Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Sheppard Street - What's the Origin of the Name?

I came across this article by Mary Riley in the Richmond Quarterly, Vol. 6, #2, Fall 1983. The Richmond Quarterly was edited by William Simpson, a long time librarian at the Richmond Public Library. The original title was the Richmond Literature and History Quarterly. The journal ran from 1978 through 1991. Half of each issue had poetry and short stories and the other half had short vignettes on various aspects of Richmond history, including articles on the origins of the names of Richmond streets. VCU Libraries' Special Collections and Archives has an almost complete run of the journal.

The street is named for the Sheppard family which lived in this area in the late 19th and early 20th century. They owned a large tract of land that was originally purchased by Dr. Nicholas C. Sheppard (1831-1908).
He died September 3, 1908 and is buried in Baltimore. During the war he served in Wood's Brigade in Stuart's Division.

Click on each image for a larger view.






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