established the Westhampton College for women. In 1920, the college was elevated to university status and became the University of Richmond. In the 1970s, Westhampton College merged into the university.

Today, the university includes the School of Arts and Sciences, the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business, the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, the T.C. Williams School of Law and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Virginia Historical Society

Founded in 1831, the Virginia Historical Society began as a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting Virginia's past. Its first president was Chief Justice John Marshall, and former president James Madison was its first honorary member.

In 1946, the society acquired its current home at 428 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., known as Battle Abbey, from the struggling Confederate Memorial Association. In 1948, the society's president, Alexander Wilbourne Weddell, and his wife, Virginia (Chase) Steedman Weddell, were killed in a train accident. The society received the bulk of their estates together with Virginia House, their Tudor residence in Windsor Farms.

The first "The Story of Virginia, An American Experience" exhibit opened in 1995. In 2018, the society announced a new name: The Virginia Museum of History & Culture, focused on telling the story of Virginia to a wider audience.

Library of Virginia

The Library of Virginia was created by the General Assembly in 1823 to organize, care for and manage the state's growing collection of books and official records - many of which date back to early Colonial times. For its first 72 years, the library was housed in a series of rooms on the third floor of the Capitol building. In 1895, it moved into a new library building on the eastern side of Capitol Square. When it outgrew that location, it moved in 1940 to an art deco building on Capitol Street, near City Hall and the Executive Mansion. In 1997, the Library of Virginia opened its current location at 800 E. Broad St. The Library celebrated its bicentennial in 2023.

Sands Anderson

In 1842, Alexander Hamilton Sands moved to Richmond and launched the law practice Sands & Sands. That practice is still around today as Sands Anderson with its headquarters in Richmond and five other offices in Fredericksburg; Williamsburg; Virginia Beach; Christiansburg; and Durham, North Carolina.

Churches

First Baptist Church: Many of the longest-running businesses in Richmond are churches. Established in 1780, the church is now located on the corner of Monument Avenue and Arthur Ashe Boulevard.

First African Baptist Church: Founded in 1841 by Black members of the First Baptist Church, the First African Church members included both enslaved people and freedmen. The First African Baptist church was located at 1400 E. Broad St. for many years, until the building was sold to the Medical College of Virginia in 1938. It is now located at 2700 Hanes Ave. in Barton Heights.

Second Presbyterian Church: Located at 5 N. Fifth St., the Gothic Revival-style church was designed by architect Minard Lafever and was built in 1848. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The church is still located there today.

St. Peter's: The Pro-Cathedral of St. Peter was dedicated in 1834, becoming the first Catholic church in Richmond.

St. John's Presbyterian Church: Built in 1741, St. John's Presbyterian Church is the oldest church in Richmond. The site of Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech in 1775, St. John's still operates today and gives regular tours.

St. James Episcopal Church was formed in 1831, making it the third-oldest Episcopal congregation in Richmond. In 1912, the cornerstone was laid for the church building, where it can still be found at 1205 W. Franklin St.

Centenary United Methodist Church: Its Gothic Revival-style church building was completed in 1843 at 411 E. Grace St., where it still stands today.

Colleen Curran (804) [email protected]