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Westhampton Park, Richmond, Virginia

In 1901 the Westhampton Park Railway Company had purchased the right of way for a trolley line which would operate between the city and the popular Westhampton Park, an amusement park that attracted many Richmonder's during the Summer months. The trolley line passed through the median strip that now divides the access road on the western edge of the church property from Three Chopt Road.

The University of Richmond (then known as "Richmond College") had been established in 1830 by Virginia Baptists who placed a high value on education. In 1914 the College bought the land that had previously been Westhampton Park and moved to its present location.

The lake in the middle of the proposed site was referred to as the old mallard duck pond. To the south of the lake was an amusement park that featured the Westhampton Park Casino and Dance Hall, a two-story frame pavilion. The rest of the land south of the lake was occupied by African Americans and was described by the trustees as a desert, while the land on the northern side of the lake was considered a ―wilderness. Yet in a 16 to 5 vote the trustees accepted 100 acres of donated land on the condition that construction would begin within eighteen months; they also purchased another 93 adjacent acres for $17,500....