Harris H. Stilson (1868-1934) was a Richmond streetcar motorman on the West Clay Street line and amateur photographer. Stilson's great-granddaughter Kathleen "Kitty" Snow created the non-profit organization Richmond in Sight to preserve and share this unique collection of photographs and films. Alongside his photographs, Stilson made home movies which capture life in Richmond and portions of the Virginia Coast in the late 1920s and early 1930s, donated to VCU Libraries by Snow in 2012.
Shot between 1929 and 1933, the films comprising the collection document a variety of places and events in and around Richmond and the Virginia coastal area, including Deltaville and Buckroe Beach. Highlights of the collection include bustling city street scenes of Black and white individuals, streetcars, and buildings; animals and circus acts at state fairs; farming in rural Virginia; leisure activities at local parks and beaches, among them Richmond’s Byrd Park and Shields Lake; and footage of a silent film starring Thomas Edwin “Tom" Mix, considered one of Hollywood’s first Western movie stars, shot in a local theater.
Copyright
This material is in the public domain in the United States and thus is free of any copyright restriction. Acknowledgment of Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries as a source is requested.
Credits
Digitization of these films was made possible through a National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) Amateur Film Preservation Grant in 2012. Descriptive metadata was created by Irina Rogova and Margaret Turman Kidd in 2025.
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Stilson Film #1, Richmond, Virginia, 1929-1930
Harris H. Stilson
This film reel contains footage of people and events in and around Richmond including:
- A car driving
- A fair with farm equipment demonstrations and footage of rides as the fair
- Performers in costume ...Read More
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Stilson Film #2, Richmond, Virginia, 1929-1931
Harris H. Stilson
This film reel contains footage of people and events in and around Richmond including:
- Individuals including children watching ducks and swans at a lake, some sit on benches. Likely Byrd Park.
- Exterior ...Read More
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Stilson Film #3, Michigan, 1929
Harris H. Stilson
This film reel contains footage of people and events in and around Michigan including:
- A river view
- Street scenes with automobiles and buildings
- An individual standing and walking outdoors
- A train station
- A large building ...Read More
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Stilson Film #4, Michigan, 1929
Harris H. Stilson
This film reel contains footage of people and events in and around Michigan including:
- A gas station with automobiles driving past
- A river with what appears to be a collapsed bridge Farmland with ...Read More
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Stilson Film #5, Richmond, Virginia, 1929-1931
Harris H. Stilson
This film reel contains footage of people and events in and around Richmond including:
- Automobiles parked on the side of a wooded road
- A lake filmed from the shore, likely Shields Lake ...Read More
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Stilson Film #6, Richmond, Virginia, 1929-1930
Harris H. Stilson
This film reel contains footage of people and events in and around Richmond including:
- Four young individuals playing with a dog, wearing winter clothing with snow on the ground
- A parade around ...Read More
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Stilson Film #7, Richmond, Virginia, 1929-1931
Harris H. Stilson
This film reel contains footage of people and events in and around Richmond including:
- Farm scenes including turkeys, an individual bottle feeding a lamb, sheep, pigs, dogs, and deer
- A flag raising ...Read More
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Stilson Film #8, Richmond, Virginia, 1933 October 2-3
Harris H. Stilson
This film reel contains footage of people and events in and around Richmond including:
- A young child with left arm limb difference dances in a fenced yard
- Approximately eight young individuals play ...Read More
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Stilson Film #9, Richmond, Virginia, 1929-1931
Harris H. Stilson
This film reel contains footage of people and events in and around Richmond including:
- A winter street scene with a streetcar and automobiles, with snow on the ground
- A dog playing in ...Read More
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Stilson Film #10, 1929-1931
Harris H. Stilson
This film reel contains three produced silent films from the 1910s. The first one, entitled "Comedy Gang on the Job", features children in a variety of comedy skits. "Tom Mix ...Read More
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Stilson Film #11, Richmond, Virginia,
Harris H. Stilson
This film reel contains footage of people and events in and around Richmond including:
- Title card National Film Preservation Foundation
- Garden shots with pergola and fountains, show people strolling in the garden, ...Read More
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Stilson Film #12, Richmond, Virginia,
Harris H. Stilson
This film reel contains footage of people and events in and around Richmond including:
- Title card National Film Preservation Foundation
- A farmyard with chickens, a large turkey, and ducks
- Two horses pulling a ...Read More