City (pop., 2000: 197,790), capital of Virginia, U.S. Located in the east-central part of the state, on the James River , Richmond was established as a trading post in 1637 and incorporated as a town in 1742.
It became the state capital in 1779 and played an important role in the American Revolution . During the American Civil War it was the capital of the Confederate States of America . It was taken by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in 1865, and much of the business district was burned. It is now a major tobacco market and commercial and government centre; its universities include the University of Richmond (founded 1830) and Virginia Commonwealth University (1838).