From the Valentine Museum/Richmond History Center:
June 21, 2-4 p.m.
Oregon Hill Walking Tour
Oregon Hill originated as a grouping of residences for workers from the Tredegar Iron Works and survives today as a tight-knit working class enclave that has continued to thrive with remarkable cohesion. Learn about its history and newer developments on this tour of the neighborhood. Meet at Laurel and Idlewood streets.
At the conclusion of the Civil War, the U.S. military telegraph troops were photographed in Oregon Hill in April 1865 with their covered wagons. The many tents and temporary stables shown near the houses on the 100 block of S. Cherry suggest that these troops were bivouacked in Oregon Hill. The photographs were taken from the vantage point of looking north towards West Cary Street, with the rear of the William Smith House, which has survived at 611 W. Cary Street, shown in the detail. Very high resolution copies of these two photos can be downloaded for free from the Library of Congress website:
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2013647869/
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/cwp2003000706/PP/
Photo credits: Library of Congress
