History
RVA Legends — “Pin Money” Pickles
A look into the history of Richmond places and people that have disappeared from our landscape.
619 North Sixth Street (original location)
706 East Leigh Street (new factory)
1500 West Marshall Street (2nd factory)
Built, (new factory) after 1893, (2nd factory) before 1912
Another successful Gilded Age businesswoman, in the company of Maggie Walker, Mrs. Jane King, and Mrs. Alice Jones Pyle.
(Facebook) — Mrs. Ellen G. Kidd, proprietor of Pin Money Pickles
Mrs. E. G. Kidd, manufacturer of “Pin Money” pickles, resides here at 619 North Sixth street. The stranger passing there is aware, perhaps, of a grateful aroma of vinegar and spices. Looking around, he sees only a modest residence, with nothing to indicate that it is the seat of a celebrated enterprise.
(LOC) — Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Richmond (1905) — Plate 72 — showing the original location at 619 North Sixth Street
Yet here, in her basement and in that of the adjoining house, with ample buildings in the rear, Mrs. E. G. Kidd, who prepares these celebrated relishes, gives personal attention to every detail of her expansive business, not only in the far tory, but often at the desk; and, in emergencies, on the. road even, she has shown herself equal to the occasion.
March 2019 — looking towards 619 North Sixth Street today
Begun some years ago, as the name signifies, for a little “pin money,” her industry has today attained a national—yes, it may be said an international reputation. Throughout the country her oil mangoes and other sweet pickles may be seen on the shelves of the leading grocers, in the buffets of the palace cars and on menus of the famous clubs, hotels and summer resorts.
(FindAGrave) — Pin-Money Pickle jars
Among her patrons, also, are the steamship companies. Orders have been filled for the American Colony in Paris and in other European capitals. Even from diplomatic circles there come occasionally “assurances of distinguished consideration.”
Under conservative management, this business, begun in a small way and with some embarrassments, shows, from year to year, such steady and healthy growth as to be worthy of mention among the notable enterprises of Richmond. [RVCJ93]
(Chronicling America) — Richmond Times advertisement, September 1, 1912
So went the 1893 official history of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce. A 1912 write-up for the Times-Dispatch by Frank S. Woodson, Women Builders of Big Richmond, was more effusive.
Of all of Richmond’s great business women I guess Mrs. R. G, Kidd Is entitled to a place at or near the head of the column. She is the “Pin Money Pickle” woman. A young woman, a mere girl, learned how to make good pickles, and just as a matter of pride she put some of them on exhibition at one of the old-time State Fairs. They won premiums and somebody wanted to buy them.
(LOC) — Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Richmond (1905) — Plate 73 — showing the new factory at 706 East Leigh Street
The young woman needed a little pin money, and she thought she would sell a few. She did, and then there came a demand for them. Mrs. Kidd was a good business woman, and she saw a big future for pin money pickles. She took to the road and became the first woman drummer the world ever saw.
March 2019 — looking towards 706 East Leigh Street today
To make a long story short, she Introduced her pickles all over the United States, and in one way and another they got introduced in foreign lands, and to-day Pin Money Pickles are being sold in all the wide world.
(Facebook) — showing the newest factory at Bowe and Marshall Streets
The factory that makes them in Richmond has grown from a little kitchen proposition and cook stove environment to a six-story factory at Bowe and Marshall Street, in which over sixty people are employed. (Chronicling America)
(ProQuest® Sanborn Maps Geo Edition™) — Sanborn Insurance Maps of Richmond (1925) — Plate 414
Okay, business was so good that the time of the 1912 article, Mrs. Kidd had built a second factory building in the burgeoning west end of the city. What the hell — those must have been GREAT pickles. Note that by the time of moving to West Marshall, they had traded up from a three-story building to a five-story one. Impressive.
As for the name of the business, Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds. So was it “Pin Money” Pickles, Pin Money Pickles, or Pin-Money Pickles? Imagine a modern branding expert rolling eyes and reaching for the ibuprofen.
(“Pin Money” Pickles is part of the Atlas RVA! Project)
Print Sources
- [RVCJ93] Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James: The Book of Its Chamber of Commerce and Principal Business Interests. G. W. Engelhardt. 1893.
- [RVCJ03] Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James: The Book of Its Chamber of Commerce and Principal Business Interests. G. W. Engelhardt. 1903.
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Downtown
Share Your Stories: PlanRVA launches public history project for Ashland Trolley Line
To honor the Ashland Trolley Line’s history and integration into the Fall Line trail, PlanRVA, and its partners are launching a public history project to solicit stories and memories about the historic streetcar line and the neighborhoods that emerged around it.
