James Buchanan Duke was many things. A philanthropist, an industrialist, trust builder, and creator of the modern tobacco industry, he was not the kind of person who had much patience for weak-kneed associates who sniveled about minor things like legalities, nor was he apt to let such annoyances get in the way of his ruling the market.
[RVCJ03] — Arthur St. Clair Butler, circa 1903
In January, 1903, Mr. A. St. Claire Butler, of Butler & Bosher Co., Richmond, Va., and a friend spent a day at No. 111 Fifth Avenue, New York, with Mr. Duke, Mr. Fuller, and one other trust representative. Mr. Duke wanted to buy and offered to buy 51 per centum of the capital stock of the Butler & Bosher Co., whose business for several years previously has been supplying the Navy Department with tobacco, and manufacturing and selling tobacco in the South and New England.
(Chronicling America) — Richmond Times advertisement — Tuesday, February 14, 1893
Mr. Duke, in offering to buy 51 per centum of the stock, told Mr. Butler that the business was to continue just as it had been managed, and their interest in it to remain a secret. Mr. Butler was to continue an independent manufacturer, continue to use the union [7564] label, and continue to associate with independent manufacturers. When Mr. Butler said that this would not be honest, Mr. Duke replied, “Plenty are doing it to-day, and if you do not do it, we will ruin you and drive you out of business.” Mr. Butler asked time to consider the proposition, and returning home consulted his lawyer, who, happily, was a lawyer of the old school, as he advised Mr. Butler he would not be able to do what was proposed and be honest. Then Mr. Butler declined to sell.
(Pinterest France) — a tin of Butler & Bosher Pipe Full Cut Plug
Thereupon the trust started out in its campaign against him. Mr. Butler had worked up quite a trade in New England on a smoking plug under the brand “Butler’s Light and Dark.” which was much the same as Mayo’s “Eglantine” and “Ivy,” brands owned by the trust, and which were large sellers, and on these the trust placed a deal, which so cut down Mr. Butler’s business that he was greatly demoralized. Later the Navy contract was again awarded to Mr. Butler, and then the trust began bidding up the price of sun-cured tobacco, out of which the contract had to be made, and when Mr. Butler was thoroughly frightened, again offered to buy him. This time, however, they offered to buy his business outright, and finally they did so, continuing him as manager upon a salary.
(Library of Congress) — Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Richmond (1905) — Plate 41 — showing Butler & Bosher Tobacco Factory at Twentieth & Grace Streets
The foregoing is a copy of the statement made January 20, 1905, to the Hon. James R. Garfield, Commissioner of Corporations. Mr. Butler was continued as manager of the business of Butler & Bosher Co., owned and controlled by the American Tobacco Co., from the time of its purchase, July 1, 1903, until March, 1906. Then the factory was closed, and Mr. Butler thrown out of employment. He, like 98 per cent of the manufacturers who have sold out, being under contract not again to enter into business, is now in the prime of life unable to engage in a business in which his whole life has been spent. Thus his experience as a tobacco manufacturer is lost to the country. [BDCRT]
[RVCJ03] — Butler & Bosher factory, circa 1903
It’s not clear when Butler & Bosher started as a business, but the earliest advertisements appeared in the Richmond Times and Richmond Dispatch in 1892. The 1893 edition of Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James (RVCJ) identifies Robert S. Bosher as President of the T. C. Williams Company but he must have found a way to dedicate time to this other enterprise. Regardless of how they started, they were an independent tobacco firm, and not part of Duke’s voracious trust, the American Tobacco Company (ATC).
They started their business in a four-story brick tobacco factory on the west side of Twenty-Second Street, remarkably, a location that is also still standing. [RT19020518] The Navy tobacco deal they won in 1902 vaulted them into the big time, requiring them to produce 200,000 pounds of plug tobacco over the three-year contract [RD19020403], and it must have been with giddy anticipation that they announced the construction of a new six-story factory at Twentieth and Grace barely a month later [RD19020529].
It also effectively put themselves squarely in ATC’s crosshairs, and by September Butler & Bosher was in active denial of the inevitable [RD19020910]. However, Duke wasn’t about to let minor players gum up his grand schemes, and the darlings of the Navy capitulated in July the following year.
(Find A Grave) — Arthur St. Clair Butler in later years
After the acquisition, ATC made good on its intention to have the “independent” Butler and Bosher continue to bid on the federal contract when it came up again for renewal in 1905. The truly independent tobacco manufacturers cried foul, but it appears to have changed no minds. ATC won and would continue to win until the 1911 smackdown by the Supreme Court forced its breakup.
