Place names are like fingerprints of history, left behind by settlers, landowners, and the forces of migration and colonization. Known as toponyms, the names we give to locations serve as reference points for a place’s identity, its people and their languages. For example, it's well documented that William Byrd II named Richmond in 1737 as he looked over the James River and was reminded of Richmond Hill on the Thames in England. Sometimes, the origins of a name are not quite as straightforward, as is the case with Salisbury, and it requires a little detective work.

In 1956, developer J.K. Timmons and his partners at the Salisbury Corporation purchased a 1,600-acre parcel of woodland between the James River and Midlothian Pike. At the time, the area was considered too isolated for development. As Salisbury resident and local history researcher Donna Cole explains, "Developing this tract of land was generally thought to be a crazy idea since it was in a very, very remote location." Nevertheless, the Salisbury Corporation moved forward, clearing woods to make way for homes. Lot lines of one acre each were drawn, and a bulldozer cut the first path from Robious Road to what is now approximately Stonegate Road, marking the beginning of the Salisbury neighborhood as we know it today. But the Salisbury name shows up much earlier than the 1950s, and to uncover its origins, we must go back further, to a world teetering on the brink of change.

At the dawn of the 18th century, the picturesque island town of Saint-Martin-de-Ré on the French Atlantic coast was a place of turmoil and uncertainty for Huguenots, Protestants who suffered constant religious persecution. For thirty-year-old Abraham Salle, life in France was no longer an option, and he crossed the Atlantic to America, where he petitioned for citizenship in the New World. Settling in Virginia, Salle purchased waterfront farmland from the British, specifically long stretches along the south bank of the James River. On one of these parcels of land, a narrow, wedge-shaped plot, the Salle family built a home – a place that would come to be known as Salisbury.

Records of these early plats and land acquisitions, along with numerous other pieces of local history, have been meticulously preserved by the Chesterfield Historical Society of Virginia. Tucked away inside the historic Trinity Church on Iron Bridge Road (its congregation outgrew the building), the society's headquarters and research library is a trove of artifacts, books, and documents that bring the county's history to life. When asked about the connection between Abraham Salle and the Salisbury name, the Historical Society’s volunteer Liess van der Linden-Brusse doesn't hesitate. "Salle would never have named the house Salisbury. It's a distinctively British name, and a Frenchman wouldn't have chosen it." As she opens a crisp manila folder, its tab labeled ‘Salisbury’ in neat cursive, Liess adds, "We’re like the FBI here. We have a file for everything. It might take some detective work, but let's see what we can find."

Piecing together the past is like piecing together a puzzle, from following clues in old deed transfers to deciphering linguistic changes to comparing ancient maps against satellite images. But for any historical puzzler, the most valuable resource is the work of those who came before. The research in Liess’ Salisbury folder reveals a place that was once a seat of power, that witnessed the shifting of personal fortunes and national politics, and that was finally destroyed by a fire caused by trespassers in 1923. The Salisbury house changed hands several times, serving as the home of two Virginia governors and a Confederate general, and it was seized during the Revolutionary War when its owner was accused of being a Loyalist. But before all of that, it passed from the Huguenot refugee Abraham Salle to Thomas Mann Randolph in 1777 – and it’s during this acquisition that the name Salisbury first appears.

A Virginia planter and politician, Thomas Mann Randolph Sr. was born and raised at the nearby Tuckahoe Plantation. While Randolph is the person who gave Salisbury its name, likely from the English cathedral city in Wiltshire, the reason for his choice remains unknown. Perhaps, as with William Byrd, he saw something in the land reminiscent of its namesake across the Atlantic. Or, although Randolph’s genealogy does not trace back to that English city, the connection could have been personal, tied to family history. Maybe the answer lies in the home’s original purpose – a hunting lodge. In England, the Salisbury area was known for its royal hunting manors and game grounds. Might Randolph have chosen the name to elevate its prestige as a notable hunting retreat? For now, the origin of Salisbury’s name remains uncertain, but the right clue could change everything.