here - Fredericksburg

Spotsylvania, Virginia
Table of Contents
Item
The African American Heritage Trail is supported
in part by a Preserve America grant administered by
the National Park Service, United States Department of
the Interior.
This product is based upon work assisted by a grant
from the U. S. Department of the Interior, National
Park Service. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this material are those of
the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
U. S. Department of the Interior.
Page #
Introduction
3
About this Guide
4
John J. Wright Educational &
Cultural Center and Museum
5
Spotsylvania Sunday School Union
Parksite
7
Waller Plantation
8
The Well at Mount Olive
10
Mining in Livingston
11
Little Mine Road Baptist Church
14
Stubbs School
16
Benjamin Brown
17
Goodwin Mine
20
Piney Branch School
21
23rd U. S. Colored Infantry Engagement
24
Old Court House and Jail
25
George Boxley
29
Marshall Center
32
John J. Wright Home
35
Spotsylvania Yellow Jackets
36
Alfred L. Fairchild
38
Photography Credits
43
Selected Bibliography
44
Driving Tour Route
46
Acknowledgments
49
Notes
51
Map
Back cover
Legend
Back cover
Introduction
About This Guide . . .
Welcome to Spotsylvania County and the
new African American Heritage Trail.
Where is Kunta Kinte’s grave? Why are black
churches so important in this county? How and
when was high school for black children
developed? Were there black Civil War soldiers
and heroes from the County?
Our county was established in 1721. As early
as the 1730s enslaved men and women lived
here. Almost 150 years later at the end of the
Civil War, the names of nearly 4,700 Negroes
born and/or living in our county were recorded
for the first time, including more than 150 who
were over the age of 70.
In 2009, the Spotsylvania County
Department of Economic Development &
Tourism, through the support of a Preserve
America Grant from the National Park Service,
commissioned Rivanna Archaeological Services
of Charlottesville, Virginia to conduct a comprehensive study of the county for the purpose of
writing its history in general, and its African
American history specifically. Their final
product was presented in March 2010, and
forms the basis of the African American Heritage Trail that we present here. Our driving
tour is 75 miles throughout our 407 square miles
of lush countryside.
The story of African Americans in this county of the Commonwealth of Virginia is inextricably tied to the churches they developed. Nowhere is this more evident than in the rural
countryside. There are stories of courage and
perseverance, joy and sadness, and pain and
pleasure in each district of Spotsylvania.
With so much to experience and so much to
see, you will want to return again and again.
We sincerely welcome you.
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We have attempted to provide answers to these and many other questions. This guide is produced to enhance your driving tour long after you
have left your vehicle. Through the use of history
accompanied by more than 40 photographs, our
guide explains currently identified key sites of African American history in Spotsylvania County.
There are three points to share with you. First,
we use the words African American, black, Negro
and colored interchangeably throughout this
guide. We do this in an attempt to be consistent
with the language of the time period discussed.
Second, a total of 212 references were used by
our writer to produce this guide. While space
does not allow us to write them all, a select
bibliography is included. A full list of references
is available by contacting us at:
[email protected]
Third, this is a living-breathing guide. We are
always seeking additional information about
historical firsts among Spotsylvania’s African
Americans. Let us know if you have a fact to add.
Put your seat belt on, take plenty of photographs and enjoy the ride. When you have more
time to reflect, reading this guide will help you to
understand a little more fully the extent that
African American history enriches Spotsylvania
County.
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JOHN J. WRIGHT
EDUCATIONAL & CULTURAL
CENTER and MUSEUM
Dedicated in 2008, the John J. Wright
Educational & Cultural Center is the renovated
building of the only high school that served
African American children in the county from
1909 to integration beginning in 1968. A museum,
housed in the school’s original library, opened in 2010.
It all began in 1905 when
local educator John J. Wright
(1863 - 1931) organized a
meeting of Sunday School
superintendents from local
black Baptist churches. The
meeting was held at St. Luke
Baptist Church. Those
attending formed the
Spotsylvania Sunday School
Union for the purpose of
financially supporting the
development of the Fredericksburg Normal & Industrial Institute (aka Mayfield
School) since it had the capacity to educate past the seventh grade. Wright
was chosen president and his wife, Cora (right),
was chosen secretary.
In 1908, the Union’s association with the
Mayfield School ceased and it was decided to
build a high school in their own Spotsylvania
community. One year later they had raised
$475.50, purchased 158-1/2 acres from Mr. and
Mrs. D. F. Altenburg , and hired architect and
builder, Alfred Fairchild. Several years later, the
Spotsylvania Graded School (as it was first named),
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with boarding rooms on the top floor, opened.
Wright served as principal until 1925 when failing
health prevented him from performing necessary
tasks. He taught for an additional year at the new
Massaponax Rosenwald School near his home
and then retired to private life where he continued
to mentor his nieces, nephews and other youth,
and actively lead the Spotsylvania Sunday School
Union.
In his later years, he
sought opportunities to
tell people to get an
education, buy some land
and register to vote. He
taught self-reliance and
led a life of accomplishment. He was a 32nd
degree mason, clerk of
Beulah Baptist Church
for 31 years, corresponding secretary of the
Mattaponi Baptist
Association for 30 years,
and president of the U. F.
Bass Memorial Hospital
Association in an effort
to build a facility to
address the growing
number of cases of tuberculosis in the area’s colored
population.
He died on
January 2, 1931
in his home.
The school’s name evolved through time from Spotsylvania Graded
School, to Spotsylvania High School, to Spotsylvania Training
School in 1927, to finally the John J. Wright School in 1940.
(1932, courtesy Virginia State University Archives
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SPOTSYLVANIA SUNDAY
SCHOOL UNION PARKSITE
Since 1909, the Spotsylvania Sunday School
Union (SSSU), represented by their trustees, has
owned the undeveloped acres surrounding the
John J. Wright School (now totaling 138.5 acres).
In 1979, approximately 10 acres south of the
school’s lot was set aside by the SSSU for a
community park. When they voted to construct
a building where programs may occur, they
turned again to a Fairchild. This time it was Aaron Fairchild, third son of Alfred Fairchild who
built the Spotsylvania
Graded School.
Aaron attended
that school in the
1930s and later learned
carpentry from his
father, with whom he
worked until the elder
Fairchild’s death on
February 20, 1950.
Aaron was first
married in 1937 to
Aaron Alfred Fairchild
Louisa native Florence
Mildred Johnson. He later married the former
Beulah Mae Scranage of King George, Virginia,
on July 27, 1952. He was the father of four
children.
Aaron died on
October 21, 1979,
several months before
the building that he
and his work crew
were constructing at
the park was finished.
SSSU officials called © 2012, Terry Miller
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on another local builder, Bennie Carter. When
complete, the park had playground equipment,
outdoor grills, and
bleachers from
which to watch park
activities. The brick
building houses the
dedicatory stone
plaque on which is
carved the names of
12 African Americans who were
strong advocates for
the SSSU.
Both photographs © 2012, Terry Miller
WALLER PLANTATION
The name “Waller,” associated with slaveholding in Spotsylvania County, came to national
attention from the historical novel by Alex Haley,
Roots, and the corresponding mini-series. Also
associated with the Waller name through Haley’s
work is the supposed name of one of the Waller
family’s slaves, Kunta Kinte, aka Toby. Who
were the Wallers and what can their experiences
tell us about African American life pre-Civil War?
