Paraphrased from Thomas F. Mustian’s “Facts and Legends of Richmond Area Streets” (I think I have a second printing):

Albemarle Street was named for William Anne Keppel, second Earl of Albemarle and Governor General of the colony from 1737 to 1754.

Belvidere Street took its name from home of William Byrd III on the crest of what is now Oregon Hill. Originally, part was traversed by railway trackage.

Cary Street was originally laid out by planners to be called “C” Street according to the alphabet being third in order from the North side of the James (River). It was changed later to be called Cary Street in honor of the many Cary’s that held historic bearing in the early beginning of the City- probably Archibald Cary.

Cherry Street is one of the early streets of Oregon Hill named after the fruit tree.

China Street is named after the Chinaberry tree.

Church Street (no longer exists, was east of Belvidere) was located in the Oregon Hill area and for the short distance it covered there were located several churches.

Cumberland Street is named after the Duke of Cumberland, the third son of King George II.

Holly Street was named by developer Ben J. Harris for the trees grown there.

Idlewood Avenue was originally called Beverley Street. It was changed to be compatible with the Avenue of access to the Idlewood Amusement Park and located near the newly formed Byrd Park.

Main Street is the industrial and commercially centered early street, that in it’s beginning only ran from 18th Street to 25th Street.

Pine Street was named as was popular then for the Pine Trees.

Rowe Street (no longer exists, was east of Belvidere) was named after a Millwright who was the builder.

The following were not included in the book:

Beach Street (no longer exists, was just west of Linden Street)

Green Alley was named for was named after Ben Green who was involved in a
fairly high-profile, alleged bank embezzlement case around the mid-1800′s. More importantly, at
least as far as Oregon Hill residents should be concerned, is that Green was
the architect of the first row houses in the neighborhood.

Laurel Street was most likely named for the trees that grew there.

Linden Street was most likely named for the linden trees that grew there.

I am looking for more information on the following:

Beach Street (no longer exists, was just west of Linden Street)
Harrison Street (I am guessing was named after President William Henry Harrison, but I would appreciate it if someone could confirm)
Howard Street (no longer exists, was east of Belvidere)
Howe Street (no longer exists, was east of Belvidere)
Maiden Lane (no longer exists, was east of Belvidere)
Spring Street ( I assume there was a water spring involved.)

There was most likely quite a bit of ideological rivalry on the Hill back in day (just like now?). I wonder just how serious it became (a la Gangs of New York, perhaps?). Of course, the conservatives were likely the Democrats back then, and the Republicans were probably considered ‘the liberals’ (and certainly not ‘the radical right’ you see now with the likes of G.W. “I am the decider” Bush and Palin, (‘Goin’ rogue, you know’).

From the Daily Dispatch, August 7, 1880:

A meeting of the Conservatives of Oregon Hill is announced for to-night, at which Captain George D. Wise, Hon. A.M. Keiley, and S.B. Witt, Esq. are expected to speak.

BackStory is a smart history radio show/podcast whose May 2010 show Grave Matters: A History of Death and Mourning includes an Ed Ayers tour of Hollywood Cemetery:

On each show, renowned U.S. historians Ed Ayers, Peter Onuf, and Brian Balogh tear a topic from the headlines and plumb its historical depths. Over the course of the hour, they are joined by fellow historians, people in the news, and callers interested in exploring the roots of what’s going on today. Together, they drill down to colonial times and earlier, revealing the connections (and disconnections) between past and present.

Photo courtesy of Silver Persinger.

From The Times, June 3, 1902:

Mr. Murray Browden, of Oregon Hill
Has Left His Wife, and Probably City.
Mrs. Murray Browden, residing on Oregon Hill, is very anxious about her husband, he havlng left home last Saturday and not returned.
She has notlfied the police of the disappearance of her husband.
Mr. Browden was last employed at the Richmond’ Locomotive Works. For
some time, it seems, he has been unable to obtain any work, and this it is thought
is the cause of his leaving the city without notice to his wife

From The Daily Times, May 22, 1888

A Desirable Improvement Completed

It is expected that there will be held a meeting this week of the City Finance Committee to consider appropriation of $3,500 for the purchase of, and beautifying, the proposed new park on Oregon Hill. This land begins at Hollywood on the Canal bank, and runs parallel with it eastwardly to Church street. It embraces a large square adjoining Hollywood, the strip along the slope of the hill overlooking the river and a large square at Church street. Terraced and beautiful with shade trees, but it will be as pretty a park as any in the city, and one that the people in this populous section want. People entering the city over the Petersburg bridge and by the Alleghany road will be struck with the beauty of the slope, which, while proving an ornamentation to the section, will enhance the value of all the property in the neighborhood.

Meant to post this earlier…free history this Saturday!

