Coalition for a Greater Richmond seeks to promote a new vision of political leadership for the Greater Richmond, Virginia area, built upon communication and regional cooperation that moves beyond the historical barriers of race, socio-economics, political party and geography. We encourage and support worthwhile initiatives and visionary individuals who demonstrate the qualifications, character and progressive attitudes needed to unify our community and improve the quality of life and economic future of the Greater Richmond area.
In 1673, William Byrd I was granted lands on the James River that included the area around Falls that would become Richmond and already included small settlements. William Byrd II inherited his father's land in 1704, and in 1737 founded the town of Richmond at the Falls of the James and commissioned Major William Mayo to lay out the original town grid. Byrd named the city Richmond after the town of Richmond in England (a suburb of London) because the view of the James River was strikingly similar to the view of the River Thames from Richmond, England, where he had spent time during his youth.
