Historic Belle Isle

Historic Belle Isle. . In front of you is Belle Isle. At 54 acres, it is the largest island in the James River at Richmond, and one of the most historic sites in the city. Virginia Indians fished in the river here long before the English arrived, Captain John Smith was among the first Europeans to visit in 1607, and William Byrd I acquired the island in 1676. William Byrd II, the founder of Richmond, called it “the broad rock island.” Sold by the Byrd family about 1776, the island soon became one of Richmond’s first industrial centers, with a nail factory here by 1814 and later a full-scale ironworks that operated until 1972. Granite was quarried here in the 19th and 20th centuries. During the Civil War, one of the most notorious prisoner-of-war camps in the South was located on Belle Isle. The remains of a Confederate gun emplacement still are visible on the western end of the hill. From 1904 to 1967, the Virginia Electric Power Company operated a power plant on the island’s south bank. In 1995, Belle Isle was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a nationally significant historic site., Belle Isle is now one of Richmond’s most popular city parks, with hiking and jogging trails, historic ruins, and “broad rocks” from which to view the river, especially the roaring rapids at its midpoint. Part of the James River Park System, Belle Isle is a natural area as well as a historic site. Please do your part to preserve one of Richmond’s great natural and historic treasures.