J.E.B. Stuart Monument (c. 1906)
J.E.B. Stuart Monument (2015)
Site Name: J.E.B. Stuart Monument
Date of Construction: 1888
Reason for Construction: Erected by Civil War veterans of Stuart’s cavalry to commemorate Stuart’s life and his Confederate leadership during the Civil War.
Site History: On May 11, 1864, Maj. General J.E.B. Stuart was mortally wounded in the Battle of Yellow Tavern. The J.E.B. Stuart Monument was erected by Stuart’s cavalrymen approximately 30 feet from the spot where he was shot and was dedicated on June 18, 1888 by Virginia Governor Fitzhugh Lee. On May 9, 1964, the Henrico County Civil War Centennial Commission re-dedicated the monument. The site, though near I-295, Route 1, and Virginia Center Commons, is a partially obscure low-profile area in Ashland, Hanover, near northern Henrico County; the monument is relatively unknown to the public, due to its location and in part to the attraction of a separate Stuart monument located on the more popular Monument Avenue.
Area History: The memorial stands just off Old Telegraph Road, a historic route from Richmond to Washington D.C. “Old Telegraph Road” gets its name from the telegraph line it followed from, unsurprisingly, Richmond to Washington. As time went on, the road was replaced by Route 1 as the primary road to D.C., and Route 1 was subsequently replaced by I-95. Although the monument is intriguing and unique in construction and design, it is now surrounded by aging houses on a dead-end neighborhood street. Ashland, the area surrounding Old Telegraph Road and the Stuart Monument, is a part of Hanover County, sometimes referred to as the “Center of the Universe” by Ashland residents. The town that would become Ashland began as a small mineral springs resort town developed by local railroad companies, dating back to the late 1840s. On February 19th, 1858, the town was officially incorporated into Hanover county and named “Ashland.” The town remained fairly small until Randolph Macon College was relocated to Ashland in 1868; the establishment of Route 1 and, later, I-95 brought more traffic and growth to Ashland. Since its formation, Ashland has grown from 1 square mile to around 7 miles with over 7,000 residents and is still a prosperous college town.
What about the site has changed?
J.E.B. Stuart’s monument has undergone only a few changes through the past century and a half. Although no definitive information could be found regarding dates of modification, comparison of the site photograph from 1906 and the site now shows the addition of a white stone patio with stairs leading from the road up a small hill to the monument as well as an iron fence surrounding the monument.
What about the surrounding area has changed?
Immediately near the Stuart monument, Old Telegraph Road has fallen out of use and is now part of a residential area. Again, comparing the historic photograph with the present, the field the monument stood in in 1906 is now a shady wooded area. On a larger scale, Ashland has steadily grown in population and in economic prosperity, due in part to Richmond’s urban economic and business growth and the suburbanization diffusion of much of the population to periphery areas, like Ashland. No unusual economic, social, or political issues of note have occurred in the area (or, if they have, they have not been reported adequately) outside of regional and national fluctuations.
Reflection: Over the course of this project, I have learned a great deal about an area I had no previous knowledge of. There are a surprising number of monuments and historical sites within 20 minutes of my house that I wasn’t aware of. Aside from the historic sites, I was also exposed to a new area on the fringes of Henrico and Hanover that I’d never been previously. I am very familiar with west Henrico and the various routes leading to Richmond only because I frequent the areas daily as I drive to and from work, school, and other locations; because the location of the Stuart monument isn’t near my commute route, I wasn’t familiar with any aspect of the area. This project has taught me more about not only the physical monument and J.E.B. Stuart, but also the history and layout of my surrounding area, giving me a deeper understanding and appreciation for the historical context of locations.
Author: Josie Ladle
Sources:
“Stuart Monument.” Henrico County. http://henrico.us/about-henrico/history/ourhis
tory/stuart-monument/ (accessed February 19, 2015).
Mann, Harry C., Stuart Monument. c. 1906. Glass plate negative, 8 x 10 in. Library of
Virginia. From: Digital Collections, Library of Virginia, http://digitool1.lva.lib.va.
se=GEN01-BRD01 (accessed February 20, 2015).
Riggan, Phil. “J.E.B. Stuart’s Yellow Tavern memorial.” Richmond On The James (blog).
January 11, 2010. https://rotj.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/j-e-b-stuarts-yellow-tavern-
memorial/ (accessed March 19, 2015).
“History of Ashland.” Town of Ashland, Virginia. http://www.town.ashland.va.us/index.aspx
?NID=177 (accessed March 19, 2015).
Not in Hanover. Probably best not to let anyone know where it is.
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