Destination Booked: Richmond

The House is on Fire by Rachel Beanland – fast-paced historical fiction about the Richmond Theatre Fire on December 26, 1811

Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson – searing, emotional tale about an enslaved woman forced to be a slave auctioneer’s wife in antebellum Richmond

The Spymistress by Jennifer Chiaverini – historical biographical novel about Elizabeth Van Lew, a Richmond woman who served as a Union spy during the Civil War.

A Right Worthy Woman by Ruth P. Watson – historical biographical novel about Maggie L. Walker, the first African-American woman to create a bank

Start your tour at the Virginia Capitol. Most historical fiction novels about Richmond have some mention of the Thomas Jefferson-designed Capitol. This is where a service was held for the victims of the Richmond Theatre Fire on New Year’s Day in 1812. As you turn to face south towards the river, imagine flames consuming this commercial district during the Richmond Evacuation Fire of April 3, 1865 as described in The Spymistress. 

Walk to the Virginia Women’s Monument on Capitol Square. Soon there will be a statue here of Maggie L. Walker, and Elizabeth Van Lew’s name is inscribed on the Wall of Honor. You can also see the statue of Elizabeth Keckly, a former enslaved dressmaker who worked for Mary Lincoln during the war. She is the subject of another Chiaverini book, Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker. 

Walk up the hill to Broad Street, passing by the famous George Washington statue and the Virginia Civil Rights monument dedicated to the bravery of Barbara Johns. Continue past the statue and the Virginia Executive Mansion to Broad Street. Cross the street and walk east two blocks to Monumental Church.

You are now standing on the site of the Richmond Theatre Fire described so vividly in The House is on Fire. Imagine the chaos that surrounded this area as the fire raged with women jumping out of third story windows and bodies piling up below. After the fire, the city buried all but one of the 72 bodies in a crypt and built this church over it to serve as a memorial to the victims. The church is now a historic site and is usually not open (check Historic Richmond’s website to plan a visit), but you can view the memorial urn under the portico.

Continue walking down the hill over the interstate (note when you pass the Gabriel historical marker – read Come August, Come Freedom to learn more) and take the stairs down to Richmond’s African Burial Ground. This site is part of the Richmond Slave Trail which takes you to several places from Yellow Wife. 

Walk through the tunnel to the Lumpkin’s Slave Jail site. This is the notorious “Devil’s Half-Acre” where thousands of enslaved men, women, and children were kept in horrific conditions before being sold. As depicted in Yellow Wife, Robert Lumpkin (called Rubin Lapier in the book) enslaved a woman who lived with him and bore him several children. The book recounts the brutal events that took place here right under your very feet. It’s a solemn and overwhelming feeling.

Don’t miss the Winfree Cottage beside the Lumpkin site. It’s the actual cottage of a former enslaved woman who is the subject of the nonfiction book, The Life & Legacy of Enslaved Virginian Emily Winfree.

Park on the street at St. John’s Church and walk to 2301 East Grace Street to view the site where the Elizabeth Van Lew home once stood. Now a school, you can see a historical marker dedicated to the Union spymistress and Mary Jane Bowser who most historians believe served as a spy in the actual Confederate executive home. 

While the home is gone (torn down by spiteful Richmonders after Van Lew’s death in 1900), you can read all about its grandeur and view of the James River in The Spymistress. Walk west on East Grace Street to see a similar view at the Church Hill overlook. 

Walk back to St. John’s Church and take a tour. This was Van Lew’s home church so you can imagine her sitting in these very pews. The same pews that once held George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other delegates to the Second Virginia Convention as they listened to Patrick Henry declare, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” If there’s a reenactment scheduled during your visit, it’s a must-see!

Drive west on Broad Street, passing the Maggie Lena Walker Memorial Plaza at West Broad and North Adams streets. Find a parking spot if you’d like an up close look at the statue. Then drive or walk a few blocks north to the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site. 

As detailed in A Right Worthy Woman, Maggie Walker was an extraordinary woman. Born in 1864 during the Civil War, she was a part of the Van Lew household who secretly freed their slaves. She married Armstead Walker, Jr. and moved into this house where she raised a family and was a business and civic leader on “Black Wall Street” during the Jim Crow era. She founded a newspaper and a bank, making her the first African-American woman to charter a bank in the United States. She also opened a department store where black women could try on clothes and work. Go into the NPS visitor center and tour her lovely home which still includes her furnishings and books.