Westham, Virginia

Westham
Former Town
Westham sign of neighborhood still called Westham built on the old town in 1930.
Country	United States
State	Virginia
County	Henrico
Established	c. 1750

Westham was an unincorporated town in Henrico County, Virginia. It is located in the present day area of Tuckahoe, Virginia. Westham was built at a transportation point on the James River. The James River flows free for several hundred miles from the west and Westham is located at the point where the Fall line rocks prevented further river passage. Richmond, Virginia was built on the other side of the fall line where the river is navigable to the ocean. This made Westham the first destination for iron used in Revolutionary War. In later years, Canals and then Rail transport connected Westham to Richmond along the James River trade route. Westham was eventually absorbed into Richmond.

Westham was established on land that had been owned by William Randolph II. When Randolph died, his son Beverley inherited Westham Plantation and planned to create the town of Westham on part of it to facilitate trade in the Piedmont region of Virginia. After Beverley's sudden death, Peter Randolph inherited his brother's land and completed work on the project - renaming the town "Beverley" in honor of his older brother- with help from William Cabell and Peter Jefferson. Jefferson was one of a number of important Virginians, including Carter Braxton, Joshua Fry, John Hunter, Robert Rose, and William Stith. who purchased lots in the new town. Peter Randolph eventually sold Westham Plantation to his younger brother, William, who in turn sold the property to William Byrd III.

David Ross, a Virginia Merchant, who bought Oxford Iron Works in Campbell County in 1779, supplied iron by flatbottom boats down the James River to a public foundry in Westham. The Virginia General Assembly resolved to have enslaved Africans as the workers in the foundry and only hire blacksmiths if slaves were not available. As a Commercial Agent supplying iron to the Revolutionary troops Virginia, Ross had to move out supplies from Westham just before a British raid on Richmond and Westham. Governor Thomas Jefferson asked for the foundry to be rebuilt but eventually the supplies were moved to rebuild the Point of Fork Arsenal.