BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Richmond -- Belle Isle

VA -- Richmond -- Belle Isle:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. BELLE_060506_005.JPG: The Belle Isle Pedestrian Bridge: Dedicated as a key part of Richmond Renaissance's James River Discovery Program and made possible by the vision and contributions of Commonwealth of Virginia, the James River Corporation, and the City of Richmond. April 30, 1991.
2. BELLE_060506_023.JPG: Old Dominion Iron & Steel Company: The Chrysler Building. The tall design, thick "I" beams, and a mix of different sized pieces mark this as one of the first factory buildings constructed by the ODIS -- probably in the early 1900s. ODIS was famous for its advanced metallurgy and fine casting important in fabricating complex structures like heat exchangers. During World War I, the hatches for tanks were made for Chrysler Motors and the structure became known as the "Chrysler Building."
3. BELLE_060506_029.JPG: The Flat Land In Front of You: At different times once held a Powhattan Indian fishing village, a Colonial era horse race track, small farms, a Civil War prison, a 19th century iron plant, a rail line, and a 20th century steel plant. Signs of the prison and factories remain today.
4. BELLE_060506_038.JPG: Belle Isle: Island of Misery: Some Civil War soldiers faced a challenge even greater than battle -- survival in a prison camp. Captured soldiers initially received adequate foot and shelter, but neither side was prepared for huge numbers of prisoners. Shrinking resources, in the South, and the end of prisoner exchanges in 1863, resulted in dreadful conditions. In Richmond, authorities converted warehouses into prisoners but soon organized open-air camps like Belle Isle to relieve overcrowding. About six acres of the sandy flat before you were carved out to hold 3,000 Union enlisted men, while captured officers were confined at "Libby Prison" (23rd and Cary Streets. The Belle Isle compound was enclosed by a five-foot-high wall of earth, with three-foot-deep ditches on either side. Guards were ordered to shoot any prisoner who crossed the inner ditch -- the "dead line". Between 1862 and 1865, nearly 30,000 soldiers were imprisoned here, 10,000 in 1864 alone. Few escaped, but almost 1,000 perished from cold, sickness, and starvation. "[We are suffering with] very cold weather. Four or five men chilled to death last night. A large portion of the prisoners who have been in confinement any length of time have been reduced to skeletons from continued hunger, exposure, and filth. No wood tonight, and it's very cold. The nights are long and are made hideous by the moans of suffering wretches... Men are too weak to walk nights to keep warm and sink down and chill to death... From 15 to 20 to 25 die every day and are buried just outside the prison with no coffins -- nothing but canvas wrapped around them." -- Prisoner John Ransom's diary, November 1863.
5. BELLE_060506_046.JPG: Canons & Corpses: Big guns on the hill deterred riots in the over-crowded prison encampment on your left. Few escaped, most died of starvation, dysentery and disease. In total, above 1,000 men perished. The cemetery, now empty, was to your right where trees grow today.
6. BELLE_060506_061.JPG: Hollywood Rapids: Named for the cemetery on the hill, the big rapids ahead are part of seven miles of rocks and rapids that make up the Fall Line. The white foam is water falling back upstream after filling the space behind a rock. The circulating pattern called a "hydraulic" can sometimes hold a log or boat in place... and drown a swimmer. Can you find the "V" shaped tongue of smooth water or small waves between rocks that are the easy routes for boaters?
7. BELLE_060506_066.JPG: Quarry Equipment: Winches mounted here hauled rough granite out of the quarry pit and down to the rail connection at the east end of the island. Steam from boilers powered the drills. The use of concrete here foretells the end of the cut stone industry -- between 1900-1910.
8. BELLE_060506_075.JPG: Quarry Pond: Granite blocks were cut and winched up from the 19 foot deep quarry pit Workers, mostly black prisoners, hit 2 cracks that led to the river. Water entered continually and the site was abandoned. Sunfish now live in the shallows, catfish on the bottom and bass cruise in between. Watch for big turtles like yellow bellied River Cooters.
9. BELLE_060506_089.JPG: First Break Rapids: In 1969, Hurricane Camille punched a hole in this dam that once funneled water to power plants on Belle Isle and below Hollywood Cemetery. It's now a popular boating site. Notice how a small current on the far side goes back upstream offering an opportunity to continually re-run the rapids.
10. BELLE_060506_095.JPG: Gun Emplacement: Two large pits on the top of the hill were intended for canons to guard this prison island from northern attack. Rapids actually protected the island, there was never an attack, and no guns were ever installed.
11. BELLE_060506_112.JPG: Headgate Cleaner: Water leading to the power plant was kept clean by passing it through slats in the headgate called trash racks. Bits of wood can wear away the edges of turbine blades and make them unbalanced. Repair was complicated and expensive. The "mechanical rake" kept the trash racks clean of leaves and small debris. Notice how the steel teeth fit between the metal slats and could slide up and down. The wheels rode on the rails which now have handrails attached. The log jam is now a home for fish, turtles, and birds.
12. BELLE_060506_116.JPG: Headgate: The river brings logs and debris with every flood, but clear water is needed to push the turbine blades that turn electric generators. Logs were floated away through the gate in the dam straight ahead. (Look under the wheel.) Small debris was caught on the steel slats ("rack") under the walkway and cleaned off with the "rolling rake" on your right. (Note the steel rails in the walkway to which the handrails are now attached.) The water went through this strainer, into the canal and to the hydro electric plant 200 yards to your left. This "raceway" is now full of trees, but the stone wall is visible along the side. The high cost of maintenance made the electricity produced by the river energy unable to compete with that from inexpensive fossil fuels. The operation ceased in 1967.
13. BELLE_060506_120.JPG: Headgate: The river brings logs and debris with every flood, but clear water is needed to push the turbine blades that turn electric generators. Logs were floated away through the gate in the dam straight ahead. (Look under the wheel.) Small debris was caught on the steel slats ("rack") under the walkway and cleaned off with the "rolling rake" on your right. (Note the steel rails in the walkway to which the handrails are now attached.) The water went through this strainer, into the canal and to the hydro electric plant 200 yards to your left. This "raceway" is now full of trees, but the stone wall is visible along the side. The high cost of maintenance made the electricity produced by the river energy unable to compete with that from inexpensive fossil fuels. The operation ceased in 1967.
14. BELLE_060506_162.JPG: VEPCO Hydroelectric Power Generating Plant 1904-1963: The three gates ahead funneled river water to turbines that powered three generators. They produced electricity for the trolley system in South Richmond.
15. BELLE_060506_179.JPG: Belle Isle Rolling, Milling, and Slitting Manufactory Approx 1815-1900: Through the arched doorway, mules pulled carts of scrap iron from England. Water powered the machinery. European immigrants and black slaves provided the labor. The nails, wire, and horseshoes were famous throughout the South.
16. BELLE_060506_182.JPG: Belle Isle Rolling, Milling, and Slitting Manufactory Approx 1815-1900: Through the arched doorway, mules pulled carts of scrap iron from England. Water powered the machinery. European immigrants and black slaves provided the labor. The nails, wire, and horseshoes were famous throughout the South.
17. BELLE_060506_193.JPG: Site of Suffering: During the Civil War, over 30,000 northern enlisted men passe through this six acre open air prison. Without much shelter, food, or sanitation, they died by the hundreds in squalor and misery. Inconceivable today, it was an official policy on both sides then to make prisoners too weak to rebel... or fight again.
18. BELLE_060506_197.JPG: Armored Storage Shed: Built in 1876, it probably held lubricants and acids used in the Bell Isle Iron Foundry to your left> Note the earth piled against the walls. This protects against a potential sideways explosion.
19. BELLE_060506_214.JPG: The Belle Isle Environmental Education Center. Donated to the city of Richmond by the Virginia Environmental Endowment, private Richmond foundation support, and Richmond Renaissance, Inc. 1993.
20. BELLE_060506_234.JPG: Old Dominion Iron & Steel Company: The Chrysler Building. The tall design, thick "I" beams, and a mix of different sized pieces mark this as one of the first factory buildings constructed by the ODIS -- probably in the early 1900s. ODIS was famous for its advanced metallurgy and fine casting important in fabricating complex structures like heat exchangers. During World War I, the hatches for tanks were made for Chrysler Motors and the structure became known as the "Chrysler Building."
21. BELLE_060506_258.JPG: The Belle Isle Pedestrian Bridge: Dedicated as a key part of Richmond Renaissance's James River Discovery Program and made possible by the vision and contributions of Commonwealth of Virginia, the James River Corporation, and the City of Richmond. April 30, 1991.
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Wikipedia Description: Belle Isle (Virginia)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Belle Isle is a small (54 acre) island in the James River in Richmond, Virginia in the United States. Belle Isle is owned by the city of Richmond, and has been designated a city park. It is accessible to pedestrian and bicycle traffic via a suspension footbridge. From Belle Isle, one can see Hollywood Cemetery, the old Tredegar Iron Works, and Richmond City's skyline. Belle Isle has many bike trails around the island, and has a small cliff used for rock climbing instruction.

