Downtown
RVA Legends — Dispatch Building
A look into the history of Richmond places and people that have disappeared from our landscape.
![[RVCJ93] — Dispatch Building, circa 1893](https://rvahub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Dispatch-Building-1.jpg)
920-922 East Main Street
Built, after 1865
Demolished, 1962
One of the three.
(Find A Grave) — James A. Cowardin
Richmond supports three daily newspapers: the “Dispatch” and the “Times,” morning issues, and the “State,” an afternoon paper. The Richmond Dispatch is the oldest of the Richmond dailies. It was founded by James A. Cowardin and W. H. Davis, both practical printers, in 1850. Its first appearance was made on the morning of October 19th, of that year. The paper was well received from the beginning, and rapidly attained a good circulation.
(Newspapers.com) — the slightly creepy, Illuminati-inspired logo of the Richmond Enquirer — from the Friday, September 16, 1842 edition
Owing, however, to the competition of the Whig and the Enquirer, the great political dailies of Richmond at that day, it was not immediately successful as an advertising medium. This fact discouraged Mr. Davis, and in a few months he disposed of his interest to Mr. Cowardin. For some years thereafter the Dispatch was published in the names of James A. Cowardin as proprietor, and Hugh R. Pleasants, editor. The latter was employed as editor when the partnership of Cowardin & Davis was formed.
![[CDRVA] — Old Dominion Steamship Company advertisement in Chataigne’s 1881 Directory of Richmond](https://rvahub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Dispatch-Building-8-1009x683.jpg)
[CDRVA] — Old Dominion Steamship Company advertisement in Chataigne’s 1881 Directory of Richmond
When success’ at length became a certainty, its plant was moved from the orignal building, on Governor street, just above Main, to the building corner of Thirteenth and Main streets, the site of the present Old Dominion Steamship offices. Here the Dispatch was comfortably housed, and was equipped with the best outfit obtainable at that period. Just in the rear of its place was the “Dispatch Job Office” of J. D. Hammersley & Co. Mr. Hammersley managed the counting-room of the paper, and during the war acquired a half interest in it.
(Library of Congress) — Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Richmond (1905) — Plate 7 — showing the former location of the Dispatch Building
Mr. Oliver P. Baldwin succeeded Mr. Pleasants as editor, though, at one time, both were upon the editorial staff; and Mr. Cowardin also contributed to the editorial columns when his other engagements permitted. During the war the outfit of the Dispatch was worn completely out, and as a new one could not be procured inside the Confederate lines, Mr. Hammersley undertook to run the blockade to England, and supply what was needed. Before sailing, however, he sold half his interest to Mr. James W. Llewellen, who had long been the local editor of the Dispatch.
(Essential Civil War Curriculum) — Harper’s Weekly illustration — The Union Blockade of the Southern States by Robert M. Browning, Jr.
Mr. Hammersley was successful in his undertaking to the extent of getting the new outfit through the blockade and into the Dispatch building, but before it could be used it was destroyed, along with the building, in the Evacuation fire, April 3, 1865.
(Find A Grave) — Henry Keeling Ellyson, newspaperman & principal figure in the 1870 Municipal War
It was not until the December following that the Dispatch was revived. Mr. Cowardin and Mr. H. K. Ellyson formed a copartnership, (which continued uninterruptedly* until the former’s death) and began anew in the building on Thirteenth street, just in the rear of the present offices of the Postal Telegraph Company. There were seven competitors in the field when the Dispatch was re-established; but by enterprise and good management it forged rapidly to the front again, and is now, in every respect, fulfilling its mission as a first-class newspaper. It has the largest circulation of any paper between Baltimore and New Orleans, and its columns bear ample testimony to the value it has in the opinion of the advertising public.
(Yesteryear Once More) — advertisement for the R. Hoe & Co. printing press
In the matter of its mechanical equipment the Dispatch has always been advanced. In November, 1887, it put in a Hoe perfecting press with a capacity of 24,000 copies an hour, and its outfit, from press-room to composing-room, is a model of completeness. It has its own press wire running into the building, a full editorial and local staff, its resident correspondent at Washington, and special correspondents at all important points in Virginia and North Carolina. It issues a Daily and a Weekly, its Sunday edition eighteen or twelve pages, as occasion may require.
