From Oregon Hill Parks event page on FaceBook:
Otherwise known as Labor Day – do you have a chainsaw or know how to use one? Do you hate invasive trees and spotted lantern flies? Please come help for an hour Monday to clear the two raised beds in Linear Park by the gazebo. Future home to community herb garden and pumpkin patch!
More from former Pine Street neighbor Tom Elliott:
Photo from canal tow path, Belle Island in the distance
This image of the Under The Bank Saloon (505 Canal bank) next to the Tredegar Ironworks Bridge to Belle Island was posted on the internet within the past 5 years. I was interested in discovering more about the business hiding under the bank of the James River & Kanawha canal. The stereograph photo was taken from the canal tow path above the saloon. Bartholomew V. and John A. Connolly were the proprietors from at least 1876-1877. They were both living on Arch between 6th & 7th St in 1876 and had moved to 226 S. 5th St in 1877. B.V. was born in Ireland in 1848 and died on Dec 16, 1881, buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery. I identified the probable saloon location next to the river and the two housing areas where they lived. The saloon looks like a cool shady spot to grab a drink after a hard day at Tredegar or boatman hopping down the hill. It’s easy to imagine the crowd inside. Credit: VCU library & Ancestry.
From FaceBook event page:
A full weekend in Oregon Hill. Join your friends and neighbors Friday night at 7:30 pm for our community movie, Sheep Detectives in Pleasants Park. As always free refreshments are served.
Saturday and Sunday look for neighbors sharing treasures in a community yard sale.
On Sunday, stop by Pleasants Park and enjoy a hamburger or hotdog while playing some outdoor games with friends. Everything is free. Start up time at noon.
At last night’s Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) meeting, neighbors listened carefully to a presentation by a representative of the Richmond Police.
When he was asked about the June 30th shooting and murder on the 100 block of S.Pine Street, he said it was not in his report because the 100 block of S. Pine is not part of Oregon Hill. Thankfully, neighbors, including the OHNA President, quickly corrected him.
Oregon Hill residents are tired of this continued nonsense.
The ‘Heights’ are ours!
MESSAGE TO CITY AND VCU OFFICIALS (ESPECIALLY CITY PLANNERS WITH CODE REFRESH): To say that the 100 blocks north of the Expressway are not part part of Oregon Hill is ‘fighting words’ – considered not acceptable and will be fully rebuked. If this keeps up, then some sort of retaliation may be in order to make the message stick. Code Refresh is already dead in the water due to the misrepresentation and distrust.
It’s one thing for the Richmond and VCU police to not count all the underage drinking in their crime stats for the neighborhood. It is another to not include violent crime. We are very aware of increased crime due to our proximity to the university.
Furthermore, and it should not be lost in this, the main suspect in the murder is still on the run, as far as citizens know.
From previous Richmond Police Department press release:
Richmond Police Department detectives are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a wanted subject related to last night’s homicide on South Pine Street.
John Pettaway IV, 26, of Chesterfield County, has a warrant on file for Discharging a Firearm in an Occupied Dwelling. He is wanted in relation to the fatal shooting of Charlamon Stokes, 23, of Richmond, in the 100 block of South Pine Street last night.
Pettaway is approximately 5’9” tall and weighs approximately 155 pounds. His photo is attached. Pettaway should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call 911.
Anyone with information about this homicide investigation is asked to call Major Crimes Detective M. Godwin at (804) 317-6922 or call Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000. The P3 Tips Crime Stoppers app for smartphones may also be used. All Crime Stoppers reporting methods are anonymous.
Courtesy of former neighbor and longterm friend of the neighborhood Tom Elliott:
A good Oregon Hill friend (now a world traveller for many years) recently gave me a book “Bottled in Richmond 1819-1920” by Vernon Grant. I flipped through it and found all the saloons, liquor dealers and pharmacies in Richmond. There were about 20 in Oregon Hill during that period. This is the story of just one of them.
614 Church St (demolished) was obviously a commercial establishment being on the corner in a packed urban neighborhood. I found brothers John & Soloman Gross operating as a “Grocer and Saloon” there from 1869-1885 (Bottled in Richmond pg.139) . Both were born in Germany, John in 1832 and Solomon in 1837. Both married Virginians, Nancy G. and Mary J. John died (Cirrhosis of the liver) in 1884 and Solomon (Diarrhea) in 1886. Nancy and Mary obtained the help of (Englishman) Wm. B Illingworth (b-1833) and wife Lucinda and continued in business at 614 Church St. They were operating as a “Grocer and Liquor Dealer” as “Illingsworth & Co.” from 1888-1903 (Bottled in Richmond, pg. 150) . William died in 1890, The women then operated the business for the next 14 years. Nancy Gross died in 1902 and Lucinda Illingsworth in 1904. The business had stopped by 1904. Mary J Gross was still living at 614 Church St in 1904. These various families lived within this single house from at least 1869-1904. I will assume the business was on the ground floor and they lived on the upper floors. Credits: The Valentine, Ancestry, Bottled in Richmond 1819-1920 by Vernon Grant, Hollywood Cemetery, VCU Library.
