The Shockoe Hill Cemetery is a historic cemetery located on Shockoe Hill in Richmond, Virginia .
66-411: Shockoe Hill Cemetery, as it is presently called, was established in 1820, with the initial burial made in 1822. It was earlier known as the "New Burying Ground" and also the "Shockoe Hill Burying Ground". This cemetery has long been recognized as the city of Richmond's first truly municipal cemetery for white persons -- that is, the first to be founded, opened, and operated using detailed record-keeping, by
132-671: A columbarium with niches to hold urns with cremated remains. Those plots (and eventually, niches) are available for purchase by the general public, marking the first sale of grave spaces in the Cemetery since about 1900. Shockoe Hill Cemetery is across Hospital Street from the Hebrew Cemetery of Richmond , a separate and privately-owned cemetery. Shockoe Hill Cemetery is on the Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places . The City still owns and maintains
198-577: A "Poor-house" for indigent citizens. The land was well outside the center core of the City, located on its northern edge and extending into Henrico County. The earliest interments made there were of people who died at the Poor-house. The parcel eventually was divided to contain the walled Shockoe Hill Cemetery, and also a burial place for Richmonders of color, established on the northeast corner of 5th and Hospital streets, where burials began in 1816. This burial ground
264-480: A Collection of Certificates, Letters, &c. Written by Himself." The book was republished in 1855. McPherson, wrote and circulated the petition that was submitted to the Richmond City Council requesting a new burial ground for the free people of color in the city of Richmond. The petition eventually led to the establishment of what was referred to on the city of Richmond's 1816 Plan of its property located at
330-526: A burying ground primarily for Negroes that was attached to the Baptist Church ( The First Baptist Church ). The church at that time was located on a lot on the northwest corner of Cary St., at 3rd St. The location of the church later became the residence of Col. John Coke. Human bones were discovered during the construction of Col. Cokes house in 1871. The article speculated that the bones could have belonged to Gabriel, Solomon and Peter. The parcel on which
396-548: A cemetery today. Its original two one acre plots are located at the northeastern corner of 5th and Hospital St., across the road from the Hebrew Cemetery . It was greatly increased in size over time, expanding in every direction. By 1850 its grounds encompassed as many as 15 acres. Later maps indicate an even greater expansion, to slightly over 31 acres. In the 1870s it came to be labeled on maps as Potter's Field, until it last appeared in 1905. The 1905 map showed that it extended west behind The Almshouse to 2nd St, and north to
462-563: A descendant of people interred at the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground, resulted in gaining the support of the city of Richmond. In 2020, Mayor Levar Stoney and his administration sponsored two important ordinances regarding the burial ground. Ordinance #2020-213 added the property at 1305 N 5th St. to the Richmond Slave Trail, and provided for the funding of its intended acquisition. Ordinance #2020-240 paved
528-420: A proposal to paint a mural on the old abandoned gas station at 1305 N 5th St. February 2024, billboard controversy regarding a VCU advertisement, and the billboard in the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground. April 2024, the mural on the old gas station building was completed. June 26, 2024 - 2nd Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground Memorial Community Engagement Session for the 1.2 acre city owned portion of
594-564: A proposal was presented to the Virginia Board of Historic Resources for an Historical Highway Marker for the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground. It was unanimously approved. July 2, 2021 – the CSX right-of-way over the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground was divided, and the northern half and eastern half were transferred to Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA). This right-of-way runs 0.40 miles (0.64 kilometers or 2,090.58 feet) directly through
660-518: A segregated adjunct to Shockoe Hill Cemetery until it was closed to burials in 1879. Its grounds eventually were disposed of by the city, some of which became part of the Hebrew Cemetery. This burying ground is today also referred to by some as the "2nd African Burial Ground" or "second African Burying Ground" and "African Burial Ground II". It has suffered numerous atrocities over time, and to this day continues to be threatened. Present threats include
726-633: Is from the combination of the two names under which it appears on the 1853 Map that the name "Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground" was derived. During the Civil War, the bodies of more than 500 deceased Union Army Prisoners of War were interred in the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground. Shortly after the war their remains were removed from the African Burying Ground and then re-interred in the Richmond National Cemetery . The majority of
