{"nrhp_refnum":"95000246","name":"Belle Isle","other_names":["Broad Rock Island","Washington's Island","Harvey's Island","Vdhr N"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"James R. at US 1/301","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.52997360050006,"lon":-77.45221677025825,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-03-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Military"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 54-acre rocky island in the falls of the James River at Richmond, Virginia, now a city park, containing ruins of early nineteenth-century and later industrial works, quarries, a Civil War prison camp site, and an artillery emplacement.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the island is significant under Criterion A for Richmond's industrial history, from a nail factory and mill around 1814 through the Old Dominion Iron and Nail Works, and as the site of a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp for Union soldiers from 1862 to 1865. The camp was among the South's most notorious, second in notoriety only to Andersonville. The industrial and camp areas are also thought to hold archaeological potential.","narrative":"Belle Isle is a rocky, 54-acre island in the rapids of the James River at Richmond, Virginia. A wooded hill rises about 120 feet at its western end, while a flat, sandy area spreads to the east. The island was first known as Broad Rock Island and was owned by the Byrd family for a century. Around 1814 a nail factory was built there, followed by a mill, and the Belle Isle Manufacturing Company and later the Old Dominion Iron and Nail Works produced iron goods until 1972. Granite quarries also operated on the island. During the Civil War the eastern end held a Confederate prison camp for captured Union soldiers, opened in 1862 and closed in 1865. Overcrowding and shortages of food and shelter made it notorious. Ruins of mills, a power plant, a rolling mill and railroad piers remain, along with an artillery emplacement. The island is now a city park, listed for its industrial and military history.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1814-1944","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"OTHER: industrial archæology","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Now a city park; industrial activity has ended, the Old Dominion Iron and Nail Company having closed in 1972. Several industrial structures survive as ruins, and the artillery emplacement is in good condition.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:59.918364-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/29/6832/41683229/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/95000246.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000246/68c15c4a4d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000246/68c15c4a4d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Morgan Riley","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:People_on_rocks_of_Belle_Isle,_James_River,_Richmond,_Virginia.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Morgan Riley</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:People_on_rocks_of_Belle_Isle,_James_River,_Richmond,_Virginia.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000982","name":"James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/james-river-and-kanawha-canal-historic-district-71000982/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683229","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Isle_(Richmond,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4883643"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/belle-isle-95000246/"}