Belle Isle is not to be confused with Belle Isle State Park, located on the Rappahannock River in Lancaster County, Virginia.

Wildlife:

Belle Isle offers Richmonders the opportunity to view wildlife in its natural habitat, at a location only a few minutes from the heart of the city. Songbirds, ducks and blue herons are a common sight. Squirrels, small amphibians and reptiles also inhabit the island.

Historical note:

Belle Isle was the site of a Civil War prison camp for soldiers of the North. It was practice to keep the POWs in deplorable conditions in order to make them too weak to revolt, escape or fight again. A list of prisoners who died at Belle Isle is available. The Battle of Walkerton was the result of a failed Union attempt to free them.
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Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (VA -- Richmond -- Belle Isle) directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos on one page]:
- 2012_VA_Belle_Isle: VA -- Richmond -- Belle Isle (74 photos from 2012)
Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [Natural Beauty] [Park (Local)]
2006 photos: Trips this year: Florida (two separate trips including Lotusphere and taking care of mom), three weeks out west (including Yellowstone), Williamsburg, San Diego (comic book convention), and Georgia. Equipment this year: I was using all six Fuji cameras at various times -- an S602Zoom, two S7000s,a S5200, an S9000, and an S9100. The majority of pictures this year were taken with the S9000. I have to say, the S7000s was the best camera I've used up to this point.. Number of photos taken this year: 183,000.
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