RVA NEIGHBORHOODS: SHORT PUMP

A mini-suburban metropolis sprawls just about fifteen miles outside of Richmond’s urban center. Today, Short Pump stands in sharp contrast to some of the more rural areas surrounding the city of Richmond - areas that it resembled only a few decades ago. In the not-so-distant memory of so many Richmonders, Short Pump was farm country. Now, it is now home to hundreds of shoppers and diners, who can be found perusing the area’s airy outdoor mall, the crowded movie theater, or the charming ice rink, 

Short Pump 1990

Short Pump 2016

A Tavern & a SHORT PUMP

Looking at the amount of commercial activity today, it is hard to imagine that the busy Broad Street was once a single lane road named Three Notched Trail in the 18th century. Instead of cars, horses and buggies journeyed along this well-worn path to travel between Richmond and Charlottesville. Three Notched Trail was a long and difficult eighty mile stretch, so an enterprising  Revolutionary War veteran, Robert Hyde Sander, opened a small tavern alongside the road in 1815 for travelers. While they rested inside the main building, their horses could wait outside and drink from a water pump - one with a curiously short handle.

​©Henrico Historical Society

Over time, the tavern became increasingly well-known. The uniquely short pump made the place easily identifiable, turning it into a veritable local landmark. There is even historical speculation that famous early figures like Thomas Jefferson, who regularly used Three Notched Trail, stayed at the tavern. People would often make plans to meet “at the short pump,” and soon, the nearby land that Sander’s owned became known as “Short Pump Plantation.” Eventually,  a 1853 Henrico County map officially labeled the area around a nearby crossroads as Short Pump.

A GENERAL STORE & A SCHOOL

Sander’s popular tavern was just the beginning for the area. In 1908, Dabney Henry built a Short Pump General Store close by and lived above it with his family. The store sold food and other essentials, but it also served as a local social center where members of the community could exchange news and gossip. Before long, a thriving neighborhood of family farms had bloomed in the area. By 1911, Short Pump School had opened. The one-room schoolhouse was a far cry from today’s Short Pump Elementary and Middle schools - kids were actually taken to school by a two-mule covered wagon.

​©Henrico Historical Society

Only a few decades later, Short Pump was once again poised for a transformation that would dramatically change the landscape over the next century. By the 1930s, roads were populated by cars instead of carriages. The original tavern had fallen into disrepair and was subsequently torn down in 1932 to make room for further construction on Broad Street. The General Store was demolished in 1996. The area’s schools were rebuilt, and many of the farms deteriorated and were sold to developers. Times were changing.

FROM FARM TO... SHOPPING

However, as recently as the 1980s, Richmond residents remember Short Pump as mostly farmland. At the now-busy intersection of W. Broad and Pump Road, there was nothing but grassy fields, a small gas station, and a few small houses.

​©Henrico Historical Society

​The development of Short Pump Town Center in the early 2000s was a pivotal moment in the location’s history. Since then, the shopping center has become a major staple of the West End, making billions in revenue each year. According to the Virginia Department of Transportation more than 25,000 vehicles travel through Short Pump on West Broad Street every day, passing upscale retail options, national chains, pedestrians, and more. 

Short Pump's movie theater

Short Pump's outdoor mall

​Almost all traces of the past are gone. The stark differences between nineteenth century and twenty-first century Short Pump tell the story of local development over time. From a single tavern to a multiplex mall, Short Pump has grown into hub that bears very little resemblance to the Short Pump early Richmonders saw. Yet, despite the rapid change, it retains its namesake as a token tip-of-the-cap to its origin story.