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Prior to the Civil War, 38 enslaved African Americans labored at Lee Hall. At the end of the year, the property was returned to the original owners, and the former slaves living there were forced to leave. Ma2 Endview Plantation (Harwood Plantation) is an 18th-century plantation which is located on Virginia State Route 238 in the Lee Hall community in the northwestern area of the independent city of Newport News, Virginia. In early 1864, the federal government confiscated the plantation and relocated seven African-American families to farm the site. On the eve of the Civil War, records indicate 12 slaves living at Endview. Slave quarters were scattered around the vicinity of the house, and there are anecdotal references to a slave graveyard near the spring. Learn about Siah Carter, a courageous runaway slave who became a permanent crew member of the USS Monitor. He remained in the Union Navy even after the ship's sinking. USS Monitor Center at The Mariners' Museum & Park
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Fitzgerald was also born in Newport News, one year earlier than Pearl Bailey, in 1917. Next to the library named in honor of Pearl Bailey (who was born in 1918 in Newport News), visit this cultural arts center that features the Anderson Johnson Gallery and the Ella Fitzgerald Theater. You can find the plaza and sculpture at the corner of Jefferson Ave and 25th St. King, who visited Newport News in 19 and spoke at the historic First Baptist Church of Newport News. This highly visible site (see above) honors the legacy of Dr. Newsome attended law school at Howard University and later became a respected attorney, journalist, churchman and civic leader in Newport News. Thomas Newsome, born in 1862 to former slaves. This is the restored 1899 residence of J. The Newsome House Museum & Cultural Center Click here for admission and tour details. His restored home is historically significant for its long association with the development of the social and civic life of the African-American community in Newport News. Fields (1844 - 1903) was born a slave in Hanover County and escaped slavery by finding refuge at Fort Monroe in Hampton.
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To visit all of the locations below in the most efficient way possible, we put together an itinerary just for you.įor a more in-depth look at the locations below, please download our African-American History brochure. The black history of Coastal Virginia goes back to the early 1500s, creating a timeless legacy that can be felt throughout the region.
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Since before the founding of our nation, African Americans have played a vital role in creating what would become Newport News, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the United States. In December, the plantation is decorated with traditional holiday decorations of fresh greenery and natural arrangements from Berkeley’s gardens.Ī Virginia and National Historic Landmark.A Timeless Legacy: African-American History The first Sunday in November, Berkeley celebrates the historic 1619 landing with the Virginia Thanksgiving Festival. The gardens provide an elegant setting for weddings and private events. Grounds tours are self-guided and include five terraces of boxwood and flowering gardens leading to the James River, monuments to the First Thanksgiving and to Taps, and the Harrison family graveyard. The mansion is furnished with a magnificent collection of 18th century antiques and artifacts. Norton.Įnthusiastic guides in period costumes conduct tours of the mansion daily. While at Berkeley, General Daniel Butterfield composed the familiar tune “Taps,” first played by his bugler, O.W. During the Civil War, Berkeley was occupied by General George McClellan’s Union troops.
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The estate is also the birthplace of William Henry Harrison, ninth president of the United States, and ancestral home of his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, the twenty-third president. Berkeley’s 1726 Georgian mansion is the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison V, signer of the Declaration of Independence and three times governor of Virginia. Our history begins in 1619 when settlers observed the first official Thanksgiving in America. Nowhere can you find a more unspoiled and tranquil environment. Step back in time to a bygone era and experience a genteel 18th century lifestyle.
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