Shockoe Bottom Historic District

The low-lying neighborhood between downtown Richmond and the James River that was the center of the domestic slave trade in the 19th century, but during the Revolutionary era was Richmond's commercial waterfront and the area through which goods and people moved. Benedict Arnold's January 1781 raid targeted the warehouses and commercial district around Shockoe Bottom, burning tobacco stores and military supplies. The area today is under ongoing archaeological investigation, and sites associated with the slave trade are being evaluated for a proposed memorial. The neighborhood embodies the full arc of Richmond history from the Revolution through the Civil War.