(Find A Grave) — William Dallas Chesterman
In 1882, a short time before the death of Mr. Cowardin, the copartnership of Cowardin & Ellyson was dissolved and a joint stock company was formed with the former owners as principal officers. The present officers of the Company are: C. O’B. Cowardin, president; H. Theo. Ellyson, secretary and treasurer; W. D. Chesterman, vice-president.
July 2019 — looking towards 920-922 East Main Street
By 1900, the Dispatch was owned by John L. Williams, who also owned the Richmond News. The end of the Gilded Age was a time of consolidation, and Williams, along with Joseph Bryan, owner of the Richmond Times and Manchester Leader, concluded that there were too many newspapers to go around for the available circulation. The Times and the Dispatch were merged in 1903 to become the Richmond Times-Dispatch that we have today.
![[MCR] — shaded areas showing Evacuation Fire destruction & future location of the Dispatch Building](https://rvahub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Dispatch-Building-4.jpg)
[MCR] — shaded areas showing Evacuation Fire destruction & future location of the Dispatch Building
(The Dispatch Building is part of the Atlas RVA! Project)
Print Sources
- [CDRVA] Chataigne’s Directory of Richmond, Va. J. H. Chataigne. 1881.
- [MCR] Map of the City of Richmond, Virginia, 1861-65. Richmond Civil War Centennial Committee. 1961. Library of Virginia.
- [RVCJ93] Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James: The Book of Its Chamber of Commerce and Principal Business Interests. G. W. Engelhardt. 1893.
Downtown
Feds identify ‘significant’ ongoing concerns with Virginia special education
After failing to meet federal requirements to support students with disabilities in 2020, the Virginia Department of Education will remain under further review by the federal government after continuing to fall short in monitoring and responding to complaints against school districts, according to a letter from the U.S. Department of Education.
By Nathaniel Cline
After failing to meet federal requirements to support students with disabilities in 2020, the Virginia Department of Education will remain under further review by the federal government after continuing to fall short in monitoring and responding to complaints against school districts, according to a letter from the U.S. Department of Education.
“We have significant new or continued areas of concerns with the State’s implementation of general supervision, dispute resolution, and confidentiality requirements” of IDEA, stated the Feb. 17 letter from the Office of Special Education Programs.
The U.S. Department of Education first flagged its concerns in a June 2020 “Differentiated Monitoring and Support Report” on how Virginia was complying with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, following a 2019 visit by the Office of Special Education Programs.
IDEA, passed in 1975, requires all students with disabilities to receive a “free appropriate public education.”
The Virginia Department of Education disputed some of the federal government’s findings in a June 19, 2020 letter.
Samantha Hollins, assistant superintendent of special education and student services, wrote that verbal complaints “are addressed via technical assistance phone calls to school divisions” and staff members “regularly work to resolve parent concerns” by providing “guidance documentation” and acting as intermediaries between school employees and parents.
However, some parents and advocates say systemic problems in how the state supports families of children with disabilities persist. At the same time, a June 15, 2022 state report found one of Virginia’s most critical teacher shortage areas is in special education.
“Appropriate policies and procedures for both oversight and compliance, and their implementation, are crucial to ensuring that children with disabilities and their families are afforded their rights under IDEA and that a free appropriate public education (FAPE) is provided,” said the Feb. 17 letter from the Office of Special Education Programs.
While the U.S. Department of Education wrote that it believes the Virginia Department of Education has resolved some of the problems identified in 2020, including resolving complaints filed by parents and creating a mediation plan, it said it has identified “new and continued areas of concern” and intends to continue monitoring Virginia’s provision of services for students with disabilities.
Among those are ongoing concerns over the state’s complaint and due process systems that “go beyond the originally identified concerns” originally found. The Office of Special Education Programs writes it has concluded Virginia “does not have procedures and practices that are reasonably designed to ensure a timely resolution process” for due process complaints.
The department also said it has concerns over the practices of at least five school districts that are inconsistent with IDEA’s regulations.
The decision comes after the U.S. Department of Education announced in November that Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia’s largest school district, failed to provide thousands of students with disabilities with the educational services they were entitled to during remote learning at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virginia is also facing a federal class-action lawsuit over claims that its Department of Education and Fairfax County Public Schools violated the rights of disabled students under IDEA.
