History Commons^™

Prohibition In Richmond, Joseph George Era

Master's Theses

The effort to abolish Virginia's liquor trade was a failed experiment in Richmond. The city's liquor industry prospered at the turn of the century, as anti-liquor forces gradually drove saloons from the rural areas of the state. From 1916 until 1933, the political influence of groups like the Anti-Saloon League of Virginia and the Women's Christian Temperance Union led to state-wide prohibition. For seventeen years, various state and federal laws were enacted to stop the flow of ardent spirits. Despite tremendous costs for enforcement, and constant pressure by prohibitionists on the city's courts and juries, many Richmonders flouted the liquor …