It is possible to argue, with only a limited degree of panache, that no event in the first 390 years of Henrico County's existence brought it such widespread attention as one that occurred only 10 days shy of 10 years ago.

Within the boundaries of Central Virginia, locals may associate the county's image with Pocahontas, the Citie of Henricus, its Civil War battles or its modern-day fiscal responsibility.

In the late 1970s, there was nothing in the corporate world of Henrico County – or Greater Richmond – quite like what the mind of Sidney Gunst envisioned. Only a few years removed from college, Gunst was dreaming big.

“I had the idea that more was better,” he recalled.

Gunst’s thoughts became clearer as he traveled the country to observe office complexes, selecting pieces of what he saw elsewhere to help hone his vision for Henrico’s Far West End. He envisioned a corporate setting in which employees could feel comfortable amid lush, well-maintained surroundings; enjoy concerts, fitness trails and a library; and generally be surrounded by other like-minded people in a true community setting.

In the annals of Henrico's rich history, what happened one day in 1998 certainly wouldn't register high on the excitement scale or the public-interest barometer.

But on that day, the financial status of the county entered rarified air, elevating Henrico to a perch occupied by fewer than 30 other localities in the nation and giving it financial flexibility that most envy. On that day, when Fitch IBCA gave Henrico a triple-A (AAA) bond rating – the highest possible long-term rating – the county also became even more attractive to potential corporations looking for a home.

It was with no small amount of trepidation that Richmond mayor Joseph Mayo set out toward Osborne Turnpike in Eastern Henrico County at daybreak on April 3, 1865.

The day before, as Confederate lines around Petersburg continued to dissolve in the face of Union assaults, Gen. Robert E. Lee had sent a message to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. “I think it is absolutely necessary that we should abandon our position tonight,” wrote Lee.

It began 65 years ago as little more than a dusty oval at a rural fairgrounds. Today, it hosts more than a quarter-million visitors annually, is home to the only major league sporting events in Virginia and perhaps does more than any other single entity to attract national and international attention to Henrico County.
It’s the Richmond International Raceway, and its legacy has earned it the No. 21 spot on the Henrico Citizen’s list of the most significant moments in Henrico history.

On a blustery November day 11 years ago, amid the flurry of confetti and polite applause, Short Pump officially arrived.

Sure, the nebulous region had existed for decades already – first as a rural outpost where farmland was plentiful and people were not, later as the butt of jokes from outsiders who couldn't quite figure the meaning behind its name, and eventually as the Henrico definition of suburban sprawl, when planned communities spread as far west as the county's borders would allow.

From the storming of the beaches at Normandy in World War II, to the testing of an atomic bomb in Bikini Atoll, to the invasion of Okinawa, Henrico played a prominent role in some of the United States’ most significant wartime events.

Not Henrico County, however – the USS Henrico.

The Henrico carried the legacy of its namesake county around the globe in peacetime and during conflict for nearly a quarter century, transporting sailors and soldiers to and from some of the bloodiest battles and most significant conflicts in modern times, earning 36 medals and commendations for its efforts.

Although the Richmond airport was officially dedicated in 1927, its historical beginnings could be said to date to the Civil War – or even to the turn of the 19th century.

According to a timeline of Richmond aeronautic history, gliders were flown near the present-day area of the airport in the 1800s. During the Civil War era, Union and Confederate forces both employed tethered balloons near today’s airport site to spot enemy artillery and troops and sketch terrain for reconnaissance purposes.