By then it was too late for Arthur Butler, whose non-compete ejected him from the industry. He bought a piece of land in Mathews County called Poplar Grove and got the hell out of Richmond.
[BDCRT] Bills and Debates in Congress Relating to Trusts: 1902-1913 Fifty-Seventh Congress, Second Session, To Sixty-Third Congress, First Session, Inclusive (December 1, 1902–December 1, 1913) Vol. 2 Pages 1115–2403. Office 1914.
[RD19020403] Richmond Dispatch. Thursday, April 3, 1902.
[RD19020529] Richmond Dispatch. Thursday, May 29, 1902.
[RD19020910] Richmond Dispatch. Wednesday, September 10, 1902.
[RT19020518] Richmond Times. Sunday, May 18, 1902.
[RVCJ03] Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James: The Book of Its Chamber of Commerce and Principal Business Interests. G. W. Engelhardt. 1903.
[RVCJ93] Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James: The Book of Its Chamber of Commerce and Principal Business Interests. G. W. Engelhardt. 1893.
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Combining protean forces from the forbidden Zero Serum with the unbridled power of atomic fusion, to better probe the Wisdom of the Ancients and their Forgotten Culture.
Every Memorial Day since 2013, the James River Association has kicked off their annual water quality monitoring program to help keep swimmers, paddlers, and boaters informed about river conditions before they get on the river.
This program, better known as James River Watch, releases real-time river results to the public on a weekly basis thanks to volunteers and partners across the watershed.
Approximately 120 volunteers will monitor water quality at 38 sites across the watershed from Memorial Day through Labor Day this year. In addition to these crucial volunteers, JRA also relies on essential partnerships with Rivanna Conservation Alliance, American Water, Virginia State University, Virginia Master Naturalist-Peninsula Chapter, Appomattox River Company and Twin River Outfitters to carry out the program.
James River Watch volunteers take water samples every Thursday to track measurements of water temperature, air temperature, turbidity (or cloudiness), conductivity (or saltiness) and bacteria. High levels of fecal coliform bacteria can indicate presence of pathogens harmful to human health, which can affect river user safety.
Photo Credit: James River Association
These measurements are updated and displayed every Friday via the program’s online platform. Additionally, the platform displays stage and flow readings, as well as predictions compiled in real time from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and United States Geological Survey stream gauges.
Thanks to the careful design of the interactive map, James River Watch acts as a quick and easy reference for river users to determine recent river conditions all in one place. This year, JRA has added two new stations to the River Watch program: one at the Howardsville boat ramp where the Rockfish River meets the James, and one at Deep Bottom Park in Henrico County.
River lovers can be the first to know when results are posted every Friday by signing up for a weekly newsletter, typically sent on Friday afternoons or evenings throughout James River Watch season. The newsletter also includes a weekly station spotlight, highlighting JRA’s test stations and encouraging recipients to find new places to enjoy the James.
“We are very excited to continue James River Watch with another year of informing community members about river conditions before they go out to recreate,” said Casey Johnson, Community Engagement/GIS Coordinator for JRA. “I have so much gratitude to our amazing volunteers that help make this program possible.”
During the 2022 river season, James River Watch revealed an 80% bacteria pass rate with 6 sites passing 100% of the time. These sites include Robious Landing Park, Pony Pasture, Hopewell at Route 10, College Creek Beach, and Riverside Beach.
JRA staff has been concerned with the high bacteria levels at two sites in the Williamsburg/James City County region. In 2021 and 2022, JRA worked with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) to test the water for a marker found in human sewage in an effort to understand why the bacteria levels might be high. The results showed that it was unlikely to be the result of human sewage, which is good news. Bacteria sources that are closer to humans are more likely to be a threat to health. In 2023, JRA is working again with HRSD to use environmental DNA (eDNA) to try to identify the source of the high bacteria levels.
JRA strives to protect and connect people with the river, objectives that James River Watch certainly accomplishes. JRA also provides opportunities for river lovers to help reduce the amount of bacteria flowing to our waterways. Community members can sign up to join River Hero Homes by pledging to adopt easy, river-friendly behaviors at home. JRA’s Action Network provides a platform for river advocates to help secure clean water funding, and river rats can become an official RiverRat, JRA’s first line of defense for patrolling potential pollution sources.
The James River Watch program is partially funded by the Department of Environmental Quality Citizen Water Quality Monitoring Grant Program.
To learn more about James River Watch, visit www.jamesriverwatch.org, or contact Casey Johnson, JRA’s Community Engagement/GIS Coordinator at [email protected].