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The family’s origins in the U. S. began with
John Waller (1673-1754), the second of nine
children of Dr. John and Mary Pomfrett Waller
of Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England,
who emigrated to King and Queen County,
Virginia in ~1696. He purchased 1,039 acres and
established his plantation, Endfield. Soon after
his arrival, he married Dorothy King (16751759). He distinguished himself first as Justice
of the Peace from 1698-99 and Sheriff in 16991702. When the county redrew boundaries and
became King William, he served again as Justice
of the Peace from 1701-02, sheriff from 17021703, as a major in the militia in regiment
commanded by Colonel John West. Last, he
was a representative in the House of Burgesses
from 1710-14 and 1720-22.
After his service in the House of Burgesses,
he became the first clerk of newly constituted
Spotsylvania County, a position he held for 20
years. He bought 1,000 acres from Major
William Todd on April 25, 1726, on which he
settled a large plantation that he named after his
birth place, Newport. He later bought more
acreage throughout Spotsylvania and King
William counties.
In addition to being clerk, he was also a
member of the vestry of St. George’s Parish (first
elected in 1725), and a member of the first Board
of Trustees for the town of Fredericksburg when
it was established and approved in 1728. He and
his wife had six surviving children:
♦
Mary (1699-1781); married Zachary Lewis
(1702-1765)
♦
John (1701-1776); married Agnes Carr (17121779)
♦
Thomas (1705-1765); married Elizabeth
Dabney (1705-1794)
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♦
William (1714-1760); married Ann Stanard
Beverly (1711-1756) on June 21, 1738. Ann
was the widow of Robert Beverly who died in
1733. She was also the daughter of William
and Ann Hazlewood Stanard.
♦
Benjamin (1716-1786); married Martha Hall
(1728-1780)
♦
Edmund (1718-1771); married Mary
Pendleton
It was the elder John Waller’s son William
who inherited the Newport plantation. Generations hence continued the use of slave labor, as
did many county families. According to the 1860
Census, 48.4% of the county’s population was
enslaved, a practice that ceased at the end of the
Civil War in 1865. So too did the Newport plantation cease to exist over time.
THE WELL AT MOUNT OLIVE
A natural spring flows throughout the land
surrounding and underneath Mount Olive Baptist
Church and ends its journey many miles hence in
Lake Anna.
The church was
established
between 18661868 primarily
by the
Wigglesworth,
Fox, and Cole
families. To
provide a method for the
© 2012, Terry Miller
community to
safely use the natural spring, a well was dug and a
water pump was eventually installed on the
church grounds.
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Even today, the well has never run dry
because the pump is primed regularly. For
more than 100 years, the well at Mount Olive
has provided the sole source of water in that
region for families that do not have running
water in their homes.
Livingston area mines were the Higgins (aka
Huggins), Johnston's Prospect, Grindstone and the
Mitchell mines. Of these four mines, the Mitchell
and Grindstone mines played important roles in
the lives of three free African Americans and their
families: Molly Pierce, Sally Ham and John King.
When Andrew Mitchell purchased 300 acres
from Robert and Margaret Hooe of Stafford for
$250 in 1796, it is uncertain whether he knew his
land contained gold. By 1812, he had bought an
additional 56 acres and was deeply in debt to
Joshua Long who financed his gold mining interests. Mitchell entered into agreement with Robert
Crutchfield to hold his debt. In exchange, he put
three slaves in trust to Crutchfield: Gilbert, Dick
and Harry. If Mitchell could not pay his debt by a
specified date, the slaves could be sold at public
auction at the Court House.
© 2007, Terry Miller
MINING IN THE LIVINGSTON
REGION and the story of
nearby residents MOLLY
PIERCE, SALLY HAM, and
JOHN KING
Enterprising and free black men and women
lived in the lower Livingston district where
there was a cluster of mines, mainly gold mines,
that operated successfully in the 1800s. Other
minerals produced were quartz, hematite,
muscovite, chalcopyrite and galena.
Mitchell used these three slaves more than
once to secure his debt. He died intestate and his
heir, Joseph (and Joseph’s wife Willey M. Parker
Mitchell), sold 326 acres to Joseph Watkins of
Goochland and 30 acres of his father’s estate to a
free woman named Molly (aka Polly) Pierce on
March 16, 1833. Ms. Pierce was freed sometime
between 1820-1830, for she is listed in the 1830
U. S. Census as living with a free Negro girl. The
land Ms. Pierce bought was in the northwest corner of Andrew Mitchell’s estate and bordered the
Smith estate, Grindstone Hill Mine, and Joseph
Mitchell’s mill pond. Her deed of sale was recorded on May 6, 1833.
These mines were part of the gold-pyrite belt
that runs southwest 140 miles through Virginia
beginning in Fairfax County. Among the
It became necessary for Robert Crutchfield to
sell Gilbert, Dick and Harry - the slaves in trust to
him by Andrew Mitchell. Gilbert was bought by
Molly Pierce. On the same day that her deed of
sale was recorded, she manumitted Gilbert and
recorded his surname as “Baylor.” They lived
together until her death in 1859. She willed her
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entire estate to him. He died in 1866, leaving his
real estate and possessions to his circle of family
and friends, including one brother and one
daughter.
Only a few farms from Molly Pierce and
Gilbert Baylor lived Sally Ham (born ~ 1810), a
free Negro woman. October 19, 1838, she
bought 50 acres for $125 cash from William H.
Andrews and Mary E. A. Andrews, proprietors
of Andrews Tavern and Post
Office.
Her land was adjacent to
the Mitchell Mine, approaching it from Ridge Road. Ham
had 11 known children, and
later in life, some of her children used the surname
“Coleman” in honor of their
father, Lindsey Coleman.
More specifically, his land was adjacent to the
Grindstone Mine. Mr. King lived with his wife
until his death from dropsy at age 76 on May 7,
1860. In today’s parlance, dropsy would best be
described as swelling due to congestive heart
failure. At the time of his death, his real estate
was valued at $160 and his personal holdings were
$35. His widow lived another 14 years, dying of
graceful old age at 80 in 1874, and his daughter
and her family remained on the
estate. She died of “la grippe” at
~ age 70 in 1891.
What about the mine? After
William Andrews died, the 326acre Mitchell Mine, owned by
his partners, was surveyed and
sold to one of the heirs of
Andrew Mitchell, B. Arthur
Mitchell (living in Philadelphia,
Andrews Tavern, from J. R. Mansfield (1977), A
Pennsylvania) on February 1,
History of Early Spotsylvania
In 1855, the Mitchell Mine
1868, for $16,000. He and his
was sold at public sale for $978 to partners
shareholders borrowed money for the purpose
William H. Andrews and Jonathan Johnson by
of developing the mine, but their efforts at longthe executor of Joseph Watkins’ estate (per
term profitability were unsuccessful, as the
instructions in his last will and testament).
Virginia gold mining industry did not recover
after the Civil War and prospectors moved west
Over time, the Ham land proved to be some
to California.
of the most inexpensive and unproductive in the
entire region. By the time of her death ~1890,
its value was $1.50/acre in comparison with
nearby values of from $3-$6/acre.