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#1732848420950792-530: Is one of Virginia's most endangered historic places. Major threats to the burial ground are the DC2RVA high-speed rail project, the east-west Commonwealth Corridor, the proposed RVA757 Connector, as well as the widening of I-64, and various infrastructure projects. The Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground was established in 1816. It was a segregated part of the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground, also known as
858-560: The E l e gba Folklore Society guides cultural history tours that include a tribute to this burial ground. The Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project , of the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, hosts each October, a community gathering at the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground. The Annual Gabriel Gathering honors Gabriel the leader of the great slave rebellion, and all those who gave their lives in
924-594: The General Society of the War of 1812 have suggested that more veterans of that War are buried at Shockoe Hill, than at any other cemetery in the country. More than 500 Union Army prisoners of war had been buried in Shockoe Hill Cemetery's adjoining African Burying Ground during the Civil War, but the soldiers remains were moved in 1866 to Richmond National Cemetery , three miles to the east. Two markers, one placed by
990-457: The Lumpkin's Jail . And the histories of the two burial grounds were intertwined, causing them to appear as if they were one in the same place. Though physically the distance between them is more than a mile. Historically, it is the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground, that was the active municipal burial ground for the city of Richmond for enslaved people (and free people of color) during the time that
1056-640: The Norton grape ; more than twenty Revolutionary War veterans; and hundreds of Confederate soldiers. It is believed the more than 400 veterans of the War of 1812 buried here is the largest such assemblage in the country. Many people important in the life of Edgar Allan Poe , who grew up and lived much of his adult life in Richmond, are interred at Shockoe Hill. Among them are Frances K. Allan, beloved foster-mother to Poe, and her husband John; Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton, perhaps
1122-572: The Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground is the larger of the two burial grounds, and is located a mile and a half away at 1305 N 5th St, on Shockoe Hill . The Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground was thought to have been established as early as 1750, however a land deed for the property supports a 1799 founding. It was closed to new burials in 1816 upon the opening of the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground (Richmond's 2nd African Burial Ground) located at 1305 N 5th St. In 1799
1188-696: The Shockoe Hill Cemetery , a municipal burying ground owned and operated by the City of Richmond. It was managed by the Superintendent of the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground, who was also the Superintendent of the Poorhouse (with the exception of the years 1863-1867 during which time the positions were separated) and the City Hospital The Poorhouse was also called the Almshouse . The burial ground
1254-761: The nomination for the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District (which includes the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground) to the National Register of Historic Places. February 22, 2022 – city of Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney submitted his letter of support to the Julie Langan, Director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources , for the nomination of the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District to
1320-629: The " Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground " (see below)). Shockoe Hill Cemetery expanded in 1833, in 1850, and in 1870, when it reached its present size of 12.7 acres. Among many notables interred at the Shockoe Hill Cemetery are Chief Justice John Marshall , Unionist spymaster Elizabeth Van Lew , Revolutionary War hero Peter Francisco , and Virginia Governor William H. Cabell . More than thirteen hundred servicemen are known to be buried here, including at least 22 Revolutionary War veterans; at least 400 War of 1812 veterans; and an estimated 900 Civil War soldiers, both veterans and wartime casualties. Members of
1386-545: The "Burial Ground for Negroes" and the "old Powder Magazine ground", is the older of two municipal burial grounds established for the interment of free people of color and the enslaved in the city of Richmond, Virginia. It is located at 1554 E Broad St. (alternate address 1520 E Marshall St.), across from the site of Lumpkin's Jail , in Shockoe Bottom. The area now known as Shockoe Bottom , was historically known as Shockoe Valley . Richmond's second African Burial Ground, called
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#17328484209501452-566: The "Burying Ground for Negroes" (enslaved). On February 17, 2021 the city of Richmond successfully bid on 1305 N. 5th St. at a property tax sale. On April 16, 2021 the acquisition of 1305 N. 5th St. was completed. Other developments: September 17, 2020 – a Preliminary Information Form (P.I.F.) Archived October 14, 2022, at the Wayback Machine was presented before the Virginia State Review Board, seeking approval to write
