Warwick Road in

Chesterfield County, Virginia Chesterfield County is located just south of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The county's borders are primarily defined by the James River to the north and the Appomattox River to the sout ...

, was one of the older roadways in the area extending across the northern section of the county. Established in the 18th century in the Virginia Colony, the Warwick Road effectively provided a

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

around the portion of 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 ...

containing dams and rapids near the

fall line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is typically prominent where rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the coa ...

in the area of the towns of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

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 ...

, which were located along the south and north banks of the river respectively.

Historical path from 18th-century port town

Warwick Road originated at its namesake, the former 18th century port town of

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

which was located near the confluence of Falling Creek and the

. Established around 1750 by

Archibald Cary Col. Archibald Cary (January 24, 1721February 26, 1787)Tyler, ''Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography'', 8. was a Virginia planter, soldier, politician, and major landowner. He was a political figure from the colony of Virginia. Early life Col. Ar ...

, Warwick was destroyed in 1781 by British General

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

's troops during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. The 18th-century roadway called "The Warwick Road" led through what is now the large DuPont Plant in Chesterfield County, crossed into areas of Chesterfield annexed by Richmond in 1944 and 1970 which are now part of South Richmond and returned into Chesterfield County in what is now the Bon Air, Virginia area. There, it intersected what was called the River Road, which ran closely along the south bank in a westerly direction. The Warwick Road and the River Road in combination formed a

from the deep-water

tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * Tidal (album), ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * ...

James River around the falls, rapids, and dams near

and Richmond to the river west of there, where it is more shallow. The upper James River was navigable with craft such as bateau boats for many miles to the west.

20th century

Although apparently not used for portage purposes after the destruction of Warwick in 1781, much of the original Warwick Road remained intact as a through route until around 1960 when

Chippenham Parkway State Route 150 (SR 150) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Chippenham Parkway, the state highway runs from Interstate 95 (I-95) and SR 895 in Bensley north to Parham Road and River Road near Tuckahoe in Henrico Count ...

was built and severed it between Jahnke Road and Midlothian Turnpike near Bon Air. However, portions of the old pathway remain in use in 2007. From east to west, these include sections of modern Walmsley Boulevard, Warwick Road, and Old Warwick Road in South Richmond, and Brown Road and Belleau Drive in Chesterfield County. Portions of Warwick Road were hard-surfaced after it became part of Virginia's Secondary Road System under the Byrd Road Act in 1932. During second half of the 20th century, portions of Warwick Road east of Chippenham Parkway became hazardous as the area became heavily developed with housing subdivisions and suburban growth, and the traffic volume increased greatly on the two-laned curving roadway, which had no shoulders and deep ditches along the narrow

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

which had been established many years before the invention of the

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

. Warwick Road became notorious for many fatal automobile crashes.

Newer connector road in South Richmond

In the 1990s, a newer 4.5-mile-long four-lane connector route was built in the annexed area of the

City of Richmond The City of Richmond was a local government area about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1855 until 1994. History Richmond was incorporated as a municipality on 24 Ap ...

at a cost of $41 million US with funding from the

Virginia Department of Transportation The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is the agency of the state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. VDOT is headquartered at the Virginia Department of Highways Building in downtown ...

. It was built partially along the some sections of the original Warwick Road, and followed the alignment generally. The connector route, most of which was assigned the historic name of Warwick Road, extends from the intersection of Bells Road and Belt Boulevard (

State Route 161 The following highways are numbered 161: Canada * New Brunswick Route 161 * Prince Edward Island Route 161 * Quebec Route 161 Costa Rica * National Route 161 India * National Highway 161 Ireland * R161 road (Ireland) Japan * Japan Nat ...

across the

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

A-line (the former

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...

Richmond-Florida main line) via a new bridge through major intersections with Broad Rock Boulevard (

State Route 10 Route 10, or Highway 10, can refer to routes in the following countries: International * European route E10 * European route E010 Argentina * La Pampa Provincial Route 10 Australia Queensland * Smith Street Motorway (Queensland) * Scenic H ...

), Hull Street Road (

U.S. Route 360 U.S. Route 360 (US 360) is a spur route of US 60. The U.S. Highway runs entirely within the state of Virginia from US 58 Business, Virginia State Route 293 (SR 293), and SR 360 in Danville east to SR 644 in Reedville. US 360 connects Danvill ...

} to an intersection with Midlothian Turnpike, which carries

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as Pacific Avenue, in the ...

. Several bypassed sections of the older roadway were renamed "Old Warwick Road".

References

{{reflist Warwick Road

Warwick Road

Historical path from 18th-century port town

20th century

Newer connector road in South Richmond

See also

References