Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 09/09/1969
NRHP Listing Date 10/15/1966
NHL Listing Date 01/20/1961
NRHP Reference Number 66000920
It was in St. John’s Episcopal Church, on March 23, 1775, that Patrick Henry delivered his “Liberty or Death” speech, sounding a clarion call for American independence before a convention of members of the Virginia General Assembly, whose ranks included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, and Richard Henry Lee. The group met to debate the defense of the colony from ever-increasing British oppression. The church, then the largest building in the city of Richmond, began as a simple rectangle, built in 1739-41 by Richard Randolph on land donated by Richmond’s founder, William Byrd II. Two years before Henry’s speech, an addition was made to the north side to accommodate additional seating. St. John’s has been altered and enlarged several more times since its great moment in history. Buried in its picturesque old churchyard are George Wythe and Elizabeth Arnold Poe, mother of Edgar Allan Poe. Located in the Church Hill section of the city, St. John’s Episcopal Church serves as the eponymous property in the St. John’s Church Historic District.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: March 23, 2023