1518-483: The Bacon's Quarter Branch. Some maps show it extending to the east almost as far as 8th St. Earlier maps show it by various names. On the 1816 Plan of the City of Richmond Property, the two one-acre plots were labeled "Burying Ground for Free People of Colour", and the "Burying Ground for Negroes". On the 1817 Map of the City of Richmond, it appears as the "Free People of Colour's B.G." and "Negro(e's) B.G.". The 1835 Plan of
1584-631: The Burial Ground for Negroes was established, was along the banks of the Shockoe Creek. Its location was poorly suited for a burial ground. Each hard rain caused disruption, washing bodies into the creek. Christopher McPherson, a formerly enslaved free person of color, described the appalling conditions of the burial ground in his 1810 book "A Short History of the Life of Christopher McPherson, Alias Pherson, Son of Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Containing
1650-492: The City of Richmond has it recorded as the "Grave Yard for Free People of Colour" and "For Slaves". On that map the burying ground for slaves had been increased by about 1.3 additional acres. The 1842 Bates Map depicts it as "The Burying Ground for Coloured Persons" and "the Burying Ground for Slaves". On the 1849 Plan of Richmond, it is referred to as one place, and was called the "Burying-ground for Coloured Persons". In 1850
1716-501: The City of Richmond. (The older St. John's Church Cemetery, founded by the Anglican Church, was operated in part by the City as a municipal burying ground. The Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground (historically called the Burial Ground for Negroes), was a municipal burial ground established by the city of Richmond in 1799, as was the 1816 "Burying Ground for Free People of Color and the Burying Ground for Negroes (enslaved)", now called
1782-518: The Common Council increased the burying-ground for colored persons by 9 acres in addition to the grounds of the City Hospital. On the 1853 Smith's Map of Henrico County, Virginia, it appears twice. On the county portion of the map it appears under the "Shockoe Hill Burying Ground". On the separate city of Richmond portion of the map it appears as the "African Burying Ground". On the 1856 Map of
1848-404: The DC2RVA high-speed passenger rail project, and the east-west Commonwealth Corridor, the proposed widening of I-64, as well as various infrastructure projects. The Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground had never been included in the historical designations of the Shockoe Hill Cemetery, or the Hebrew Cemetery, and had been largely forgotten. However, on July 28, 2021 a newly completed nomination for
1914-505: The Lumpkin's Jail was in operation. But physically, it is the older African Burial Ground in Shockoe Bottom which was closed in 1816, that was/is located next to the Lumpkin's Slave Jail. It is important to understand and remember that the city of Richmond has two African Burial Grounds. Both of the burial grounds are important, and each deserves to be seen, accurately known and understood. Reports of interments were regularly made and submitted to
1980-628: The National Register of Historic Places. June 12, 2022 – the Historic Highway Marker for the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground was unveiled at 1305 N 5th St. The marker was sponsored by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. June 16, 2022 – the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District (127-7231) was added to the National Register of Historic Places. January 2023 – the city of Richmond
2046-488: The Poorhouse, as the Burying Ground for Free People of Colour, and the Burying Ground for Negroes - (enslaved) - now called the " Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground ". The original two one acre burying ground parcels were located within the 28 1/2 acre property purchased by the city in 1799. Upon the opening of these two new burying grounds on Shockoe Hill , the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground (old Burial Ground for Negroes)
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2112-521: The Richmond City Council by the Superintendent of the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground. It is estimated that over 22,000 interments were made in the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground, likely making it the largest burial ground of free people of color and the enslaved in the United States. It is presently referred to by some as the 2nd African Burial Ground or second African Burying Ground, and African Burial Ground II. Recent advocacy led by Lenora McQueen,
2178-401: The Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground, Richmond's First Municipal African Cemetery. The marker was sponsored by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR). Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground The Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground ( Richmond's 2nd African Burial Ground ) was established by the city of Richmond, Virginia , for the interment of free people of color, and