Approximately four miles from the Ham
property lived John King with his wife Jane, and
their daughter, also named Jane – all free people
before the Civil War. Born ~1784 to unknown
parentage, Mr. King was a carpenter. He bought
68 acres from Herod and Nancy Wright for $115
cash on May, 25, 1846, and lived on property
situated between the families of Thomas and
Robert Mastin.
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LITTLE MINE ROAD BAPTIST
CHURCH: The First African
American Church
Mine Road meanders through the far reaches
of Spotsylvania County on the way to the Orange
County boundary where gold, zinc, lead and
sulphur mines provided significant non-farm
income to families. On this road as early as 1791
was the established Mine Road Baptist Church
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where the membership before the outbreak of
the Civil War was reportedly one hundred fortyeight, almost equally divided between white and
black members.
One of those black members was a coachman for a white congregant. The coachman
took the bold step of asking permission for the
black members to start a church of their own.
His request was forwarded to the pastor, Rev.
E. G. Baptist, who, after consultation, granted
the request.
The colored members walked a brief way
down Mine Road to a dirt path (now Lane’s
Corner) where they established a church they
came to call Little Mine Road Baptist
Church. The year was 1859 – four years before
the Civil War – and this church became the first
established African American congregation in
Spotsylvania County.
It took 18 years, but on September 1, 1877,
the members had saved enough money to buy
land from black farmers and fellow members
Reuben and
Lucy A.
Johnson.
They built a
frame church
in which to
worship. In
1902, a second
sturdier church
building was
constructed.
Little Mine Road
Baptist Church
© 2007, Terry
Miller
Little Mine Road Baptist Church also has the
distinction of being the location of a meeting in
1909 of the Spotsylvania Sunday School Union
(SSSU) where
James Lewis
Terrell I, Superintendent of the
Sunday School at
Branch Fork
Baptist Church
and a trustee of
the SSSU, made a
motion to build a
school in their
own community
to educate Negro
children. Those
spoken words
manifested a few
James Lewis Terrell I (1858-1929)
years later into the
courtesy
Anita Terrell Roberson
Spotsylvania Graded
School.
STUBBS SCHOOL
The Berkeley Precinct in the Livingston
District had the first, and always the largest
number, of one-room schools for colored
children in Spotsylvania County until the 1940s
when consolidation began.
One such school was the Stubbs School. The
earliest known written record of the school is
September, 1908 when its teacher was Mrs. Mary
Scott. She received an “Emergency” certificate to
teach from Division Superintendent, T. Welch
Dew. Her salary was $20/month and she taught
the first through the seventh grades for a fivemonth term.
Located on the corner of what is now Comfort
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Lane and Stubbs Bridge Road, the Stubbs
School was the only known African American
school with an outside tall-post bell. Through
the years, some of its teachers were Lula
Broadus, James L. Terrell II,
Mary R. Quarles and Olga
Lomax.
That fort was key in defending settlers from
attack by the formidable Apaches. In addition to
fighting Indians, Sgt. Brown’s tasks were to guard
the post and protect byways against bandits.
May 11, 1889, Sgt.
Brown was one of 12
soldiers from Fort Grant
accompanying Paymaster
The last academic year
Major Joseph W. Wham.
that Stubbs operated was
In two covered wagons
1937-38. In contrast to its
they were carrying
early days, the school’s
$28,345.10 to Fort
teacher was Virginia
Thomas and beyond to
Henderson, a new graduate
administer soldiers’ pay.
of Virginia Commonwealth 1932, courtesy Virginia State University Archives
Sgt. Brown was riding with the Major. Granted
University with a Bachelor of Science degree.
permission to ride with them by horseback was
Her contract was for eight months at a salary of
Mrs. Frankie Campbell, well-known gambler and
$55/month.
wife of a Fort Grant prisoner.
Mrs. Campbell rode in front of the two
wagons. As they turned around a ridge, they were
SGT. BENJAMIN BROWN
stopped by a boulder lying in the middle of the
When Benjamin Brown was
dusty trail. While trying to determine
born in the Livingston district of
how to move it, a yell and gunfire from
Spotsylvania County in ~ 1859 to
the hills tore through the quiet as a
Henry and Polly Brown, who would
gang of men — not wearing masks —
have believed that he would become
descended on the soldiers and began a
an American hero of the Indian
gunfight for the gold. Sgt. Brown was
Wars?
shot in the arm and in his side. He
continued to battle on open ground
Seeking a better life than working
until being shot once more in the other
on Spotsylvania plantations, he left
arm. After the nearly two-hour battle,
his parents and migrated to Pennsylthe robbers stole the money. Nine men
vania where he soon joined the U. S.
were captured and a sensational trial
Army through its Harrisburg office,
ensued where it was revealed the mayor
assigned to the 24th Colored Infan- courtesy National Park Service
and
primary employer encouraged the
try, Company C (one of the four so-called
robbery supposedly as a form of protest. He
Buffalo Soldier units). This 5’9”, brown-eyed,
claimed to be saving the Mormon population
dark brown-haired, yellow-skinned man decided
from the encroachment of the U. S. Government.
to become a professional soldier. He accepted
All were acquitted. The money was never
his second enlistment at age 26 on March 23,
recovered.
1885, serving at Fort Grant, Arizona.
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Paymaster Major Wham testified to the U. S.
House of Representatives Committee on Military Affairs. The committee concluded that the
soldiers “displayed unusual courage and skill in
defense of the Government’s property.” Highest praise was given to Sgt. Brown for his gun
fighting, and to another soldier, a wounded Isaiah Mays, who crawled two miles to the nearest
home for assistance.
February 19, 1890, both men were presented
the Congressional Medal of Honor by President
Benjamin Harrison, “the highest award for valor
in action against an enemy force which can be
bestowed upon an individual serving in the
Armed Services of the United States.”
One month later, Sergeant Brown re-enlisted
for a five-year tour back at Fort Grant, Arizona.
At the end of this enlistment, he was discharged
March 22, 1895 at nearby Fort Huachuca,
Arizona. Even though still recovering from his
wounds, he received a “very good” evaluation.
During his fourth enlistment which ended
March 23, 1898, with an “Excellent” evaluation
for service at Fort Douglas, Utah, he was
promoted to Sergeant Major.
For the next few years, he was in the
Philippine Islands and served a tour at Fort
Assiniboine, Montana. For a
seventh time, he enlisted for
a three-year tour on March
24, 1904 at Fort Assiniboine.
He was approximately 43
years old when he fell ill, and
was discharged June 3, 1905
to the General Hospital in
Washington, D.C. for disability. Not only had he suffered a debilitating stroke,
© 2010, Terry Miller but he still carried one of the
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bullets from the 1889 gunfight in his body. The
last word in his service record is “Excellent.”
After his hospitalization, he was cared for at
the U. S. Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home in
Washington, D.C. until his death on September 5,
1910. He never married. He is buried in the very
first National Cemetery which is adjacent to the
Soldiers’ Home.
GOODWIN MINE
Spotsylvania is almost directly in the middle
of the aforementioned gold-pyrite belt (on p. 11).
The area near Louisa County and what became in
1983 Lake Anna, was formerly called “Gold Hill”
and was the location of the Goodwin Mine. It
was the third largest gold mine in the country
between 1830-1849. Gold was first discovered
here in 1829, but by the 1880s, Virginia mining
had reached its peak.
