John Jasper Marker

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Richmond, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

John Jasper

By Bernard Fisher, November 6, 2009

1. John Jasper Marker

Inscription. John Jasper was born in a slave cabin on Peachy Plantation in Fluvanna County on July 4, 1812, and lived until 1901. In 1839, while working in a Richmond tobacco factory, he was "annointed by the Holy Ghost" and went on to become a preacher.

On Sunday, April 2, 1865, the day the Evacuation of Richmond began, John Jasper preached at the Armory Rolling Mills, next to Tredegar Iron Works.

In September, 1867, Rev. Jasper formed a church on Brown's Island "in a little, old wooden shanty" which had been a stable. After a year, the Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church needed larger quarters and in 1869 moved to its present location on Duval Street in Jackson Ward.

"He is a man of great natural ability. The common and plain way and manner he preaches is only in keeping with the openness and candor of his heart... He is of lowly origin, in this he is not unlike thousands of others; owes his fame to no line of illustrious ancestors, but to his own honest exertions and character." -Statement of Deacons and Officers of Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church, 1884.

Location. 37° 33.022′ N, 77° 26.299′ W. Marker is in Richmond, Virginia. Marker is at the intersection of West Duval Street and Cameo Street, on the right when traveling west

Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church Photo, Click for full size

By Bernard Fisher, November 6, 2009

2. Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church

on West Duval Street. Click for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 14 West Duval Street, Richmond VA 23220, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church (within shouting distance of this marker); Saint Joseph Catholic Church (about 500 feet away, in a direct line); Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (about 700 feet away); Alfred D. “A.D.” Price (approx. 0.2 miles away); Jackson Ward (approx. 0.2 miles away); Richmond’s First African American Police Officers (approx. 0.3 miles away); Engine Company No. 9 Fire Station (approx. 0.3 miles away); "The Great Chief Justice" (approx. 0.4 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Richmond.

More about this marker. On the left is a photograph of "John Jasper" (Photo by Cook, Courtesy of Valentine Museum)

On the right is a drawing of "A Jasper Baptism". The caption reads, "The day after the Free Bridge opened in 1873, Rev. Jasper led his congregation to Johnson's Island for a large baptism ceremony. