On to Richmond

Richmond Center for the Performing Arts
Date Visited:  June 2, 2019
Stop:  #2

When Virginia seceded from the Union prior to the American Civil War, one of the first acts of the Confederate government was to move the capital of the Confederacy from Montgomery, Alabama, to Richmond, Virginia, a mere 100 miles from the United States capital in Washington, DC.  From that point on, a popular battle cry of the North was “On to Richmond,” which was also the name of several military campaigns designed to capture the new capital before the Confederate states were recognized as an independent nation by the rest of the world.

My wife and I embarked on our own “On to Richmond” campaign by invading Richmond, Michigan, instead of Richmond, Virginia.  Richmond is a small city (pop. 5902 as of 2017) located on the border of Macomb and St. Clair counties.  It is also the home of two Michigan Historical Markers.  Since Richmond was on our way to our main destination, Sage Creek Winery, we had to stop and visit them!!!

The first marker we visited was the Richmond Center for the Performing Arts, located in a very nice neighborhood.  We approached the site from the west via Churchill Street.  The marker is located on the northwest corner of Churchill Street and Parker Street and marks the location of the First Congregational Church, built in 1887.  Sometime after 1973, the church was sold to the Richmond Community Theatre, which converted the interior into a performance theatre and restored the exterior of the building.  The day we visited, the Center was getting ready for a performance of The Follies, so we were unable to enter the Performing Arts Center and check it out.  Despite the increased volume of people going to the performance, there was plenty of parking on any of the streets in the area.  We stayed long enough to snap a dozen pictures our so, and then headed on to our next destination.  Our next blog will focus on visiting the second marker in Richmond.

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #historyisbetterwithwine