From the website:

Come see your history in action! More than 15 museums and historical sites in partnership with The Future of Richmond’s Past will offer a full day of free activities for the public at Civil War & Emancipation Day: the 150th Anniversaries. With the dual 150th commemorations of the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 and the end of slavery in 1865, 2011-2015 will remind residents and visitors that these pivotal historic events continue to have a lasting impact on our lives today.

Don’t miss this remarkable opportunity to experience the history that Richmond has to offer.

(go to website link above for the following links)
Schedule of Activities
Other Free Attractions
Parking and Shuttle Service
Press Release

Exhibitors Include:

2nd Rhode Island Infantry, Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, Virginia Union University, Dabbs House Historic Site, Museum of the Confederacy, Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church, Violet Bank, Virginia Commonwealth University Department of History, Virginia Aviation Museum, and Museum on Civil War Medicine, Virginia Historical Society, The College of William & Mary Sharpe Community Scholars, Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project, Valentine Richmond History Center, University of Virginia Department of History of Art and Architecture, James River Squadron, University of Richmond’s Digital Scholarship Lab …….and more!

Participating Institutions:

University of Richmond, Virginia Union University, Virginia Commonwealth University, American Civil War Center, Library of Virginia, Valentine Richmond History Center, The Museum of the Confederacy, Black History Museum and Cultural Center, National Park Service/Richmond National Battlefield Park and Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, Elegba Folklore Society, Slave Trail Commission, Sacred Ground Reclamation Project, Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, Venture Richmond, and the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce

Sponsors:

Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, Venture Richmond, Verizon Foundation, Virginia Tourism Corporation, Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, NXL, Shockoe Company, Old Dominion Electrical Supply, and Odell

Supporters:

Johnson Marketing

Announcement:

Valentine Richmond History Center’s annual History Hounds walking tour of Oregon Hill occurs Saturday, April 10th, 10am-12pm. It’s only $10 a person (dogs are free!), but reservations are required. Call 649-0711 x301

Dogs must have current shots, mix well with others and remain on a leash. Owners are responsible for water and cleaning up after their dogs. Meet at Cherry and Idlewood streets..

P.S. Form a team for the 2010 Stride Through Time 10K on June 5th and raise funds for the History Center and Historic Richmond Foundation.

The Civil War Richmond website has an article on about one Friday the 13th disaster that happened in 1863- “Richmond’s Great Homefront Disaster” -

The first hint of tragedy was a dull, prolonged roar from the direction of Brown’s Island, a mound of dirt in the James River at the base of Seventh Street. The island, described two years earlier as a pretty little wilderness of bamboo and brush wood, had been transformed into a collection of one-story, frame buildings in which several hundred employees, most of them young girls, produced much of the ammunition that kept the Confederate army fighting.

The roar startled some Richmonders, but many, used to hearing explosions from the testing of ordnance at the nearby Tredegar Iron Works, paid scant attention. Several minutes later, dense smoke made townsfolk aware that something indeed was wrong. The telltale smoke came from the destruction of a department of the Confederate States Laboratory, an installation referred to in early 1863 as the salvation of the Confederacy.

—

Gorgas knew what had become common knowledge in the capital; the tragedy had been caused by an 18-year-old girl, Mary Ryan.

The colonel wrote in his diary: “The accident was caused by the ignition of a friction primer in the hands of a grown girl by the name of Mary Ryan. She . . .gave a clear account of the circumstances. The primer stuck in the varnishing hoard and she struck the board three times very hard on the table to drive out the primer. She says she was immediately blown up to the ceiling and on coming down was again blown up.”

Ryan, a native of Ireland, suffered with her injuries until the Monday after the explosion. She died at her father’s home on Oregon Hill, a residential area within a mile of the laboratory.

From the Richmond Dispatch, February 28, 1897:

An old soldier, who for four years wore the grey and bore the stoma of battle, lay all day yesterday unconscious at the City Hospital. He is John W. Satchfield, and since July 5, 1890, has been an inmate of the Soldiers’ Home. A gentleman was passing near Church and Holly streets yesterday morning about 6 o’ clock, when on the corner lay the prostrate form of a man insensible, and, apparently, dead. The ambulance was called and Dr. Lyne responded, and found that the old man must have been exposed all night, and was stiff and benumbed with cold. He was taken to the hospital, and during the whole day did not revive, thought the physicians worked faithfully over him, and even had to cut his clothes from his body, but their efforts to bring renewed life back and make the blood flow faster in those veins were fruitless. His condition is considered very grave, but at a late hour last night he seemed better, and his pulse was stronger, but speech and movement had not come.
Mr. Satchfield was a member of Pegram’s Battery during the war, and came to the home from Petersburg. Colonel Bigger gave him a permit the day before for a leave of two days, and he went away with the intention of going to Manchester, and then to Petersburg. How he came to be at Church and Holly streets cannot be understood, and he alone can tell.