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Abraham Bedford Venable has a street named after him
Union Hill’s Venable Street was named for Abraham Bedford Venable (November 20, 1758 – December 26, 1811), a representative and senator from Virginia.
Born on “State Hill”, a farm in what is now Worsham, Virginia, Venable attended Hampden-Sydney College and later graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1780. He worked as a planter and studied law in his hometown, eventually being admitted to the bar in 1784. He started practice at the Prince Edward Court House in Prince Edward County, Virginia.
He later became involved in politics and was elected to the second congress, serving from 1791 to 1799. He served as chairman of the Committee on Elections in the fourth congress. He was later elected to the senate to fill a vacancy, serving from 1803 to 1804 when he resigned to become president of Bank of Virginia.
He died in 1811 in a tragic theater fire in Richmond. His ashes were placed under a rock at Monumental Church in Richmond with the ashes of other victims of the fire including Virginia Governor George William Smith.
The UHCA has decided to focus its energies on Venable Street for the next year. At our October meeting we will set attainable goals in the areas of public safety, infrastructure, aesthetics, and economic development. The new zoning designation for Venable (R-63) should help us to attract neighborhood-focused businesses.
Our first step is to repair the sidewalks and to plant trees along the length of the corridor in time for the 200th anniversary of Senator Venable’s death in the Richmond Theater Fire tragedy of 1811. Those efforts are already underway.
Very interesting! Thanks for looking this up for us.
According to Mary Wingfield Scott’s Old Richmond Neighborhoods, Venable owned land on the north side of the street that now bears his name. The property was located between 18th and 21st streets.
Just for the record: the ashes of the people killed in the theater fire weren’t “placed under a rock.” They are actually in a large brick tomb under the porch of Monumental Church and directly below the monument that gives the church its name.