1861

Abraham Lincoln begins term as 16th president of the U.S.

April 12 — U.S. Civil War begins

April 17 — Virginia secedes from Union

Richmond (VA) named Capital of the Confederacy

Isaac Davenport, Jr. and Charles E. Wortham form Davenport & Company, an insurance agency, and moved to Richmond's East Main Street

1863

Mid-point of U.S. Civil War

Davenport & Company extends its business lines and specializes in "southern" investments: railroads, banks, and insurance companies

1865

Richmond set ablaze ahead of Grant’s advancing armies and evacuated

End of U.S. Civil War

900 buildings in Richmond’s business district are lost, including the headquarters of Davenport & Company

1867

Nebraska becomes the 37th U.S. State

Maggie Walker of Richmond, Virginia was born. She became the first African American woman to charter a bank in the United States

The firm moves to 1113 East Main Street, one of the first to be built during Richmond's reconstruction efforts