RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — About 4.5 acres of land have been acquired along the James River in Richmond, which will allow for the continuation of the Richmond Slave Trail.
The acquisition comes through a partnership with the city of Richmond and Capital Region Land Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to conserving natural and historic resources in the Richmond area.
The land is 130 feet wide and 2,300 feet long and spans between Interstate 95 and Ancarrow’s Landing, and was purchased from Norfolk Southern.
The land will go under the James River Park System conservation easement and be transferred to the city of Richmond as part of the park.
“With more than a quarter mile of frontage along the scenic James River adjacent to the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and within the viewshed of Libby Hill Park and thus the ‘View that Named Richmond,’ the property hosts a significant portion of the Richmond Slave Trail including one interpretive marker,” a spokesperson for the organization said.
According to Capital Region Land Conservancy, this stretch of the trail was the subject of photographer Dawoud Bey’s series “Stony the Road,” recently on view at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
This comes after Richmond City Council formed the Richmond Slave Trail Commission in 1998, after which the commission made the first three-mile path from the former docks in Manchester near Ancarrow’s Landing to Lumpkin’s Jail and Devil’s Half Acre in Shockoe Bottom.
The trail was formally dedicated in 2011 with the unveiling of 17 markers that “interpret the journey, human impact, and Richmond’s role in the tragic history of enslaved Africans.”
Acquisition of the property will guarantee public access to this part of the trail and ownership of the property will go to the city of Richmond and officially be included in the James River Park System.
“A license agreement between [Capital Region Land Conservancy] and the city allows for continued public use until the property transfers as well as authority to maintain and make improvements to the Richmond Slave Trail interpretive marker and three pedestrian bridges,” a spokesperson said.
The acquisition is being supported by the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation with a $150,000 grant that requires a 1 to 1 match. The Friends of the James River Park System has committed $30,000 with its own challenge grant asking the public to contribute another $30,000 towards the purchase of this property.
Donations can be made on Capital Region Land Conservancy’s website.