It’s that time of year when the university students are back and the number of events starts accelerating. September will likely be a blur. Still, trying to keep up…starting with tonight…
Screenshot
As mentioned before, the scam continues.
From Cherry Street neighbor Todd Woodson:
Code Refresh is a bad idea brought to you by developers for developers. Please consider signing the petition to make the City seek zoning changes of more than 25% of the City through referendums. The City can’t be trusted on this and saying Code Refresh will increase affordable housing is the “Big Lie”.
The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) recently emailed its August Events newsletter. As always, residents can subscribe for this newsletter and utilize the OHNA calendar. Visit ohnarva.org
Excerpt:
Craft night at Pine St Baptist Church – Thursday, August 20th, 6:00PM – 8:30PM
• Back-to-School night at Holly Street Playground – Friday, August 21st, 6:30pm – 7:30pm. Bring fruit, treat, or snack to share if you like! Fountain will be on!
• 5th District Code Refresh Meeting: Monday, August 24, 2026; 6pm-8pm; First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1000 Blanton Avenue
• OHNA Meeting (virtual) – Tuesday, August 25, 7:00PM – 9:00PM
• Hollywood Cemetery at Night: Full Moon Tour on Friday, August 28, at 7:30-9:30pm; $25/person; link for more information.
Want to add an event to the September update? Email the Events Committee at ohna-events@googlegroups.comIt’s time to plan the Fall Festival! We need resident input on the fundraising beneficiary. Please fill out this survey to nominate a nonprofit. We will later vote on the nominees to make the final beneficiary selection(s).
From the Events Committee Idea Mill:
Do any of the below ideas pique your interest? Email the events committee at ohna-events@googlegroups.com to link up with others interested in planning these efforts.
• Meals: interested in organizing a food-related event? Ideas can include regular potlucks, food swaps, bulk meal prep.
• Art Show for late 2026 – early 2027: the talent in the neighborhood needs to be showcased! We have a great opportunity to create our own gallery show.
• Holly Street Playground fountain evenings: sign-up for a date to turn the fountain on and off. We can broadcast the opportunity to neighbors.City-related Info and Updates:
Code Refresh: Round 3 of the city’s re-zoning proposal will be available on Monday 8/17, here: https://rva.gov/planning-development-review/code-refresh.
Public Utilities billing problems: The city is working on fixing its billing system. Customers who believe they may have a billing or payment issue should contact DPU at 804-646-4646 during normal business hours or email dpucustserv@rva.gov
Richmond’s new Department of Transportation has a newsletter. The first issue is here: https://mailchi.mp/rva/introducing-access-rva; or subscribe here: https://rva.us18.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=f99abcad558960f82c27f3ada&id=7d89dcce2dPine Street Baptist is also accepting donations for their unhoused services; drop off during neighborhood events or between 9-5 Monday through Thursday. Items needed include travel sized toiletries (sunscreen and bug spray included), shelf stable snacks such as beanie weenies, new socks and underwear. They also maintain a Free Closet where you may donate gently used clothing items and shoes.
Lastly, remember to check the Allianz Amphitheater schedule for upcoming shows in case parking gets tight in the evenings on those days!
Tomorrow is a “Red Wednesday”, which means trash and recycling pickup.
Please go over what can be recycled.
NOTE: CVWMA (Central Virginia Waste Management Authority) has announced that all curbside recycling must now be INSIDE the CVWMA containers with lid closed. Items beside the container or on top of it will not be collected. In fact, incorrect setouts may not be collected at all. This is new as of July 1 for all our curbside recyclers, with the exception of townhomes/condos still using small bins. (And yes, this also applies to flattened cardboard boxes.)
Ideally, rolling recycling containers are stored and deployed in the back alleys along with trash cans. Please make sure you pick up containers after pickup tomorrow night. More CVWMA information can be found at this link:
https://cvwma.com/cvwma-locations/richmond/
In order to take your recycling to the next level, read this: 10 ways to improve your recycling.
In local recycling news, Henrico County Fire crews had to battle a dumpster fire at an East End recycling facility.
In national recycling news, researchers publishing in Nature Food magazine looked at what might happen if food waste bans now used in places such as Massachusetts and Vermont were adopted across the U.S. As WBUR reported, their analysis showed that sending food scraps to recycling systems instead of landfills could shrink food waste’s overall climate impact by up to 99%. Nationwide food-waste recycling would cut methane as well as landfill nutrient pollution linked to toxic algal blooms, lowering risks to waterways and nearby communities. The study also projected a major plastics drawback: Without better packaging and sorting, contaminated compost under a nationwide ban could spread up to 20,000 tons of plastic onto farmland each year.
Looks like the truth is coming out.