Brown's Island is an artificial continental

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

on the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, formed by the Haxall Canal. Part of the city's James River Park, it is the popular venue of a large number of outdoor concerts and festivals in the spring and summer, such as the weekly Friday Cheers concert series or Dominion Riverrock. The Rivanna Subdivision Trestle crosses over the island.

Geography

Brown's Island was formed in 1789 with the beginnings of the Haxall Canal. For many years, there were two islands, Brown's and Johnson's Island with a

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

in between. Today, the islands are one.

History

Pre-industrial

The island's first settler was Elijah Brown, for whom it was named. He acquired the land in 1826. A later owner named Neilson tried to rename the island as Neilson's Island, but it did not last. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the island was the home of the

Confederate States Laboratory Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

. The C.S. Laboratory produced ammunition,

friction primer A friction primer is a device to initiate the firing of muzzle-loading cannon. Each friction primer consists of a copper tube filled with gunpowder. The tube fits into the cannon touch hole burying its lower end in the gunpowder chamber. The top end ...

percussion cap The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise t ...

s, and other ordnance for the Confederate war effort. On Friday, March 13, 1863, an explosion occurred in a section of the laboratory that killed forty-five individuals and left twenty-three others injured. Most of the killed and injured were young girls who were the labor force used on the island.

Industrial age

In 1894, the

Richmond Union Passenger Railway The Richmond Union Passenger Railway, in Richmond, Virginia, was the first practical electric Tram, trolley (tram) system, and set the pattern for most subsequent electric trolley systems around the world. It is an Institute of Electrical and E ...

opened a

coal power plant A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide, there are about 8,500 coal-fired power stations totaling over 2,000 gigawatts capacity. They generate about a th ...

on the island. In 1899, a

hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

on the island's east side, running off the Haxall Canal. Virginia Power also opened a coal power plant nearby in 1936. The trolley company's plant did not last long but reopened in 1916 as the Dixie

Paper Mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...

. In the 1950s and 60s, electricity production at the hydroelectric plant decreased, and ended altogether in 1968. In 1969, the coal plant was damaged and shut down by flooding from

Hurricane Camille Hurricane Camille was the second most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the United States, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. The most intense storm of the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season, Camille originated as a tropical depression ...

. In 1970, the spillway between Johnson's and Brown's Islands was closed and the islands merged.

Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes in 1972 was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, ...

also flooded and closed the coal power plant in 1972, and the plant was closed altogether in 1975.

Park

In 1987, the island became part of the city's

James River Parks System The James River Parks System (also known as James River Park or simply JRPS) is a municipal park in Richmond, Virginia. It consists of multiple sections along the James River between the Huguenot Memorial Bridge in the west to a half mile (0.8&n ...

. In 1993,

Paul Di Pasquale Paul DiPasquale is a sculptor living and working in Richmond, Virginia. He has designed several public sculptures in Virginia, including the Arthur Ashe Monument on Richmond's Monument Avenue and '' King Neptune'' on Virginia Beach's boardwalk. ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

''Headman'' was erected on the island's Eastside, depicting a man steering a James River

Batteaux A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes. Th ...

boat. In 1999, the Army Corps of Engineers refurbished the Haxall canal into a canal walk. The Dominion Virginia Power coal plant was renovated in 2005 by Cordish Company. In 2014, the City released plans for

Brown's Island Dam Walk The Brown's Island Dam Walk, also known as the VEPCO Levee Dam is a structure across the James River in Richmond, Virginia that connects Brown's Island to the James River Parks System on the Manchester side of the river. It was originally constru ...

and secured funding from the state of Virginia.

Sightseeing

Beside being a music venue, the island is also home to pathways and is a popular place for sightseeing. Visible from the island are the Belle Isle, the Manchester Bridge, and the ruins of the

Richmond and Petersburg Railroad Bridge The Richmond and Petersburg Railroad Bridge was a bridge that carried the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad and several later railroads including the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad over the James River in Richmond, ...

. The Rivanna Subdivision Trestle crosses the island, making it a popular destination for

railfan A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter (Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rail ...

s, too. A walkway extends south atop the old VEPCO Levee from the island into the James River, and another extends north along the

Brown's Island Dam North Fork (formerly Brown's and Northfork; Mono wa?ahhpY', "cedar grove") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Madera County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census it had a population of 3,250. It is part of the Ma ...

Today

Brown's Island has become an attraction for concerts and outdoor events, such as the

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...

Festival, Friday Cheers concert series, and in the fall, one of Virginia's busiest and largest festivals, the

Richmond Folk Festival (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, which draws over 200,000 people each year.

References

External links

Official siteDiscover Richmond
{{authority control James River (Virginia) Artificial islands of Virginia Landforms of Richmond, Virginia River islands of Virginia 1789 establishments in Virginia 1863 fires in the United States disasters in Virginia