Small scale gold production in Virginia
continued until World War II when, on October
8, 1942, the War Production Board issued Limitation Order L-208, which branded gold production
as a non-essential and directed all but the smallest
of gold mines to shut down so their labor force
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could be used elsewhere to support the
war effort. Economic
conditions following
the war were such that
few miners returned to
mining, so only a
handful of mines
reopened. The last
commercial mines
producing not only
Miners at the nearby Whitehall
gold, but lead, zinc,
Farm; courtesy Jean Dobyns
and silver, were closed
by the late 1940s.
PINEY BRANCH SCHOOL
Piney Branch School, adjacent to Piney
Branch Baptist Church, is the only one-room
school for African American children still standing in its original location.
Nearly two months later on April 1, 1878,
Messrs. Chartters, Furneybrough and Talley sold
one of those acres for $10 to the trustees of Piney
Branch Colored Church represented by Claiborne
Lewis, John Lewis, and William Parker for the
purpose of educating the population of Negro
children who lived in the area and attended the
church. Even though situated next door, the
church building was not owned by the membership until 21 years later on September 12, 1899,
when two acres consisting of a burial ground “. . .
and all buildings thereon” were sold to them for
$1.00 by W. E. and Sarah Embrey.
“I began my education in the old Piney Branch
School. This was the very first building and my
parents also attended there. My first teacher was
Miss Otelia Upshaw. Before too long I was
calling her Aunt Teelie. Piney Branch Church,
standing nearby seemed to have been the parent
body. The preacher, teacher, and all parents were
our leaders and were highly respected and
involved in this little community called
Piney Branch.”
James Henry Robinson Jr., (1910-2000)
Son of Clara Dean (1882-1961) and
James Henry Robinson, Sr. (1883-1937)
courtesy Robinson Family Genealogy
1932, courtesy Virginia State University Archives
February 5, 1878, Peter and Emily Couse of
Monmouth County, New Jersey, sold two acres
for $20 to Chancellor District school trustees on
what is now Piney Branch Road. The trustees
were X. X. Chartters, R. W. Furneybrough and
Nathan Talley.
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Teacher Otelia Upshaw (18951935) married Albert Robinson
and had seven children, all of
whom attended the Piney Branch
School. She was a graduate of
Virginia Normal & Industrial
Institute in Petersburg, VA.
She died of tuberculosis.
Courtesy of the late
Alberta Robinson
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Piney Branch School operated for five
months during the academic year. It was not
until the 1919-20 academic year that the school
was officially named “Piney Branch” in school
records. Prior to this date, it was simply “the
colored school in Screamerville.” It was one of four
African American schools in the Chancellor
District; the other three were Diggs, Brock
Road (later Parker), and Carters.
By 1945, the Piney
Branch School and
others like it were no
longer sustainable. The
Spotsylvania County
School Board, consisting
of T. B. Sale, J. C.
Hawkins, J. Henry
Burrus, and B. M. Pates,
sold this particular school
at public auction for $280
on June 4, 1945. The successful bidder was
Piney Branch Baptist Church, represented by its
trustees Samuel Ford, Carl Lewis and Thomas
Lewis (above, courtesy Ida Lewis).
In the foreground are the
preserved original brick
steps from Piney Branch
Baptist Church built in
the early 1900s. The
current church, seen in the
background, was built
next to the original.
© 2007, Terry Miller
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23rd U. S. COLORED
INFANTRY ENGAGEMENT
I have the honor to report that at 12.30 pm this
day the Second Ohio Cavalry, stationed at Piney
Branch Church, were compelled to fall back, being
attacked by superior forces, consisting of one
brigade of cavalry, with two pieces of artillery. I
immediately ordered the Fourth Division in
readiness, and marched the Twenty-third U. S.
Colored Troops to support the cavalry. On
arriving at Alrich’s, on the Plank Road, I found
the Second Ohio driven across the road, and the
enemy occupying the crossroads. I ordered the
colored regiment to advance on the enemy in line
of battle, which they did, and drove the enemy in
perfect rout.”
Excerpt from Ninth Army Corps, Fourth Division,
Report of Brig General Edward Ferrero
These words describe the first known fight on
Virginia soil of a full U. S. Colored regiment within the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War.
The Spotsylvania theater of the Civil War comprised the pivotal battles of the Wilderness, Chancellor and Spotsylvania Court House, all fought
and refought through thick, tangled brush twice:
May 1863 and again in May 1864.
The 23rd Regiment, U. S. Colored Infantry, is
one of nine in the Ninth Corps. They were
organized at Camp Casey, Alexandria, Virginia
beginning November 23, 1863, and served with
soldiers from the 19th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th,
31st, 39th and 43rd regiments of U.S. Colored
Troops.
Although only one of the many skirmishes
between the armies of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, this 1864 period is important because it marks the first time the two generals
-24-
1901. It is the sixth building used on four
different sites.
Flag of the 4th Division,
Ninth Army Corps
carried by members of the
23rd Infantry, U.S.
Colored Troops
♦
From 1722-32, court was seated in Germanna
(now Orange County) on land owned by
Governor Alexander Spotswood.
Photograph from private
collection, Terry Miller
♦
When Fredericksburg was chartered in 1728, a
1732 Act of Assembly allowed the Spotsylvania Court to be moved from Governor
Spotswood’s land to Fredericksburg. Court
was seated in Henry Willis’ home from 17321738.
♦
Once it was determined that it was too
difficult for residents in the far reaches of the
county to get to downtown Fredericksburg,
the construction of a new court house was
authorized. Located in the center of the
county, it was built by Thomas Pritchett.
During construction, Court was seated in the
home of John Holladay from June 15 to
December 21, 1780.
♦
Pritchett’s court building was weak and
deteriorated rapidly. A new building was
constructed on the same grounds and served
the citizens until 1838.
♦
Lewis and Ann Rawlings purchased land from
Samuel Alsop and offered to convey 10 of
their acres to the county for the purpose of
erecting public buildings. Their deed was
accepted and Mr. M. T. Crawford was given
the contract to build the new court house. He
received an initial payment in December 1838
of $551.20. While the buildings were under
construction, court sat in the Rawlings home
and tavern.
♦
By mid-1839, the entire courthouse complex,
including clerk’s office and jail, were operational in their new location.
met directly in war. The soldiers of the 23rd
served first right here in Spotsylvania under the
general who would later be elected president of
the United States.
Some soldiers of the 23rd U. S. Colored
Infantry were born in Spotsylvania County
(including the city of Fredericksburg). Those currently
identified are:
John T. Bell
Addision Coleman
Henry Coleman
Armstead Goodlow
John Gorday
Elisha Gross
John H. Mahoney
Archibald Page
Warner Park
William Reddick
Richard Saunders
John Scott
Vincent Stokes
Abraham Tuxon
OLD COURT HOUSE and JAIL
The interpretation of law and determination
of guilt or innocence requires a system of courts
and places to be punished. The Spotsylvania
Court House was the place where citizens and
formerly enslaved men and women sought
justice.
