Matt Perry of Riverside Outfitters
In the heat of summer, Stratford Hills residents like me swear the temperature drops 10 degrees when we turn off Forest Hill Avenue and head into the tree canopy that gives this neighborhood such a world-away feel. (Fair warning — in the fall, those trees shed more oak leaves than anyone wants to rake.)
Richmond residents in this woodsy, outdoors-loving community bound by Forest Hill Avenue, the Stratford Hills Shopping Center, Chippenham Parkway, Huguenot Road and the James River deal with the unavoidable stresses of life, but once home in our refuges, we can easily tune in to the natural world in a way that restores.
For such a mellow place, Stratford Hills has been in several tense situations over the centuries. Once fishing and hunting grounds in between Powhatan tribes to the east and Monacans to the west, the area eventually played a small role in the Revolutionary War. As Benedict Arnold led British troops in January 1781 to destroy the foundry at Westham, across the James River from today’s Stratford Hills, forces under Thomas Jefferson, governor at the time, frantically tried to ferry the arms and supplies to the south side of the river, with mixed and muddied results.
Part of Chesterfield County for centuries, Stratford Hills became part of the City of Richmond in 1970 after a contentious, yearslong court battle, part of a larger annexation of 23 square miles, the last of its kind.
Currently, the source of tension might be traffic along Forest Hill Avenue, since the street is undergoing a $12 million, federally funded project that eventually will provide safety measures such as bike lanes and a raised median to benefit cyclists, pedestrians and drivers. Until then, expect delays, especially at rush hour.
Trinity Episcopal School teacher and Outdoor Program coordinator Michael Stratton kayaks near Pony Pasture with student Bryn K. Shannon.
Even the pleasures of the four sections of the James River Park System within Stratford Hills, with their multiuse trails, rapids, rocks and access for fishing, tubing, rafting and kayaking, would never have been available to residents and visitors without a fight. In the 1960s, the Richmond Metropolitan Authority planned an expressway for the southern bank of the river, where today you’ll find The Wetlands, Pony Pasture, The Meadows and Huguenot Flatwater, as well as Riverside Drive. Thankfully, environmental activist Louise Burke, who moved to Stratford Hills from Oregon with her family in 1958, formed the Scenic James Council with other concerned citizens and fought the expressway, even corralling her Girl Scout troop for a “Farewell to the River” tour and inviting a newspaper reporter to come along. The resulting publicity helped galvanize public opinion and change much more than the course of a roadway.
The combination of government regulation of pollution and the mobilization of environmentally aware residents — along with the work of James River Park’s first director, Ralph White; his successors, Nathan Burrell and Bryce Wilk; and legions of committed volunteers from the James River Outdoor Coalition and Friends of James River Park, among other organizations — eventually turned Stratford Hills into a community that attracts people from beyond its borders to explore its natural wonders.
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Laura Greenleaf, Ryan Ginsburg and Mary Wickham work on clearing invasive species near the James River.
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(From left) Quinn Slabaugh and his parents, Andy Slabaugh and Jen Smith-Slabaugh
Stratford Thrills
The neighborhood once had a nine-hole golf course and an actual pony pasture (a meadow that’s east of the Pony Pasture parking lot). Those are gone, but Stratford Hills still boasts some of the best recreational options in the city. Fishing off the river banks, bird-watching, running, biking on flat trails and wading off sand beaches or playing in the rapids (when the river is safely accessible and with a proper life jacket) are just some of the options. It’s a pretty idyllic backyard.
There’s also the Southampton Recreation Association, with its outdoor pools and tennis courts — common enough in Richmond neighborhoods — and an indoor ice-skating rink that livens up winters for its members.
Cyclists know the neighborhood as part of U.S. Bicycle Route 1, the north/south route that will eventually include more than 1,500 miles from Maine to Florida. Plenty of residents own paddle boards, kayaks and canoes, but for those who don’t have the equipment or expertise, Riverside Outfitters is the place to get active and out on the whitewater, which starts just west of Stratford Hills and continues through downtown to the tidal James.
Riverside Outfitters' mission is to be a community center, and the energy of their facility exudes that spirit. Reservation-only guided tree-climbing, whitewater rafting, sit-on-top kayaking and paddle boarding are just some of the adventures folks can take part in right in the neighborhood.
In an encouraging display of regional cooperation, both the city and Chesterfield County Parks & Recreation hold classes for paddlers of all abilities, whether you’re a sit-on top kind of kayaker or an all-in sort. Information about the flora and fauna and recreational opportunities, including podcasts, are available at jamesriverpark.org.
Activity in the park doesn’t necessarily involve huffing and puffing. There are spotted salamander sightings on late winter nights if you know where to look. If you’d like to try your hand at painting, local artist Sarah Masters teaches plein air classes spring and fall, on her own or through the Visual Arts Center, using Pony Pasture as one of her classrooms. Walking between students painting river, trees and trails, Masters is giddy about her work in Pony Pasture, “in the place I love the most, helping people do what I love,” she says.