Parents involved in the case said the Virginia Department of Education and Fairfax school board “have actively cultivated an unfair and biased” hearing system to oversee challenges to local decisions about disabled students, according to the suit.
Charles Pyle, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Education, said in an email that “VDOE continues to work with our federal partners to ensure Virginia’s compliance with all federal requirements, as we have since the ‘Differentiated Monitoring and Support Report’ was issued in June 2020.”
The federal government said if Virginia could not demonstrate full compliance with IDEA requirements, it could impose conditions on grant funds the state receives to support early intervention and special education services for children with disabilities and their families.
Last year, Virginia received almost $13.5 billion in various grants linked to IDEA, according to a July 1, 2022 letter to former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, who resigned on March 9.
James Fedderman, president of the Virginia Education Association, blasted Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration after the findings were released.
“While the Youngkin administration has been busy waging culture wars in schools, his administration has failed to meet basic compliance requirements with the U.S. Department of Education for students with disabilities,” Fedderman said. “This failure threatens our federal funding for students with disabilities and is a disservice to Virginia families who need critical special needs support.”
Downtown
Richmond 911 callers can soon provide feedback on calls for service via text message
Beginning March 20, those who call 911 with some types of non-life-threatening emergencies will receive a text message within hours or a day after the call with a short survey about the service they received on the call.
Some 911 callers in Richmond will begin to receive follow-up text messages next week asking for their ranking of the service they received and additional information.
Beginning March 20, those who call 911 with some types of non-life-threatening emergencies will receive a text message within hours or a day after the call with a short survey about the service they received on the call.
The Richmond Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response is using the feedback from callers as another way to ensure that it is continuing to deliver excellent emergency services to Richmond.
“It is very important that those who receive the text message answer the questions as accurately as possible, based on the service they received on the call, not on the response from first responders with different agencies,” said Director Stephen Willoughby. “We use the feedback that callers provide to monitor and improve our 911 services to Richmond residents and visitors, as well as the other measurements of service that we have in place.”
Those who would like to offer feedback, but do not receive a text message, are encouraged to email [email protected] or call 804-646-5911. More information about offering commendations or filing a complaint is on the department’s website athttps://www.rva.gov/911/comments. In addition, the department conducts a full survey of adults who live, work and study in Richmond every two years. More information about those surveys and results are at https://www.rva.gov/911/community-outreach.
The Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response is using a third-party vendor, PowerEngage, to send the text-message surveys and report the results. Text messages may be sent for other uses in the future.
More information about the text-message surveys, from the news release:
- The answers that callers provide in the text message have no effect on the service provided to that caller.
- Callers who do not want to participate in the text-message survey would simply not respond to the text message. They also may reply STOP to opt out of future text surveys from DECPR.
- Callers should not use the surveys to report any other emergency or request help. They would need to call or text 911 for immediate help. To file a police report or request nonemergency public safety help, call 804-646-5100. For other city services, call 311, visit rva311.com or use the RVA311 app.
- Those who have further questions or would like to request a call-back from a staff member about the survey or their experiences, may email [email protected].
- More information about the after-call survey is at https://www.rva.gov/911/survey.
Students in 9th-11th grade can apply to join the next cohort of this summer’s Atlas Artist Residency—an 8-week art intensive giving teens the opportunity to develop artistic skills while working alongside professional artists in a creative and collaborative environment. 10 teens will be selected to participate and awarded personal art-studio space, a program stipend of $1350, materials, and the opportunity to expand their portfolio of work and bolster their resume for college applications.
Applications are open through March 16, 2023.
Head to https://www.art180.org/student-artist-residency for the details and to submit your application!
University of Richmond announces new provost
Henrico HS principal honored with REB Leadership Award; Colonial Trail ES principal is runner-up
Photo of the Day: Sunset Road
City hosting public meeting on replacement of Byrd Park Reservoir roof
Photo of the Day: Kaleidoscope
Gardeners Wanted to Help in Forest Hill Park
Husband-and-wife duo bringing new restaurant concept to former Mill on MacArthur space
New full-service commercial kitchen, fast casual food hall opens Wednesday
Richmond Falcon Cam is Back