For over three decades, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Ashland Trolley Line connected the city of Richmond to the town of Ashland. From 1907-1938, the streetcar line played a major role in the development of neighborhoods along its 14.8-mile route that took 40 minutes for a one-way trip.
Today the corridor represents a significant portion of the upcoming Fall Line trail, a multi-use trail stretching across seven localities from Ashland to Petersburg.
To honor the Ashland Trolley Line’s history and integration into the Fall Line trail, PlanRVA, and its partners are launching a public history project to solicit stories and memories about the historic streetcar line and the neighborhoods that emerged around it. Collected stories will be featured along the Fall Line route.
Local historians and experts will talk about the Ashland Trolley Line’s impact on the region’s past, present, and future at Virginia Union University’s Wall Auditorium on February 23 from 6-7:30 p.m. The event is a kick-off for a series of public meetings along the historic corridor. Anyone interested in the history of the Ashland Trolley Line is invited to attend. Registration is free.
Presenters will include Bill Martin of The Valentine and staff members from PlanRVA and the National Park Service’s Rivers Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, along with others.
The event is organized by PlanRVA, Virginia Union University, and the National Park Service’s Rivers Trails and Conservation Assistance Program.
PlanRVA organizers have begun to compile history and stories on the project’s website.
Community
Library of Virginia celebrates Black History Month with Panel Discussion on Black Political Activism After Claiming Freedom
Editors of the Library’s Dictionary of Virginia Biography joined this project in 2011 in collaboration with the commonwealth’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission to research and write about the 92 African American men who served in the General Assembly from 1869 to 1890.
In honor of Black History Month and as part of its 200th anniversary activities, the Library of Virginia will present a panel discussion on Thursday, Feb. 23 to celebrate the completion of a signature project that documents the lives of Virginia’s first Black legislators. Titled “The First Civil Rights: Black Political Activism After Claiming Freedom,” the free panel discussion, offered in partnership with Virginia Humanities, will be held 6-7:30 p.m. in the Library’s Lecture Hall. Advance registration is required at https://lva-virginia.libcal.com/event/10200777.
Editors of the Library’s Dictionary of Virginia Biography joined this project in 2011 in collaboration with the commonwealth’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission to research and write about the 92 African American men who served in the General Assembly from 1869 to 1890. Their stories are now available online as part of Virginia’s collective digital story thanks to a collaboration with Encyclopedia Virginia, a rich online resource sponsored by Virginia Humanities.
Black Members of the Virginia General Assembly, 1887-1888.
Front row, left to right: Alfred W. Harris (Dinwiddie), William W. Evans (Petersburg), Caesar Perkins(Buckingham).
Back row, left to right: John H. Robinson (Elizabeth City), Goodman Brown (Surry), Nathaniel M. Griggs (Prince Edward), William H. Ash (Nottoway), Briton Baskerville Jr. (Mecklenburg).
“We’re proud to celebrate such a meaningful project to document early African American representation in our commonwealth’s legislature,” said Librarian of Virginia Sandra G. Treadway. “We encourage the public to join us at what will be a very insightful discussion examining the contributions of early Black legislators and their enduring legacy today.”
Panelists for the program, moderated by Virginia Humanities executive director Matthew Gibson, will include the Honorable Viola Baskerville, one of the founders of the project; Lauranett Lee, public historian and University of Richmond adjunct assistant professor; Ajena Rogers, supervisory park ranger at the National Park Service’s Maggie L. Walker Historic Site and a descendant of Black legislator James A. Fields; and historian and author Brent Tarter, a retired editor with the Library of Virginia.
For more information on the panel discussion, contact Elizabeth Klaczynski at 804.692.3536 or [email protected]. Learn more about the Library’s anniversary events at www.lva.virginia.gov/200.
History
StoryCorps encourages Richmonders from different backgrounds to take “One Small Step”
In these challenging times, StoryCorps’ One Small Step program is working to help mend the fraying fabric of our nation–one conversation at a time.
Today, in our divisive political landscape, some nine out of ten Americans say they’re exhausted by our political divisions and looking for a way out. In these challenging times, StoryCorps’ One Small Step program is working to help mend the fraying fabric of our nation–one conversation at a time.
The One Small Step program is working intensively in three “Anchor Communities,” including Richmond, to bring strangers with different political beliefs together–not to debate politics–but to have a conversation about their lives. In the process, the hope is that they both discover their shared humanity.
To date, over 3,000 people across more than 40 U.S. states have participated. Anyone anywhere can be matched for a conversation. Click here to learn more.
In one recent conversation, Richmonders Jerome and Warren learned they had more in common than they thought, even though they’re on different sides of the political aisle.
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