Nonesuch Place: A History of the Richmond Landscape by T. Tyler Potterfield review

Nonsuch Place cover

People who have lived in Richmond for even a short time know that the landscape of Richmond, Virginia has changed dramatically over the years and makes for great “remember when…” conversations reminiscing over how much of the bustling suburbs and shopping complexes were miles of sprawling farmland only a few years ago.

Expansion is not a new phenomenon for Richmond. In Nonsuch Place: A History of the Richmond Landscape, T. Tyler Potterfield takes us from the early settlers who chose Richmond as home for the picturesque setting of the James River against the beautiful terrain. Tyler is a historic preservation planner with the City of Richmond Department of Community Development and provides a multitude of city planning maps and photos of the Richmond of yesteryear. He describes the rationale for locating the Virginia State Capital on Shockoe Hill and walks through the planning of the earliest Richmond neighborhoods, parks and cemeteries.

The Downtown Master Plan adopted in 2008 to preserve and enhance the landscape of the place John Smith called Non-such.

No place we know so strong, so pleasant and delightful in Virginia for which we called in Non-such.” – John Smith describing Powhatan, later the site of Richmond.

Most residents would still agree with John Smith that there is nonesuch place as Richmond. Tyler blogs about the history of Richmond, http://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com.