It is believed that the Richmond hill was dubbed Chimborazo around 1802, the year of Alexander von Humboldt’s unsuccessful attempt to scale the mountain in Ecuador.

A Richmond newspaper reported that any fire in the cellar would cause "billows of smoke [to come] through making the hill look like a miniature Vesuvius.

"[7] Shortly after being suggested as the location for the state Capitol building in 1780,[8] the hill (while unclear as to whether it was yet named Chimborazo) was the assemblage place for a "couple of hundred raw, poorly equipped militia, who were hurriedly corralled and drawn up" to protect Richmond when Benedict Arnold and British troops converged on the city in January, 1781.

[12] When the war started, several large regiments camped on and around Chimborazo Hill and built extensive wooden barracks for shelter.

As these soldiers went off to the front lines, they left behind as many as 100 nearly-new wooden buildings which were commandeered by Samuel P. Moore, the Surgeon General of the Confederate States of America for the establishment of a hospital.

[14] On maps pre-dating the Civil War, "Chimborazo Hill" is shown located in Henrico County just to the east of the city line.

[17] On the south side of the park, overlooking the James River, is a stone commemorating the hospital; it was placed by the Confederate Memorial Literary Society in 1934.

The stone is appropriately sited, overlooking the Confederate Navy Yard on the James River and riverside Rocketts Landing.

This tablet is placed by theConfederate Memorial Literary Society1934 After the end of the Civil War, what was once the largest Confederate hospital in the country became the site of a refuge camp for former slaves, managed by the Freedmen's Bureau.

The city council auctioned off the last remaining wooden houses in 1880, removing all traces of the previous community to make way for Chimborazo Park.

It is the cherished work of every city with any claim to progress and comfort, and is as much the index of material prosperity as it is of the cultivated taste and refinement of an enlightened people.

This combination of water-works and park grounds is the example of all large cities, and in carrying this out we shall be simply repeating what others have done, with the benefit of all their experiences.The Committee recommended the issuance of bonds for the purchase of the land and that annual funds be set aside for its upkeep.

The ongoing construction of the park was referenced as “changing it from an eyesore to a thing of beauty – to be a joy forever, in particular for those who approach Richmond by water.

[29] During its early phases of development, the neighborhood around Chimborazo Park was advertised as a Suburban Resort, a green landscape offering residents open spaces in which to enjoy fresh air, exercise, participate in various social activities, and admire majestic views of the James River.

Because of its "conspicuous height" and "commanding position", the park was even suggested as the appropriate location for monuments to Jefferson Davis[31] and Robert E.

[42] The building in which the museum is located was originally built as a weather station in 1909 after the federal government bought a 150 square foot plot of land from the city.

Richmond explored numerous uses for the building, including a health clinic, a community center, and a shelter for troubled youth, plans which met resistance among neighborhood residents.

"Powhatan Seat" was the residence from 1726-1865 of the ancestors of Peter H. Mayo by whose daughters this stone was presented to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.

A gift to the city by the Boy Scouts of Robert E. Lee Council in 1951, it was part of a nationwide campaign to "Strengthen the Arm of Liberty”.

The dedication ceremony was presided over by Colonel C. W. Woodson, Jr., superintendent of the Virginia State Police, before Richmond's mayor, T. Nelson Parker ((D) 1950-1952), the John Marshall High School Band, a Boy Scout drum and bugle corps and 3,000 people.

[50] A marker on the statue reads as follows: With the faith and courage of their forefathers who made possible the freedom of these United States the Boy Scouts of America dedicated this copy of the Statue of Liberty as a pledge of everlasting fidelity and loyalty 40th anniversary crusade to Strengthen the Arm of Liberty1950 On the east side of the park, overlooking Fulton Bottom, sits the Chimborazo Round House built in 1915.

In order to enhance the attractions of the park for the people of Richmond, city officials promoted the pavilion as a site for popular concerts and public events.

This lighting required the City Engineer to install a series of electrical poles running through the center of the park, significantly detracting from the fountain's grandeur.