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[Tuesday], at approximately 5:13 p.m., Officers of the Richmond Police Department working off duty at the Huguenot High School graduation responded when gunfire was heard in Monroe Park at North Laurel and West Main Streets. Multiple RPD units responded with VCU Police to assist on scene. Officers located five individuals who had suffered gunshot wounds. They were transported by ambulance to a local hospital. A short time later, two additional victims arrived at an area hospital; they were self-transported.
Two adult males, ages 18 and 36, succumbed to their injuries.
One sustained a life-threatening injury, and four sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Other injuries include:
One juvenile was struck by a vehicle, was treated on scene, and later transported to a local hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.
Two individuals were treated for falls.
Nine individuals were treated for anxiety and minor injuries at the scene.
Two individuals were quickly taken into custody by VCU Police. After consultation with the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney, one of the individuals detained will be charged with 2nd Degree murder (x2).
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact RPD Major Crimes Detective J. Crewell at (804) 646-5324 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000. The P3 Tips Crime Stoppers app for smartphones also may be used. All Crime Stoppers reporting methods are anonymous.
Information is fluid at this time as the investigation evolves.
Statement from Richmond City Council:
“This evening, Richmonders are once again devastated by senseless gun violence. At a graduation ceremony, a tradition rooted in honoring a milestone achievement, has been marred by an act that has taken lives and left many others injured.
Those who were able to survive without visible wounds will likely be forever impacted by this violent event.
The thoughts and prayers of all members of Richmond Council and all Richmonders are with the students, parents, families, teachers, friends, and loved ones of those whose lives were taken from us and were injured tonight in this terrible tragedy.
During this difficult time, we know that each person will draw on their personal strength and the strength and faith of their friends and community. We join tonight as one family, one community, and one Richmond.
As a family in Richmond, we lend and extend our friendship and hearts to our Richmond family during this difficult and challenging time.
We don’t yet have all the answers to this senseless act of violence, only that it should never have happened and that is has no place in our society.
Richmond City Council also wants to recognize our first responders who act every day to save lives and restore order and put their lives on the line to ensure the safety of our community.
We ask that everyone join us in keeping all the families in their hearts, thoughts and prayers and ask that all Richmonders observe a moment of silence tonight in support, respect, and condolence to all those impacted by this unspeakable event.
Richmond City Council does do not condone or stand for senseless acts of gun violence. Richmond is a resilient and strong community. While our hearts are heavy for the loss, the unanswered questions as to why linger. We will heal and we will grow stronger.
For those who wish to engage with caring mental health professionals, Richmond offers the following services:
— Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (@RepMcClellan) June 6, 2023
All RPS schools & offices will be closed tomorrow, June 7. All high school graduations have also been canceled. Further updates regarding rescheduling will be shared soon. pic.twitter.com/AAFum2TdcB
— Richmond Public Schools (@RPS_Schools) June 7, 2023
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The Richmond Folk Festival returns October 13-15, 2023, and celebrates its 19th anniversary, having become one of Virginia’s largest events. The beloved festival draws fans each year to downtown Richmond’s riverfront to celebrate the roots, richness, and variety of American culture through music, dance, traditional crafts, storytelling, and food.
The free event hosts 200,000 people over a three-day weekend. Featuring six stages and showcasing music and dance from more than 30 performing groups from around the nation and the world, the Richmond Folk Festival today announces the first eight artists of what will once again make up a culturally diverse and artistically excellent program.
“We are looking forward to showcasing downtown Richmond’s ever-changing riverfront once again for a beautiful weekend of music, dance, food, and crafts with the James River and our city skyline as the perfect backdrop,” said Stephen Lecky, director of events at Venture Richmond. “This is the 19th year of the festival, and we couldn’t be more proud of its legacy in Richmond and across Virginia.”
The Richmond Folk Festival is presented by Venture Richmond Events in partnership with the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), Virginia Humanities, Center for Cultural Vibrancy, Children’s Museum, and the City of Richmond.
Artists to be featured at the 2023 Richmond Folk Festival include:
Baba Commandant & the Mandingo Band (Mandinka) Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Bio Ritmo (salsa) Richmond, Virginia
Chuck Mead (rockabilly and honky-tonk) Nashville, Tennessee
Genticorum (Québécois) Montreal, Québec
Hālau ‘O Lilinoe (traditional Hawai’ian hula) Carson, California
Kala Ramnath (Hindustani violin) San Francisco, California
Melody Angel (Chicago blues) Chicago, Illinois
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper (bluegrass) Charlestown, Indiana
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![[RVCJ03] — Arthur St. Clair Butler, circa 1903](https://rvahub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Butler-Bosher-3-533x683.jpg)
![[RVCJ03] — Butler & Bosher factory, circa 1903](https://rvahub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Butler-Bosher-2-1024x568.jpg)
