Barton, James H., 1837-1912

James H. Barton was born in Pennsylvania in 1837. He served in the Union army during the Civil War. After the war, Barton became a real estate developer in Little Rock, Ark., and Memphis, Tenn. In 1889, Barton moved to Virginia and founded a real estate development on a site a north of Richmond in Henrico County that became known as Barton Heights. Barton was so successful that in less than six years Barton Heights had been incorporated as a town in Henrico County. Due to a depressed economy and poor financial decisions, Barton had a difficult time repaying loans he owed. Hounded by creditors and allegations of financial improprieties, Barton and his wife Elizabeth fled Virginia in Feb. 1896. Barton died in Chester, Pa., in 1912.

James H. Barton was born in Pennsylvania in 1837. He served in the Union army during the Civil War. After the war, Barton became a real estate developer in Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. In 1889, Barton moved to Virginia and founded a real estate development on a site a north of Richmond in Henrico County that became known as Barton Heights. Barton was so successful that in less than six years Barton Heights had been incorporated as a town in Henrico County. Due to a depressed economy and poor financial decisions, Barton had a difficult time repaying loans he owed. Hounded by creditors and allegations of financial improprieties, Barton and his wife Elizabeth fled Virginia in 1896 February. Barton died in Chester, Pennsylvania in 1912 January.

Founded in 1889, Barton Heights began as a late nineteenth-century suburban development named for its founder James H. Barton. It was built north of Richmond, Virginia on the heights above the confluence of Bacon Quarter branch and Cannon's branch of Shockoe Creek, which flow east and south to separate the high land from Richmond's Jackson Ward. Barton's goal was to attract middle class professionals seeking affordable homes and who wanted to move away from the turmoil of the city. Barton Heights was annexed from Henrico County by the city of Richmond in 1914.