A BRIEF HISTORY OF SHOCKOE SLIP
Within days of landing at Jamestown in 1607, Captain Christopher Newport and his wingman, Captain John Smith, of Pocahontas fame, visited Shockoe Slip looking for great food and a good place to meet the locals. Really! There's a monument just south of the plaza commemorating the moment.
The Capitol Building [webcam], designed and built in 1785 by that well known Virginian, Thomas Jefferson is just a stone's throw from here. With a really good arm, you could also pelt St. John's Church, site of Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" speech at 25th and Broad. OK, maybe not, but it is a really quick cab ride.
In 1786, just down the street at 14th & E Cary, Jefferson, still frequenting the Slip area, continued his legendary works by penning the Statue for Religious Freedom, one of three things for which he wished to be remembered.
In April of 1865, President Abe Lincoln rode into Richmond and "lit up" the Slip. Well, he was actually accompanied by a good part of the Union Army and as a result of having a little "too much fun," they burned down half of the city.
The first telephone exchange south of the Mason-Dixon rang up it's first call in April 1879, just a block and a half from our establishment and possibly the narrowest three-story commercial building in the United States is around the corner and up on Main (1321 1/2 E Main St).
The Jefferson Hotel, considered one of America's Grandest Hotels, with 70' vaulted ceilings in the lobby, has been visited by 10 U.S. Presidents and is situated just to the west of Historic Shockoe Slip. Two United States President's have taken up permanent residence in Hollywood Cemetery a little further west, James Monroe & John Tyler. Jefferson Davis, the only president of the Confederate States of America is also buried there.
In 1973, Sam Miller's Restaurant became one of the first businesses to open in what was basically an abandonned Tobacco Warehouse District. This district, Historic Shockoe Slip, has become one of the most successful and long lasting restorations of any Historic District on the East Coast. For over three decades, Sam's has been known for it's comfortable atmosphere and the "best crab cakes in Richmond."
Since opening, pop culture icons have flocked through the doors. Secret Agent Man, Patrick McGoohan, Liz Taylor, Jim Nabors, Gary Hart, Tai Collins, David Cassidy, Richard Dreyfuss, and William Devane have all dined here.
Wunderkinds of the music world, including Wolfman Jack, Robert Goulet, Bruce Hornsby and Steven Tyler have also supped at Sam Miller's. Pat Benetar got her start singing in the basement club in Sam Miller's original home across the street at 1301 E. Cary St.
On any given day, you might see the first African American Governor elected in America, L. Douglas Wilder, enjoying crabcakes in the Boat Room at Sam Miller's. Every January, when the Virginia General Assembly is in session, you may find yourself rubbing elbows with a State Senator or a Delegate in the Oyster Bar.
Richmond, Virginia, home to the Virginia Historical Society, the Library of Virginia, the Museum of the Confederacy, The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, any number of Civil War Battlefields, historically significant cemetaries dating back to the late 1600's, is rife with historical and genealogical treasures. Most of these treasures are a short trolley ride or leisurely walk from Shockoe Slip. Equidistant from the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, Richmond (and Sam Miller's Restaurant) is a vacation spot you don't want to miss.
Flip Bowry,
Former Editor, Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly