From Richmond Dispatch, December 20, 1896:
Christmas comes and Christmas goes-
Stayeth with us never,
But the Broad-Street bob-tall car
Mule abideth ever.Oh, will it be always thus,
‘Spite of all endeavor?
Can we not this antiquate
bond of union sever?Ask the winds of Oregon
Hill, that blow so, ever;
Ask the Ninth-Street-hill horse drear
Echo answers, never!
From Dec. 19th, 1902 edition of Richmond dispatch:
HOUND MUSES RIOT, Oregon Hill Mob Bulldozes Dog- Catchers Without Avail.
A hound dog on Oregon Hill almost precipitated a riot in that section yesterday morning. The dog-catchers happened to be in the locality, performing their duties, and among the dogs they caught was a hound belonging to some lover of sports on the “hill.”
When the owner found that the men had captured his dog he immediately told a number of his friends, and they demanded the city men to release the canine; but the men refused, and the situation looked very serious, for about ten minutes.
The crowd grew larger and larger. The wagon drove off, and a mob composed of men, women, and children, followed in pursuit. The angry mob wreaked their vengeance on the catchers by throwing at them sticks and tocks and every conceivable thing they could put their hands on.
There was only one of the dog men hit, this being Mr. Biackburn, who was struck on the head with a rock, but not seriously hurt. An effort will be made today to find the men who caused the trouble, and they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The charge preferred will be “interference with an officer of the law. in the “discharge of his duty.”
The men were unable to cope with the situation, as none of them had weapons, and were forced to retreat towards the city. When they reached Broad street the mob left off the chase and returned to Oregon Hill without the hound.
From the Richmond Dispatch, December 18th, 1900:
Charlie Pettus, a son of Capitol-Policeman Pettus, took an involuntary cold bath Sunday afternoon. He fell into the canal at the foot of Oregon Hill. The youth caught hold of a post and sustained his head above water until Mr. Charles Hartman jumped in and landed him on the bank.
From The Times, November 25, 1900,
(The article is entitled, “Pushing Work On Hollywood Line”).
It is claimed by friends of the Passenger and Power Company that the placing of this additional line from Hollywood and Oregon Hill down Main Street all the way to Fulton will give the public better facilities not only through the business and residential sections of Main Street, but will enable a great many people who reside in the southwestern part of the city to reach the factories in the lower part of Main and Fulton without changing cars.
General Superintendent Calvin Whiteley, Jr., of the Passenger and Power Company, who is also engineer for the company, stated yesterday that he had been able to considerably increase the service already on both of the lines- Clay Street and Main Street- and that he was now giving on Main Street a four minute schedule, which is increased to a three minute schedule during the busy hours of the early morning and afternoon. He added that on the Clay Street line he was giving a schedule ranging from four to five minutes, according to demands of traffic.
Four minutes! Think about that next time you are stuck at the light at Idlewood and S. Cherry.
I would like to dedicate this post to my friend, Peter Bain, who is no longer teaching at VCU and is now living in Louisiana.
This column appeared in The Times Dispatch, on November 23, 1904:
Editor of The Times-Dispatch:
Sir, -Please answer in your query column what per cent. of grade are the hills in and about Richmond, and oblige,
B.W.….
Oregon Hill – Albemarle and Pine Streets, elevation 170.6.
…
These elevations are above mean high tide.
Editor’s note: to see the other hills’ elevations, go to article in link above. Oregon Hill has the most elevation for hills next to the river.
From the Times-Dispatch edition of November 21, 1903:
Rock Battle Was In Police Court
Alfred King’s Case Continued.
Pat Griffin’s Hearing Goes Over.Justice John had a big bunch of young Americans before him yesterday morning. The youngsters were up for engaging in a rock battle on Gamble’s Hill against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth, especially that in the neighborhood of Gamble’s Hill forninst Oregon Hill. The line of battle extended across Second Street at its foot, and rocks fairly filled the air, the people said.
In the battle a little fellow, names Holmes Hix, of No. 210 Third Street, was hit on the head and badly hurt. Everything pointed to A.G. King as the one who threw the stone that hit Hix.
Because the injured boy was unable to appear the case was continued to the 28th. Eleven other boys were each fined $2.50 for throwing rocks and being disorderly.King is also charged with being a deserter from the navy. This charge was also continued to the 28th.
Historic postcard of Gambles Hill Park (from VCU collection):
Help commemorate the centennial anniversary of the founding of the Equal Suffrage League of Va, Nov.16-20th, 2009
Click here for more info on this event.
From The Times, November 4, 1900,
The Republicans will hold their final meeting in this city on Oregon Hill tomorrow night. General Edgar Allen and Mr. Hugh Gordon Miller will be the speakers.
Hey, Charles, could this meeting have been at the City Auditorium?
From the October 28, 1900 copy of the Richmond Times Dispatch :
Mr. Charles E. Barfoot had David Rowe arrested for stealing his orange-and-white hound pup.
The Great Dispenser knows much of human nature, and dreads a dog case.
The parties live on Oregon Hill, and Mr. Rowe declared he hadn’t been there long, and never had any trouble in his life until he went there. Since he lived on Oregon Hill he had slept on trouble, and had trouble for breakfast, lunch, and supper- trouble at every turn- and now he was accused of stealing his own dog.ANIMATED SECTION
Mr. Rowe declared if anybody’s life was too stale and too slow, all he had to do was move to Oregon Hill, where animation lays around in chunks.
The Great Lawgiver declared before he opened up the case that there was no telling what a man wouldn’t do for a dog- especialy if it was in hunting season.
He enquired first about the license- always the license first. There was no license on the dog. The warrant had not been paid for, because Mr. Barfoot did not have the ready cash.
“Then in the name of General Jackson and the James river, how did you buy a dog with no money,” bawled the Great Dispenser.
Mr. Barfoot modestly declared that he had borrowed the money from a friend to buy the dog.
Mr. Rowe swore the dog was his, and that he was not orange and white at all, but a white hound, with black spots and tan ears, that he had bought from a nigger for a pistol, and that he took the dog from Mr. Barfoot’s yard, in the presence of his wife, when he had a door over the dog, and sawed wood piled over the door to keep him from getting out.
The Great Lawgiver declared that unless Mr. Barfoot could disprove Rowe’s statements, he was out 75 cents and a dog, and the nigger in a pistol and the money, and that a warrant in detinue was the proper caper in the case.
Editor’s note: I left the term “n-word” in this account as that what was printed in the record and what was commonly used in that time period. Certainly, I recognize that today that term is considered a racist epithet and I do not mean any offense with this historical post.
From the Richmond Dispatch, October, 25, 1902,
Jack Burgess, who lives on Oregon Hill, in Richmond, suffered a terrible accident at work in the plant of the Richmond Standard Steel, Spike and Iron Company in Manchester yesterday afternoon. He was operating one of the heading spike machines when he slipped and fell and was thrown around the machinery. His jawbone was broken and he was otherwise hurt.
Dr. E.T. Rucker was called in and did all he could for the injured man.
Mr. Burgess was taken to his home in Richmond, where he was resting quietly this afternoon.
