Within the city, and in Henrico County, East End is roughly defined as including the area of Richmond north of the
James River and east/northeast of the former
Virginia Central Railroad -
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway line (now owned by
CSX Transportation and operated by the
Buckingham Branch Railroad) which originated at
Main Street Station, and south and west of
I-295. Within the city, this includes neighborhoods such as
Church Hill,
Fairmount,
Union Hill, Fulton, Powhatan Hill,
Fulton Hill, Montrose Heights, Fairfield Court, Creighton Court, Whitcomb Court, Mosby Court, Eastview, Brauers, Peter Paul, Woodville, North Church Hill, Chimborazo and Oakwood. The terminology "East End" also broadly includes much of eastern
Henrico County as a portion the Richmond Metropolitan area. Communities outside the city limits in this area include the
census-designated places of
Highland Springs,
Montrose,
Sandston, and
Varina. A portion of
Hanover County, primarily in the
Mechanicsville area also meets the above geographic description, and may be considered by some to be part of the East End of Metropolitan Richmond, though is equally considered outside of the quadrant system, due to its separation from the city by the
Chickahominy River and swamp. ==History and development==