by Jon Baliles

Apologies for being away from the keyboard, but when dealing with and reading and writing about the City of Richmond, everyone deserves (and needs) a little R&R now and then. So while I am away, take a visit to Sharp’s Island in the middle of the James River just west of the Mayo Bridge and south of Mayo Island. It is a one-acre piece of sand and rock that was purchased by avid outdoorsman Andy Thompson and 10 other local families in 2019. Richmond BizSense had a great story about it that year in which Thompson said:

When recruiting friends to purchase the island, Thompson said reactions generally fell into one of two categories.“It’s almost like a personality test,” he said.

“Some people are like, ‘Case closed, I’m in.’ Then some people are like, ‘What’s wrong with you? Why would you buy an island?’ It’s hilarious the reactions you get.”

WRIC had a story and great video from 2024 that shows the island can even be rented out on Airbnb and Hipcamp.

Thompson says Sharp’s Island is the only “legal true campsite” within city limits. A few other locations teeter on qualifying, but he argues the cabin and other amenities create a unique “glamping” experience.“The island has two personalities. There’s the sandy downstream side where it’s tidal and then you’ll see the granite outcrop at the headland of the island,” Thompson said.

He retold his story about his unlikely successful purchase of the island in The Richmonder in 2024 but he only later learned about much of the island’s history. From the “gunning excursion” in 1853 by a young George Sharp who lost his hand in a musket explosion, to the 4th of July parties held there in the late 1800s, to the 1922 re-enactment of John Smith and Christopher Newport planting a wooden cross with thousands watching from the Mayo Bridge. Then there is the more recent history like the cabin Andy built after he bought it that got washed away in a 2020 flood. That’s life in the middle of a river and the flood plain.

It’s a great history and an incredibly unique place to visit, so Andy created his own podcast and YouTube channel and invites guests to canoe across with him and sit and talk all things Richmond. Over the past year he has welcomed my street art partner-in-crime Ed Trask, local music legend Tim Barry, weather guru Andrew Freiden, the Mayor of RVA Outdoors Andrew Alli, as well as the real Mayor Danny Avula, Councilwoman Sarah Abubaker, and many others.

I sat down with Andy earlier this month and we had a great chat on a perfect afternoon in one of the coolest spots in town in the middle of the James River. Where else?!

Jon Baliles is a former Richmond city council member. This column is republished with permission from his blog RVA 5×5.