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2010 SESSION
WHEREAS, in the year 1769 the Town of Manchester was established by the Governor, Council, and Virginia House of Burgesses on the land south of the James previously known as Rocky Ridge within the County of Chesterfield; and
WHEREAS, Manchester was a major staging and supply area for southside Virginia during the American Revolution; and
WHEREAS, Manchester was the terminus of the Manchester Turnpike, which was chartered in 1802 and followed the route of Coutts Ferry along the Old Buckingham Road to the Falling Creek Bridge near Midlothian, over which coal from the mines at Midlothian was transported; and
WHEREAS, in 1816 the Manchester & Petersburg Turnpike Company was chartered and by 1824 built a road of 20 miles that contained six bridges and 33 culverts in three sections; and
WHEREAS, in 1817 the streets of the town were named in honor of naval officers of the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the streets being: Decatur, Hull, Bainbridge, Porter, Perry, and McDonough, which still bear the same names today; and
WHEREAS, in 1831 the first common carrier railroad in the Commonwealth, the Chesterfield & Manchester Railroad, began operations connecting the coal fields of Midlothian with Manchester; and
WHEREAS, in 1871 the courthouse of the County of Chesterfield was moved to the Town of Manchester on the site of the present-day Manchester Courthouse, where it remained until 1910; and
WHEREAS, in 1874 Manchester was chartered by the General Assembly as an independent City; and
WHEREAS, in the year 1909 an agreement was reached to merge the Cities of Richmond and Manchester under the Charter of the City of Richmond and was adopted by the General Assembly; and
WHEREAS, the merger agreement stipulated that Richmond was to complete a new free bridge at the site of Mayo’s Bridge and to keep open the free bridge at Ninth Street; and
WHEREAS, the City of Richmond voted for annexation on April 19, 1909, and Manchester adopted an ordinance for annexation on May 14, 1909, which was signed by Manchester Mayor Henry Maurice on March 13, 1910; and
WHEREAS, on April 4, 1910, by a vote of 513 to 223, the citizens of Manchester voted by referendum to support consolidation with Richmond; and
WHEREAS, on Friday, April 15, 1910, Manchester was formally consolidated with the City of Richmond; and
WHEREAS, an exhibition entitled “Manchester: From Sister City to South Richmond” on the history of Manchester will be installed at the Valentine Richmond History Center in April of 2010; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend and congratulate the City of Richmond on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the consolidation of the Cities of Richmond and Manchester; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the City of Richmond as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for the City’s rich history.