2244-459: The Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground. The first public acknowledgment of the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground, then covered over with asphalt, occurred during Elegba Folklore Society's Juneteenth, A Freedom Celebration in 2002 and, perhaps, before. This commemoration continues to pay homage on the Trail of Enslaved Africans and at the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground annually. Additionally,
2310-409: The Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground (site of the billboard and abandoned gas station at 1305 N 5th St.) July 17, 2024 - 3rd Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground Memorial Community Engagement Session for the 1.2 acre city owned portion of the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground (site of the billboard and abandoned gas station at 1305 N 5th St.) November 12, 2024 - Ordinance 2024-283 was passed by
2376-473: The Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District was submitted to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR), seeking inclusion in the Virginia Landmarks Register (VR) and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground is a part of the historic district. On March 17, 2022 the nomination was presented to the Virginia Board of Historic Resources, and
2442-692: The Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District's nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. October 20, 2021 – at the CTB Rail and Transit Subcommittee Meeting, it was announced by the Chair Jennifer Mitchell that the DC2RVA, Section 106 Process: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) was reopening the National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 consultation process for the DC to Richmond High Speed Rail (DC2RVA). This
2508-583: The State Review Board. By their unanimous decision, the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register. The nomination was then reviewed and considered by the National Park Service for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Effective June 16, 2022 the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Shockoe Hill Cemetery holds
2574-629: The United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1938, and the other by the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (a/k/a MOLLUS) in 2002, memorialize those POW burials. The Cemetery is open to burials of family members in existing family plots; the last such burial occurred in 2003. In July 2016 the City reclaimed title to several unused plots, on one of which there are plans to install
2640-533: The Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) agreed with the FRA's adverse effect determination. June 15, 2023 - the first community meeting to discuss memorization of the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground was held at the Shockoe Hill Apartments Community Room. June 20, 2023 - A new mural will mark Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground. The city of Richmond's Planning Commission approved
2706-519: The Virginia State Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. March 17, 2022 – The Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register. The nomination received the unanimous support of the Virginia Board of Historic Resources and the State Review Board. May 7, 2022 – the National Park Service received the nomination for the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District to
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2772-418: The area of Hospital St. and 7th St. in early 2022. One of the newest threats to the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground is miss-identification and confusion. In the fall of 2022 the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground was completely confused in the media with the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground. It was reported multiple times that the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground was the burial ground located next to
2838-412: The burial ground are DC2RVA passenger rail ( high-speed rail ), the east-west Commonwealth Corridor, and the proposed widening of I-64. These transportation projects will directly impact the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground. Various infrastructure projects have impacted this site, and continue to be constant threats. The most recent appearing to be underground cables installed in the burial ground in
2904-592: The burial ground extended across present day N 4th St. This burying ground has suffered many atrocities. Throughout its years of operation, it was a main target for body snatching by and for the medical colleges, especially the Medical College of Virginia and the University of Virginia . It suffered from the explosion of a gun powder magazine on April 3, 1865, and the later construction of 2 new powder magazines built upon it in 1867. Its grounds were disposed of by
2970-588: The burial ground had become a parking lot, which was purchased by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in about 2004. Activists quickly organized and actively became involved in the struggle for the reclamation of the burial ground. An important group formed from and for this struggle was the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project , of the Defenders for Freedom, Justice and Equality. They continue to be active advocates and stewards of