The location of the current court house has
been the County seat since 1839. The building,
with its ivory bricks, has been standing since
-25-
-26-
During the Civil War, the court house was
damaged but not destroyed. Throughout and
after the war, it was used as a field hospital for
wounded Confederate soldiers.
Red brick Spotsylvania Court House in 1864; courtesy
Library of Congress
By 1900, the red brick court house was
unsafe and needed renovation, but after further
study, it was clear that it could not be saved.
Since red bricks were too expensive, ivorycolored ones from Alexandria were substituted.
Detail of photograph provided by the Virginia Historical Society.
Mary D. Waller (l) and Jennie E. Boggs (r). Photograph taken
May 6, 1887 by W. H. Tipton
Photograph from Spotsylvania County brochure, undated.
-27-
A jail was always an important part of court
facilities. May 6, 1887, two young black female
prisoners in the Spotsylvania County Jail were
photographed during a tour of Civil War battlefields by Massachusetts photographer, W. H.
Tipton. Those women were Mary D. Waller and
Jennie E. Boggs, jailed June 13, 1886 and subsequently indicted for housebreaking, grand larceny
and felonious assault on William S. E. Waller and
his sister Jane. The judge was Robert E. Waller.
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He recused himself because he was one of three
witnesses for the Commonwealth. Presiding
instead was the Honorable E. C. Moncure,
Judge of Caroline County. The women pleaded
not guilty and requested removal of trial to
another county. Their request was denied.
They had several court appearances between
their arrest and the time of this photograph.
These two daughters of Nicey Boggs (b.
1840) who lived nearby, were servants of
William Waller. They were sentenced twice:
first for three years in the State Penitentiary,
which was overruled. The second time they
were sentenced to two years in the State
Penitentiary which was continued. Finally,
In the March Court, 1888, “[t]he attorney prosecuting for the Commonwealth by consent of the Court saith
that he will not prosecute further on behalf of the Commonwealth vs. Mary D. Waller and Jennie E. Boggs
who stand indicted for felonious assault, grand larceny
and housebreaking. Therefore it is ordered that they be
discharged from the custody of the Jailer of this Court.”
After nearly two years, on March 6, 1888, the
young ladies walked freely from the Spotsylvania County Jail.
GEORGE BOXLEY: Slave
Sympathizer
The old Court House and Jail are most infamously known for the apprehension and escape
of George Boxley — known in Virginia history
as a white man who facilitated the planning of a
slave insurrection by allowing slaves to meet in
the store on his property. Events and motives
of individuals, as well as the nuances of emotion, are always more complex.
-29-
George Boxley was a first generation American
born in 1780 to English immigrants Thomas and
Mary Boxley. He was the oldest of six children.
By 1803, his parents had both died and he and a
cousin were joint executors of his father’s estate.
Of his father’s 1,979 acres, known as The Grange,
George was willed 170 acres and two slaves, Harry and Dafney, valued at $460. His father’s will
was to return all slaves to the estate and free
them.
In 1805, George married Hannah Jenkins
from a nearby farm and they began a family.
George was a soldier in the war of 1812, and
returned determined to lead a life of freedom for
himself, his family and slaves.
An educated man, George Boxley read and
spoke often of the contradictions of the American
constitution versus its use of slaves. This was a
special point with him being a citizen of Virginia,
the largest slave-holding state. He scolded against
slavery regularly which did not endear him to his
neighbors. It also gave enslaved men and women
the idea that he could be counted on to help them
if needed.
An opportunity presented itself when two
escaped men came to his store late one evening,
reportedly having been beaten earlier in the day
and threatened by their owner with sale away
from their families. Boxley allegedly gave them
two of his horses, some money and directions to
Pennsylvania.
When their absences were noticed, a slave
woman named Lucy reported that she had heard
talk around George Boxley’s about a slave revolt.
Lucy’s mistress, Ptolemy Powell, reported the
rumblings of a slave insurrection to the Magistrate
on February 22, 1816, who arranged for an
investigation. Boxley could not produce a bill of
-30-
sale for two missing horses and was arrested for
assisting slaves to escape. Twenty-seven socalled black conspirators were also arrested.
Even though Boxley was imprisoned and
awaiting trial, Virginia law did not allow blacks
to testify against whites. The blacks who were
arrested were either hung or sold south. In May
1816, George’s wife Hannah and their children
visited him in jail — the new brick jail built in
1813 and situated next to the clerk’s office and
across the road from the Court House built in
1801.
Not waiting to find out his fate, George
escaped the day after his family’s visit. It is
believed that his wife smuggled a saw in the hem
of her skirt into the jail. The Superior Court
Grand Jury returned an indictment against
Boxley for insurrection; his wife was never
blamed or charged for aiding her husband. She
remained at their family home and slowly and
quietly sold most of their belongings, waiting for
word from her husband.
Boxley first surfaced in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he soon signed a power of attorney
from Washington County to sell his land in
Spotsylvania. Soon thereafter he saw a Spotsylvania County newspaper advertisement for his
bounty, and he left and settled near Cincinnati,
Ohio where he worked as a school teacher. He
published two anti-slavery articles under a pen
name. He finally got word to his wife about his
whereabouts and she and their children followed
a friend’s relative from Virginia to Ohio where
they all met in Fayette County and lived for seven years. The couple had five more children.
Bounty hunters were still trying to find him in
1821, but Ohio Governor James Preston would
not pursue the matter. Comfortable in his new
-31-
life, George sought the job of Justice of the Peace
in 1824, but he was publicly challenged about his
past and forced to admit his actions to his neighbors and friends. Three bounty hunters tried to
capture him while he worked in his field and his
sons successfully fought them off. The State of
Ohio filed charges against the bounty hunters for
kidnapping and awarded George $10 in damages.
Boxley left his family for Missouri, using the
name George Burke, but soon read a newspaper
account describing his close call in Ohio. He
decided to return, get his family and relocate.
They moved to Indiana, built a home on what he
named Pioneer Hill and prospered. He built a
school for his children and welcomed other
pioneer families who were seeking a better life.
George Boxley lived the rest of his life on this
land in Indiana. More importantly, he lived to see
the North defeat the South in the Civil War and
the end of slavery for which he advocated for so
long.
MARSHALL CENTER
The Marshall Center is the site of the Good
Hope Colored School — a recreated one-room
school for African American children. It is also
the location of the old high school for the county’s white children, now the C. Melvin Snow Memorial Library. It is named in honor of the man
who in 1945 became Superintendent of
Spotsylvania Public Schools after serving as
principal of the white high school.
There was a Good Hope School for colored
children in Spotsylvania County for grades 1
through 7 as early as 1920. Several years later,
however, it was in serious decay and a new
building was proposed and approved by the
-32-
Spotsylvania County School Board in 1923.
The first recorded teacher was the experienced
Lula Broadus who, at that time, lived in the
Brokenburg section of the
county. Her salary was $40/
month and the school operated for six months in the year.
In the January 7, 1929
School Board minutes, Superintendent John Hunter Chiles
announced that “the school
had been completed but it was
still in need of insurance.”
He suggested that $350 of
insurance was required for the
building and its contents.
Although the construction
was complete, including a
galvanized roof, the Superintendent recommended
painting the outside to “keep
the weather boarding from
warping and pulling
off.” (January 11, 1929 School
Board Minutes)
The new school, at the
corner of Lewiston Road and
Route 208 near Lake Anna,
got its first teacher, Lillian
White, at a salary of $40 per
month for an eight-month
school year. She was
appointed on May 5, 1930 to
begin later in the fall.
