via the Valentine History Center: May 20 Downtown Churches (2-4pm) WALKING TOUR Each of the four historic churches on this tour has a fascinating story, distinctive architecture and generations of parishioners. Visit Centenary Methodist, St. Peter’s Catholic, St. Paul’s Episcopal and Second Presbyterian. Meet at Second Presbyterian Church, on 5th Street between Franklin and Main. [...]
The Friends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery 2012 Spring/Summer Tour Schedule! Join the Friends for one or more of a special series of Sunday Cemetery tours. Each will cover the Cemetery’s unique history and heritage, with additional insights into prominent women of Richmond, notorious Civil War Unionists, immigrant stories, and more. (see schedule after the break) [...]
Once a major public event for the City’s Black community, Emancipation Day, marking the fall of Richmond to Union Troops, will be celebrated this Saturday, April 14th, with events throughout the city, including Jackson Ward and Court End.
Kitty Snow’s great grandfather was a streetcar driver in Jackson Ward at the turn of the century. She inherited his collection of 3,000 photos and is now trying to identify them, publish a book and create an oral history to document the stories of people who lived Carver, Jackson Ward, Newtowne West and other neighborhoods [...]
82 years, 2 months and 23 days after his death John Mitchell Jr's grave finally got a stone worthy of his name. In every way, shape and form, this is a long overdue step in recognizing one of the most remarkable figures in Jackson Ward's history.
The address on the building says 100 W. Baker Street, but it is actually located at St. Paul and West Charity just east of Gilpin Court. Below is a detailed history from the RPS website. (Hat tip to Bert Berlin)
In 1915 Russell Walker, son of Maggie Walker, shot his father in their family home and was subsequently put on trial. A story from the Times-Dispatch picks up the details:
52 Years Ago Today Picture via the Marcus Rice blog: On February 22, 1960, thirty-four students from the local historically black college sought to integrate the segregated lunch counter of Thalhimers Department Store and they were arrested. Just two days prior to that, 200 VUU students staged an initial protest, which had ended quietly in [...]
This picture comes from Historic Photos of Virginia c. 2008 Located just south of Jackson Ward, a predominantly African American neighborhood in Richmond, S. J. Gilpin’s shoe store was one of many small businesses operated by blacks in the area. St. James Gilpin owned the store, located at 506 West Broad Street, when it was [...]
The Virginia Historical Society is sponsoring a lecture on John Jasper this Thursday at noon. See the end of this post for details. John Jasper is another of those extraordinary people who emerged at the end of the Civil War to become part of Richmond’s Black aristocracy. He founded the Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church and [...]