3036-480: The burial ground. July 28, 2021 – the completed nomination for the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District was submitted to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR), seeking inclusion in the Virginia Landmarks Register (VR) and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground is a part of the historic district. September 2, 2021 – The Society For American Archaeology publicly published its letter of support for
3102-403: The cause of freedom. It is also a celebration of the more than 20 years of learning the history of this sacred ground. The event also serves as a re-dedication to reclamation and the proper memorization of the area of Shockoe Bottom , which was once the epicenter of the U.S. domestic slave trade. On October 10, 2024 at the 22nd Annual Gabriel Gathering, an Historic Highway Marker was unveiled for
3168-414: The cemetery. The Friends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery, a volunteer group formed in 2006, acts as a steward of the cemetery and assist with upkeep and improvement, including organizing the placement of government-issue military markers. The City of Richmond acquired a 28 and 1/2-acre parcel in 1799 for the main purpose of creating a burial ground for white persons. On that same property, the City also established
3234-507: The city added 5 acres to the walled Shockoe Hill Cemetery, it also added 9 acres to what would come to be labeled on the 1853 Map of the County of Henrico as the "African Burying Ground", and additionally included the City Hospital grounds. An 1816 plan of the city property also depicts the areas in which people of colour and white persons who died at the Poor-house were interred. This now-invisible Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground , functioned as
3300-497: The city of Richmond purchased two parcels of land on which it would establish its municipal burying grounds. A 28 1/2 acre parcel was acquired on the northern end of Shockoe Hill, and a much smaller parcel in Shockoe Valley. The Parcel on Shockoe Hill was purchased for the purpose of becoming the white burying ground (along with other purposes). The parcel in Shockoe Valley was intended for Black burials. The Burial Ground for Negroes,
3366-410: The city of Richmond, Henrico County, the entire burying ground (black and white) appears under one name, without the additional labels showing its segregated status. Though still segregated, it appears simply as the "Shockoe Hill Burying Ground". This is also the name under which it appears in the majority of records, such as interment reports. It is also true for some maps from the 1860s. However; it
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#17328484209503432-420: The city of Richmond. In addition, it has had roads, a railway, and the highway run through it. An old Sunoco gas station sits upon a portion of its original 2 acres, along with a billboard; while other parts lie beneath Interstate-64, 4th St., 5th St., 7th St. Hospital St. and also the railroad tracks. The list of abuses does not stop there, and the site remains threatened to this day. Three approaching threats to
3498-620: The enslaved. The heart of this now invisible burying ground is located at 1305 N 5th St. It was created as the replacement for the Burial Ground for Negroes, now also called the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground , (or African Burial Ground in Shockoe Bottom). Shockoe Bottom was known historically as Shockoe Valley. The Burial Ground for Negroes was closed in 1816 upon the opening of this new African Burying Ground on Shockoe Hill . The Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground
3564-487: The execution of Gabriel, and also the execution of his followers, occurred in a different location(s). Gabriel and those of his followers who were executed within the city, were said to have been hung on Gallow's Hill near 1st St. at Canal St., which was the usual place of execution at the time. An 1871 newspaper article in the Daily Dispatch further stated that Gabriel and others involved in the insurrection were interred in
3630-870: The graves of Chief Justice John Marshall ; attorney John Wickham (counsel for Aaron Burr in Burr's 1807 treason trial); Revolutionary War hero Peter Francisco ; famed Union spy Elizabeth Van Lew , as well as many members of her spy network; Richmond distiller Franklin Stearns , John Minor Botts , a Congressman and later a dedicated Unionist who helped lead opposition to the Confederate government; Virginia Governor William H. Cabell ; acting Virginia governors John Mercer Patton (General George S. Patton 's great-grandfather), John Rutherfoord , and John Munford Gregory ; Judge Dabney Carr ; United States Senators Powhatan Ellis and Benjamin W. Leigh ; Dr. Daniel Norborne Norton, developer of
3696-482: The great love of Poe's life; and Jane Stith Craig Stanard, wife of prominent judge Robert Stanard , a warm friend to a teenaged Poe, and the inspiration for his poem " To Helen ". Poe is known to have visited the Cemetery many times in his life. Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground 37°32′14.6″N 77°25′39.0″W / 37.537389°N 77.427500°W / 37.537389; -77.427500 The Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground, known historically as