By November 1940, its
property value was listed as
$600, while contents were
$250. Low enrollment
crippled the school and the School Board did not
open it for the 1940-41 school year. By March 1,
1943 the school was still not operational, and on
April 16, 1943, the school building
and lot were auctioned. At a bid of
$280, it was sold to Mr. N. A. Duke.
Many years later in 1996, the
empty and decaying Good Hope
School stood in the brush. A county
committee was established to save
the building, and both the Fredericksburg Area Builders Association
and architects Herlong Associates
agreed to renovate it. Its owner at
that time was Delegate V. Earl
Dickinson of Louisa County.
It was decided to move the
building to the Marshall Center and
enjoy it as a local attraction to show
how a one-room school for colored
children was built and used in its
time. Before the school could be
moved, however, it was destroyed by
fire.
Rather than abandon the idea of a
recreated school, the Spotsylvania
County School Board located
another existing school structure in
the Livingston area. The Fork
School, across the road from Branch
Fork Baptist Church, was moved to
the site at the Marshall Center and
renovated. The new building had the
Top: Good Hope Colored School
physical features of both the Good
Middle: Fork Colored School, this and above
photograph from 1932, courtesy of Virginia State Hope School and the Fork School –
University Archives
leaving the public with an enhanced
Bottom: Recreated Good Hope School at the
rendition of one-room education for
Marshall Center , © 2011 Terry Miller
the county’s African American
children.
-33-34-
JOHN J. WRIGHT HOME
The Wright residence was 56 acres on route
632 (now Hickory Ridge Road) purchased April 15,
1894, from H. F. and Bettie Crismond. Mr.
Wright named it Locust Grove (the third such
property in the county with that name).
by walnut, cedar and holly trees, the home had
eight rooms including a living room, kitchen,
dining room, four bedrooms, a bath, an attic, a
second story sun porch on the front, and a
ground level screened porch. Two out-buildings
were also on the property.
It was sold on
January 13, 1986 to
one of her cousins,
Reuben H. Lewis
and his wife, Eunice.
Sadly, the home was
destroyed by fire a
few years later, and
Furniture in the Wright home; courtesy
thus, the final
Constance Braxton
physical space that
belonged to Mr. Wright, where he walked, tended,
and mentored affectionately was gone forever.
YELLOW JACKETS
courtesy Constance Braxton
With Mr. Wright’s only child, Jeanette W.
Shamwell, aging and living in Baltimore, she
decided to sell the residence that had been in
the family for more than 90 years.
“I was born there. My father went there and
cleared land on that place and cut the timber
out the woods and built the house . . . It has
been home. It goes a little bit hard with me not
to have it for home still, but when you get to be
87, I guess anything can happen.
Jeanette W. Shamwell
February 21, 1986
Interview with RCC-TV
Fredericksburg
She commissioned Nichols Auction Company
to sell the real estate and contents. Surrounded
-35-
The all-Negro Spotsylvania Yellow Jackets
played on a field that was purchased and developed by local farmer, Elmore Lawson.
“I loved baseball. Poppa [Alfred L Fairchild,
Sr.] owned land adjoining the white high school.
I used to go through the woods to climb a tree to
watch the white boys play.
“I too could play baseball even though I didn’t
have enough money to buy gloves, uniforms, balls
and bats. I was a catcher. When school’s homecoming and neighborhood games were being
played, I crawled under seats and bleachers and
collected all the popsicle bags that people threw on
the ground. There was a company that paid cash
for those bags, so by the time I turned in mine, I
earned enough money to buy my baseball equip–
ment. I was first a member and later a manager
-36-
(Left):
courtesy the late Alfred
“Dadie” Fairchild
of the Spotsylvania Yellow
Jackets. We used to play on the
field owned by Mr. Lawson.
Memories of Layton R. Fairchild Sr.
Elmore Lawson, born January 26,
1882, to Isaac and Julia Weathers
Lawson, was a farmer, carpenter and
construction contractor. He even
operated a sawmill on his property.
He was the husband of the former
Cora Stannard and the father of 17 children.
Long after Cora’s 1938 death, he married Lizzie
Matilda Nelson.
He noticed that baseball was played in back
yards, on church grounds and in open fields,
while the white community enjoyed diamonds
for that specific
purpose. Next to
one of his properties was vacant
land once owned
by the Liston
Lewis family of
Sylvannah
Baptist Church.
The locals played
baseball there
and organized
into a team that competed with other regional
teams, especially on Saturdays and after church
on Sundays. The team called themselves the
Spotsylvania Yellow Jackets, and young men
such as pitcher Rudolph Williams, Roy Lewis,
and the Fairchild brothers Aaron, Alfred Jr., and
Layton all honed skills that perhaps in another
time would have brought them fame in a professional league. July 12, 1952, Mr. Lawson bought
those 9.64 acres and constructed a diamond.
-37-
(Below left):
Elmore Lawson, courtesy
Shirley Robinson
ALFRED L. FAIRCHILD
You can tell a person anything, but the life you
live speaks for you.
Alfred Linwood Fairchild
Born September, 1878, Alfred Linwood
Fairchild was the second person and part of the
first generation of Fairchilds born in Spotsylvania
County. His grandparents, Samuel and Caroline
Fairchild, and four of their five children immigrated to Virginia in 1868 from Essex County, New
Jersey after the Civil War. Samuel Fairchild
bought 139 acres for $1000, established a working
farm and also used his trade as a carpenter.
Within one year, Caroline Fairchild died of
tuberculosis and her husband raised their young
children as a single parent. Nine years later,
Samuel’s youngest child, 16-year old Charlotte,
gave birth to Alfred, a mixed race child. Being
unable to raise him easily in 1870s rural Virginia,
she ceded him to the care of her father who, over
time, taught him the trade of carpentry.
Being raised by his grandfather and because he
was colored, Alfred did not attend primary school.
The nearest school for their location would have
-38-
been the Summit School (below), but it was
approximately 18 miles away by rough buggy
ride or horseback. Yet, as a child Alfred
showed tremendous
talent in mathematics
which allowed him to
learn carpentry at a
level that would now
be called gifted. His
sons, Layton Sr. and
1932, courtesy Virginia State
Alfred Jr. (aka Dadie),
University Archives
recalled that he told
them,
“I was walking across the field one day and
something hit me and knocked me down. I hit
my head but it turned out to be OK. When I
got up and shook it off, I started to notice
different things. Next thing I knew I could
figure out numbers in my head.”
His grandfather Samuel died in ~ 1892, and
Alfred moved in with his aunt and her family,
Laura and Jilson Jett. They had nine children
when he moved in, and over time Laura
gave birth to a total of 13 children; 11 of
them survived.
In 1899, Alfred married Alberta
Garnett, daughter of their neighbors
Archibald and Lettie Garnett. In 1902,
his aunt and uncle deeded him one acre
of their land where he built his own
house and started to raise his family.
Alberta died and soon thereafter he
married Rosa Anne Lewis. Together
they raised their family in the home in
which he built and expanded over time.
