Nonesuch Place

Intentionally built on the fall line where the Piedmont uplands meet the Tidewater region, Richmond has always been a city defined by the land. From the time settlers built a city on rugged terrain overlooking the James River, the people have changed the land and been changed by it. Few know this better than T. Tyler Potterfield, a planner with the City of Richmond Department of Community Development. Whether considering the many roles of the "romantic, wild and beautiful" James River through the centuries, describing the rationale for the location of the Virginia State Capitol on Shockoe Hill or relating the struggle to reclaim green space as industrialization and urban growth threatened to remove nature from the city, Potterfield weaves a tale as ordered as the gridded streets of Richmond and just as rich in history.

Richmond in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was home to a lively underworld of tricksters, swindlers, confidence men and thieves. The former Confederate capital’s under-staffed police force and dense population—large numbers of immigrants and the very poor—accommodated the enterprising criminal. Newspaper reports of the day offer a glimpse of a wide variety of crimes and misdemeanors, often with a bit of humor or pathos. Based on reports from the proceedings of the Police Court, this book provides a portrait of Richmond—then the most congested city in the U.S.—during the “Golden Age of the Con,” when gamblers, hustlers and frauds plied their trades across the country.

The modern political landscape of Virginia bears little resemblance to the past. The commonwealth is a nationally influential swing state alongside stalwarts like Florida or Ohio. But with increased power comes greater scrutiny--and corruption. Governor Bob McDonnell received a jail sentence on federal corruption charges, later vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court. Corporate influence on the state legislature and other leaders resulted in numerous ethics violations. Scandal erupted at the prestigious University of Virginia when the school ousted its president amid political drama and intrigue. Author Jeff Thomas reveals the intersection of money, power and politics and the corrosive effect on government in a new era.

Journey to the burial places of the people who lived in Poe's world. Edgar Allan Poe considered himself a Virginian. Credited with originating the modern detective story, developing Gothic horror tales, and writing the precursor to science fiction, Poe worked to elevate Southern literature. He lived in the South most of his life, died in Baltimore and made his final home in Richmond. His family and many of his closest associates were southerners. Visit the graves of the people with whom he worked and socialized, who he loved and at times loathed and gain a fuller understanding of Poe's life. These were individuals who supported, inspired, and challenged him, and even a few who attempted to foil his plans. Professor and cemetery historian Sharon Pajka tells their stories.

Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy and once one of the most prosperous cities in the United States, is home to a range of cemeteries that tell the story of American trends in honoring the dead. African slaves were interred in Shockoe Bottoms so-called burial ground for negroes, US presidents James Monroe and John Tyler were buried in Hollywood Cemetery, and Civil War soldiers were commemorated throughout the metropolis; indeed, the River City has laid blacks and whites to rest in flood zones and on rolling hills alike. During and shortly after the Civil War, Richmond worked to accommodate thousands of new graves. Today, Richmonders work to preserve and celebrate the past while making way for the future.

The James River is the centerpiece of Richmond, but by the mid-twentieth century it had been abused and neglected. Eagles and sturgeon had nearly disappeared, water-powered industry was abandoning it and the river was a sewer. Today, the river draws visitors to its wooded shorelines, restored canal and feisty rapids. At the local level, this transformation was the result of citizen action, public-private partnerships, difficult decisions by governmental leaders and the hard work of thousands of passionate advocates and volunteers. Local author and lifelong river watcher Ralph Hambrick chronicles the events, projects and controversies that brought about the dramatic change and lends a critical eye to the results.

Virginia's capital city knew poverty, injustice, slavery, vagrancy, substandard working conditions, street crimes, brutality, unsanitary conditions, and pandemics. One of the biggest stains in the city's past was the spectacle of public executions, attended by throngs. Thousands, including the old and the very young, reveled in a carnival-like atmosphere. This book narrates the history of the executions--hangings, and during the Civil War also firing squads--that formed a large part of Richmond's entertainment picture. Revulsion slowly mounted until the introduction of the electric chair. The history has a cast of unusual characters--the condemned, the crime victims, family members, the executioners, and not least an 182 pound "gallows" dog.

Native Kentuckian Theresa Dowell Blackinton gives readers an insider's look at the Bluegrass State, from the revelry of the Kentucky Derby Festival to quiet, cool Mammoth Cave. Blackinton provides suggestions for unique trip itineraries, including Horsin' Around, Traveling the Bourbon Trail, and The Best of the Bluegrass State. Complete with tips on where to find the best bluegrass tunes and barbecue in Owensboro and how to rent a house boat to cruise the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area, Moon Kentucky gives travelers to tools they need to create a more personal and memorable experience.