3762-588: The name by which the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground appeared on the 1809 Plan of the City of Richmond by Richard Young, became also the site of city gallows after 1804. The 1809 Plan shows it to be the location of the powder magazine as well. In recent times, the African Burial Ground was thought to be where Gabriel, the leader of a famous slave rebellion, known as Gabriel's Rebellion , or Gabriel's Conspiracy, and 25 of his followers were executed and buried in 1800. Though further research suggests that
3828-501: The nomination for the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District for listing in the Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The P.I.F received the board's unanimous approval, making the historic district eligible for nomination. May 11, 2021 – Preservation Virginia, named the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground, one of Virginia's Most Endangered Historic Places . June 17, 2021 –
3894-515: The soldiers had been buried to the north, and to the east of the City Hospital (for smallpox). Interments were also made in the vicinity of the Poorhouse. It was reported that 428 soldiers were removed from the City Hospital, and 128 from the vicinity of the Poorhouse. The City Hospital building was converted into the Colored Almshouse, which then opened its doors in April 1868. The City Hospital
3960-444: The way for the purchase of the property. Both ordinances were presented before the Richmond City Council who passed them with unanimous support. Though 1305 N. 5th St. is only a small portion of the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground, it is a significant part. It is 1.2 acres of the original 2 acre 1816 burial ground. More specifically, it is roughly 0.80 acres of the "Burying Ground for Free People of Colour", and about 0.40 acres of
4026-463: Was closed to new burials, and the site immediately repurposed by the city. First constructed on the site was the Lancastrian School in 1816, and later the city jail was also constructed there. The burial ground was made to completely disappear from the visible landscape and also from memory. That was until a local historian, Elizabeth Kambourian rediscovered it on a map in the 1990s. At that time
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#17328484209504092-730: Was due in part to the presence of a "new National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligible resources in the area of potential effects (APE), the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District (127-7231), and one resource with expanded boundaries, the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground (44HE1203)." December 2021 – The Cultural Landscape Foundation featured the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground in its online exhibition, Landslide 2021: Race and Space . This exhibition features nationally significant cultural landscapes that are associated with African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native peoples that are threatened and at-risk. February 17, 2022 – Congressman Donald McEachin and Senator Tim Kaine support
4158-538: Was gifted two parcels of land by Sauer Properties Inc. located at 1241 and 1220 N 7th St. One parcel contains a portion of the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground, and the other parcel is adjoining. January 20, 2023 - the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) determined that the DC2RVA high-speed rail project would have an adverse effect on the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground and the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Historic District. February 1, 2023 -
4224-496: Was included on the 1842 Bates Map, and may have been constructed about that time. It was located directly to the east of the walled Shockoe Hill Cemetery. Its grounds were added to the African Burying Ground by the City Council in 1850. The 1816 plan of the city property shows that the northern grounds of the hospital were already in use for the interment of paupers who had died at the Poorhouse, both black and white. This early part of
4290-429: Was originally composed of two adjacent one-acre plots, the "Burying Ground for Free People of Colour" and the "Burying Ground for Negroes" (Enslaved). Taken together, this ground for people of African descent (the Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground) was also greatly expanded over the following fifty years. The 1835 Plan of the City of Richmond shows an expansion of at least an acre to the slave burying ground. In 1850, when
4356-590: Was overseen by the Shockoe Hill Burying Ground Committee, which was a standing committee of the Richmond City Council. The African Burying Ground was active from its opening in February 1816 until its closure by the city due to overcrowded conditions in June 1879. The land that comprises this long unacknowledged burial ground, contains nothing on its surface that would cause it to be visibly recognizable as
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