“As many children do, I remember
our house as being this big, grand, beautiful
place. Poppa built the two-story white frame
-39-
house, adding to it over time. It had a little
basement where Mamma kept fruit. There was
a big front porch that wrapped around the left
side. On the first floor toward the right was a
formal dining room with a very large bay window.
“What used to be a pantry was later turned into
a kitchen. Upstairs there were four bedrooms.
Fancy lattice work decorated the posts and house
trim. He did all of it. It had a mansion feel to
it but it was practical. Poppa needed a house for
his entire family to live.
“There was a well outside and we drew enough
water for Mamma to wash. There was a scrub
board. Between two leafy oak trees, Mamma
would do the washing in a #8 and a #10 tub.
“The most important part of the house was the
outside because that’s where the garden was. I’m
not talking about a garden with roses and other
smelly flowers; I’m talking about a garden you
can eat from. Our garden, along with the hogs,
cows, turkeys and chickens fed the family. It had
big green leafy vegetables,
peas, fruit trees and
vines, and tall corn
stalks full of sweet cobs.
We didn’t just look at
it. We all had to help
tend it.”
Memories of
Layton R. Fairchild, Sr.
Above, Alfred Fairchild Homeplace. On porch, wife
of Layton R. Fairchild, Sr., Bertha Pratt Fairchild;
c. 1945, courtesy Mr & Mrs Layton R Fairchild, Sr.
-40-
Fairchild’s reputation as a carpenter grew and
he was hired by Judge A. Wilson Embrey to
build a barn. According to family memories,
Fairchild cut what seemed to be a tremendous
amount of timber on the judge’s land, causing
much consternation.
“Just let me finish,” he
said. When the job
was completed, there
were no unused pieces
of lumber. The finished product was
pronounced “perfect”
by the judge.
Sylvannah Baptist Church, c. 1930
courtesy Peggy Tyler
“Here,” Judge
Embrey said to Mr.
Fairchild while placing
an object in his hand.
When he looked in his
hand, there was a $100
gold piece. “If you
ever need to know
Alfred Linwood Fairchild
anything
about the
c. 1908
law,”
the
judge said,
courtesy Layton R. Fairchild, Sr.
“come and see me.”
In his lifetime, Mr. Fairchild built approximately 50 homes, the church he and his family
attended, Sylvannah Baptist Church (upper right),
numerous barns, and most famously, the
Spotsylvania Graded School.
Mr. Fairchild’s association with Judge
Embrey lasted well past his lifetime. After his
death in February, 1950, his friend and mentor
Judge Embrey was the executor of his estate and
administered the major expenses for his widow,
Rosa Fairchild, until her death in 1962.
-41-
Alfred and Rosa Lewis Fairchild with son, Roy (left), and
grandson, Aaron Jr.
courtesy Rosemary Quarles McKinney
-42-
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Below are citations for photographs that
space did not allow us to include in previous
pages.
Ball, L. D. (2000). Ambush at Bloody Run: The Wham paymaster robbery of 1889: a story of politics, religion, race, and banditry in
Arizona Territory. Tucson, AZ: Arizona Historical Society.
Cover
Photograph of Helena Broadus Davis, unknown date,
courtesy Vernell Davis
Bearss, S. B., Kneebone, J. T., Looney, J. J., Tarter, B., and
Treadway, S. G. eds. (2001). George Boxley: biographical
sketch. In Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Vol. 2. Richmond,
VA: The Library of Virginia.
Photograph of Mount Olive Baptist Church
© 2007, Terry Miller
Broadwater, R. (1998). Desperate deliverance: The story of
African-Americans in the Civil War. Altoona, PA: Daisy
Publishing.
pp. 5-6
Photograph of John J. Wright building
© 2011, Terry Miller
Gallagher, G. W. ed. (1997). The Wilderness campaign. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.
Photographs of John J. Wright and Cora Jackson
Wright are from the permanent collection, John J.
Wright Museum
p. 7
Photograph of Aaron Alfred Fairchild, courtesy of
Spotsylvania Sunday School Union 80th Anniversary
Souvenir Journal, 1985.
p. 20
Photograph of Lake Anna, © 2012, Terry Miller
Little Mine Road Baptist Church. (2009). 150th Jubilee
Anniversary Booklet.
Mansfield, J. R. (1977). A history of early Spotsylvania.
Spotsylvania, VA: Spotsylvania county Board of
Supervisors.
Miller, T. and Braxton, R. (2008). African Americans of
Spotsylvania county. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishers.
Piney Branch Baptist Church. (1972). Centennial observance of
the Piney Branch Baptist Church, 1872-1972. Spotsylvania, VA.
Pryde, L. R. (n.d.). Family history. Unpublished document.
Rivanna Archaeological Services, LLC. (2010, March).
African American Contribution to Spotsylvania County’s Heritage.
Sheridan Historical Society. (1925). A man with a price on his
head. Sheridan, IN.
Spears, D. B. and Upchurch, M. L. (1997). Metallic mines,
prospects and occupation in the geo-pyrite belt of Virginia.
Virginia Division of Mineral Resources, Publication 147.
Spotsylvania County. (1970). 250th Anniversary
Celebration: 1720-1970.
Spotsylvania County Jail
courtesy Library of Congress
-43-
Stafford, L., Flippo, P., and Monroe, E., (eds). (1976).
Freedom of worship: A religious history of Spotsylvania County 1767
-1976. Spotsylvania, VA: Religious Heritage Committee,
1976.
-44-
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY (cont’d)
DRIVING TOUR ROUTE
Sweet, P. C. (1980). Gold in Virginia. Virginia Division of
Mineral Resources, Publication 19.
Start at 7565 Courthouse Road, Spotsylvania,
VA 22551 (The John J. Wright Educational &
Cultural Center)
Sweet, P. C. and Trimble, D. (1983). Virginia gold
resource data. Virginia Division of Mineral Resources,
Publication 45.
Williams, G. W. (1888). A history of the Negro troops in the
war of the rebellion, 1861-1865. New York, NY: Harper &
Brothers.
Wilson, J. T. (1897). The Black phalanx: A history of the
Negro soldiers of the United States in the wars of 1775-1812,
1861-’65. Hartford, CT: The American Publishing
Company.
Spotsylvania County Records Room Information
Spotsylvania County Birth Records
Spotsylvania County Deed Books
Spotsylvania County Death Records
Spotsylvania County Marriage Record Books #1 & #2
Spotsylvania County Order Book, 1882-1886, Microfiche
Reel #93, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA.
Spotsylvania County Order Book, 1886-1889, Microfiche
Reel #94, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA
Spotsylvania County Will Books
Newspapers
Free Lance-Star, May 3, 1996
New York Times, December 13, 1899
Virginia Herald, 1816 (Mar 9, Apr 13, May 15, May 22,
and May 25)
Websites
www.archives.gov (U. S. Archives)
www.arizonacorrections.gov
www.civilwar.gatech.edu
www.civilwar.si.edu
www.cmohs.org (Congressional Medal of Honor Soldiers)
www.loc.gov (Library of Congress)
www.militarytimes.com
www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com
www.ourdocuments.gov
www.uscensus.gov (1810 through 1930)
www.vahistorical.org
-45-
♦
♦
♦
Head south on VA-208 W/Courthouse Rd
Continue onto VA-738/Partlow Rd
Turn right at Co Rd 658/Mt Olive Rd
2133 Mt Olive Rd, Beaverdam, VA 23015
(Mount Olive Baptist Church)
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
Head northeast on Co Rd 658/Mt Olive Rd
toward Co Rd 662/Log Cabin Rd
Turn left on Log Cabin Rd and continue. The
road will lead to VA-738/Partlow Rd
Turn left onto VA-738/Partlow Rd and continue to Rd 622/Fairview
Slight left onto Co Rd 622/Fairview Rd.