For those who prefer to change the landscape rather than paint it, opportunities abound. River and trail cleanups through Friends of James River Park and the James River Association or on your own are always needed. Mary Wickham, past president of Friends of James River Park and a master naturalist, is leading the charge against invasive species such as English ivy and wintercreeper encroaching on park lands through the Riverine chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists’ “Free a Tree” program.
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Artist Tina Palmer paints in her Stratford Hills home studio.
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Diners at Galley
Shopping and Dining
After all that activity, it’s a good thing there are so many options nearby to grab a bite and a glass of beer or wine. Businesses line both sides of Forest Hill Avenue and include local shops such as Once Upon a Vine for vino and craft beer and Stratford Hills Antiques for curiosities. Large retailers such as Food Lion, Target, Office Depot and Publix are just across Forest Hill Avenue.
In Stratford Hills Shopping Center, Max’s Positive Vibe Cafe, a spot known for its mission to train and employ people with disabilities, is open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner, with Un-Angry Hour specials every day. Several times a year, they take over the shopping center parking lot with events like VibeFest and Souper Bowl to support its foundation’s work. A recent addition, Eat 66, offers breakfast and lunch, diner style. Galley and its adjacent Galley Go-To market, from the trio of Manny Mendez, Chris DiLauro and Johnny Giavos, have been welcomed with open arms and mouths by the neighborhood. Galley Go-To offers grape and gorgonzola pizza, chocolate and other staples that can be purchased to go. Its prepared-foods section can save the day if the chicken salad is there — it’s a home run, as is the chili. You’ll see many families pop in for take-out pizza on their way home on a busy school night with tired kids in sports uniforms. Those who are blessedly past those days are hanging out at the bar or the large community table.
Ruang Tong for Thai, Rock Falls Tavern for beer and burgers, and Mexico are the neighborhood stalwarts. Don’t Look Back’s new location and Boka Grill & Growlers are nearby off Forest Hill Avenue, and of course the dining options of Westover Hills and Bon Air are close on Forest Hill Avenue.
A Stratford Hills home
Housing
Officially, Stratford Hills is city living. But with rolling hills, mature oaks, river birches, loblolly pines and the James River, it is the sort of city living that also includes red foxes, bufflehead ducks, bald eagles, beavers, deer, hawks and spotted salamanders.
Steve Davis, a Realtor with The Right Move Real Estate, was born and raised in Stratford Hills and happily moved back to the neighborhood from San Francisco with his husband, Jason O’Hara, and their two dogs, Turkey and Bacon. Davis raves about “the diversity of home styles, the community and the proximity to the James River Park System.” And in part because of the popular casual cachet of the area, Davis notes, “Although the neighborhood is still affordable, home prices have continued to increase over the past five years, making this area an ideal investment.”
There’s nothing cookie-cutter about the homes here, with a mix of modest and charming, cottage-y and Midcentury modern, quirky and grand. Brick ranches and tri-levels from the 1950s and ’60s predominate, but a wander through the neighborhood produces sightings of appealing stone houses and eye-catching homes overlooking the James, some with views of quarries and quarry ponds that hint at the area’s industrial past as a producer of granite. Tri-levels take advantage of the terrain that always rolls down to the river and brick ranches offer one-floor living.
Artist Tina Palmer and her husband, Tony, knew they wanted to make a move from their penthouse in D.C. to live near the water. After two years of looking in Northern Virginia, Annapolis and elsewhere, she saw the listing one March for what is now their home. A renovated, Midcentury modern vibe with expansive glass walls, extensive outdoor space with a fire pit, and a view of the river through the trees spoke to the professional painter. In her downstairs studio, surrounded by natural light, Palmer’s work in progress, a 48- by 48-inch acrylic canvas of birches in the snow, fits in with the scene just outside.
“Now I paint trees all day long, and I’m surrounded by them,” she says.
She hasn’t yet painted the oaks, poplars and river birches outside her windows. Palmer, whose work can be found at Chasen Gallery in Carytown, shows me a rendering she sketched of the studio she hopes to build on their property. This year, she and her husband hope to take fuller advantage of the kayaking, biking and walking possibilities right out their back door.
Options for condo or townhome living cluster near either Forest Hill or Chippenham. One high-rise, Hathaway Towers, features two- and three-bedroom condos with balconies with views. Its river rock foundation is a clue that its developer was Jack Keith, one of the founders of the James River Park System. The high-rise is not age-restricted, though it certainly appeals to longtime Stratford Hills residents who want to leave raking leaves and shoveling snow behind, but who don’t want to leave the views and proximity to the park and their favorite neighborhood shops and restaurants.
