Historical Significance In 1820, free black laundress Hannah Jackson bought a house and lot from Quaker landlord Mordecai Miller. Her purchase, for 5 shillings and regular ground rent, made her one of the first African Americans to own property in…

Historical Significance Gum Springs, an African-American community, was originally founded by slaves who were set free when George Washington's wife Martha died at Mount Vernon. Under the leadership of freed slave West Ford, the community of Free…

Historical Significance In 1806, white slave owner Abel West freed all of his slaves by deed. In his 1816 will, West left these freed slaves two hundred acres in Boston, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The land was given to them and their heirs to…

Historical Significance Green Spring Plantation was the home of Virginia Governor William Berkeley and ancestral home of the Ludwells and Lees. This historic plantation houses exhibits depicting the lives of the Africans and African American men,…

Historical Significance Within three years after gaining his freedom in 1800, Dominick Barecroft (formerly known as "Dominy") was running a grocery store and tavern on the west side of North Fairfax Street. By 1804, Barecroft had saved the $59…