Continue on this road until it ends at Rd 601/
Lewiston Rd
Right onto Co Rd 601/Lewiston Rd
Continue on Lewiston Rd until it ends at VA208E/Courthouse Rd
Turn right onto VA-208E/Courthouse Rd
Turn left at Co Rd 601/Lawyers Rd
Continue on Lawyers Rd to Co Rd 612/
Stubbs Bridge Rd
Turn left onto Co Rd 612/Stubbs Bridge Rd
6930 Stubbs Bridge Rd, Spotsylvania VA
22551 (Branch Fork Baptist Church)
Turn around in the parking lot of Branch
Fork Baptist Church and return the way you
came. At the intersection of Stubbs Bridge
Rd and Lawyers Rd, continue straight on Co
Rd 606 to the end (intersection of Rd 606 and
Co Rd 612/Post Oak Rd
♦ Turn right onto Co Rd 612/Post Oak Rd
♦
-46-
DRIVING TOUR ROUTE (cont’d)
♦
Continue on Post Oak to Chewning Park on
your left
13013 Post Oak Rd, Spotsylvania VA 22551
(Chewning Park)
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
Exit left from Chewning Park onto Co Rd
612/Post Oak Rd
Continue on Post Oak to Co Rd 659/Lane’s
Corner Rd
Turn right (sharply) onto Lane’s Corner
Rd/Co Rd 659.
Continue to Little Mine Road Baptist
Church on your left.
Turn around in the parking lot and return to
the corner of Lane’s Corner Rd and Post
Oak Rd.
Turn left onto Co Rd 606/Post Oak Rd
Continue on Post Oak to Co Rd 612/
Pamunkey Rd
Turn right onto Pamunkey
Continue on Pamunkey until it ends at West
Catharpin Rd/Co Rd 608
Continue on this road. Its name will change
to Catharpin Rd.
Turn left onto Brock Rd/Co Rd 612/Co Rd
613
Take the 2nd right to continue onto
Catharpin Rd/Co Rd 612
Turn a sharp right onto Co Rd 624/Piney
Branch Rd
10727 Piney Branch Rd, Spotsylvania VA
22553 (Piney Branch Baptist Church and School)
Turn around in the parking lot and return
the way you came toward Catharpin Rd.
♦ Turn right onto Catharpin Rd/Co Rd 612
♦
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DRIVING TOUR ROUTE (cont’d)
11600 Catharpin Rd, Spotsylvania VA 22553
(Wilderness Elementary School)
♦
♦
♦
Continue on Catharpin Rd/Co Rd 612
Turn left at Co Rd 610/Old Plank Rd
Continue through the intersection of Old
Plank Rd and Route 3 to the Chancellorsville
site (parking is available)
Intersection of Route 3 and Elys Ford Rd,
Fredericksburg, VA 22407
(Ruins of the Chancellorsville Home)
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
At traffic light, turn left onto VA-3/Plank Rd
Turn right onto Gordon Rd
Turn left onto Co Rd 628/Smith Station Rd
Turn right onto VA-208 W/Courthouse Rd
Turn left at Courthouse Rd (traffic light)
9101 Courthouse Rd, Spotsylvania VA 22553
(Spotsylvania Court House and Jail)
♦
At the traffic light, turn left onto Courthouse
Rd/VA-208 W and continue southwest
8800 Courthouse Rd, Spotsylvania, VA 22553
(The Marshall Center)
♦
♦
Continue southwest on Courthouse Rd
Turn left on Marshall Park Lane
8525 Courthouse Rd, Spotsylvania, VA 22551
(Marshall Park)
♦
Turn left out of Marshall Park onto VA208 W/Courthouse Rd and continue to the
starting point of this tour
7565 Courthouse Rd, Spotsylvania, VA 22551
(Returning to the John J. Wright Educational & Cultural
Center)
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The management and staff of the
Spotsylvania County Department of Economic
Development & Tourism are grateful for the
tremendous support we received in this effort.
This project could not have been successful
without the aid and assistance of numerous
individuals and organizations.
Spotsylvania County Government
Board of Supervisors
County Administration & County Attorney
Departments of General Services & Sign Shop,
Information Services (GIS), Finance (Grant
Writer), and Capital Projects
Spotsylvania County Schools
School Board
Superintendent
School Maintenance Department
John J. Wright Educational & Cultural Center
Museum
Federal Agencies
National Park Service, United States Department
of the Interior
Special Thank You
Terry Miller, owner of Whisper Meadows Press,
without her countless hours of research and
the creation of the signs and the brochure,
this project would not have come to fruition
Pannier Graphics for working with us to create
the signs
Rivanna Archaeological Service, Charlottesville,
Virginia, for their project research in support
of the Preserve America grant
Roganna H. Rollins for sharing her time,
photographs and stories
Citizens of Spotsylvania County
Last, to all of you who generously donated your
time, contributed your knowledge, provided
invaluable insight, and introduced us to others
who gave assistance, we sincerely thank you.
Committee
Members of the African American Heritage Trail
Committee
- Jennifer Scott, Chair
- Roger C. Braxton, Jr.
- Cleopatra Coleman
- John Hennessy
- Horace McCaskill
- Clifford Vaughan
State Agencies
Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of
Historic Resources
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As a child servant in
1863, Hester Lewis hid
in the basement of the
Chancellorsville home
until the end of the
battle that waged outside.
When quiet, she walked
through piles of dead
bodies to a new,
uncertain freedom. She
later married Charles
Hughlett and raised a
family. They were
members of Piney Branch
Baptist Church.
Courtesy Booker T. Ross
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NOTES
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© 2012, Spotsylvania County, Virginia
Department of Economic Development & Tourism
All rights reserved
Text by Terry Miller
Printed in the United States of America
To contact us:
Spotsylvania Department of Economic
Development & Tourism
9019 Old Battlefield Blvd, Suite 310
Spotsylvania, VA 22553
(540) 507-7210 (phone)
(540) 507-7207 (fax)
[email protected]
Front cover photographs clockwise from top
left:
Spotsylvania Yellow Jackets
Sergeant Benjamin Brown
Mount Olive Baptist Church
Helena Broaddus Davis, Teacher
Elmore Lawson
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Legend:
(1) John J. Wright Educational & Cultural Center; (2) Mount Olive Baptist Church;
(3) Branch Fork Baptist Church; (4) Chewning Park; (5) Little Mine Road Baptist Church;
(6) Piney Branch Baptist Church; (7) Wilderness Elementary School and site of historical
markers regarding the Battle of the Wilderness and the 23rd Regiment U. S. Colored
Infantry; (8) Ruins of the Chancellorsville Home; (9) Court House and Jail;
(10) The Marshall Center; (11) Marshall Park