Belle Isle

Belle Isle is a rocky, mostly forested island in the middle of the James River, which flows through the center of the City of Richmond. William Byrd I acquired the island in 1676, and it remained in the Byrd family ...

Belle Isle

Known as Wah-na-be-zee(Swan Island) to the Chippewa and Ottawa Native American tribes, today Belle Isle reflects the late 19th century movement to create metropolitan parks begun in Paris and emulated in America by landscape architects like Frederic Law Olmsted. Ownership ...

Belle Isle Prison

Directly in front of you, in mid-river, is Belle Isle. Despite the large number of Union prisoners brought to Richmond during the Civil War, the city had only two full-time prisons. Libby Prison for Union officers, a mile and a ...

Belle Isle and Old Dominion Iron and Nail Works

Once called Washington’s or Broad Rock Island, Belle Isle was bought by Captain John Smith from Chief Powatan in 1608. Early travelers found the island natural and idyllic and current visitors only see hints of the island’s industrial past. In ...

Belle Isle

During the winter of 1863-1864, the island visible from this spot held up to 8,000 Union army prisoners.

After the outbreak of the Civil War, prisoners poured into Richmond. Camps built only as transport stations soon became permanent. Over the ...

Belle Isle

Captain John Smith’s Adventures on the James

James River Park System

The Virginia Company of London instructed the first English colonists to choose a river for their settlement and to “let Captain Newport discover how far that river may be ...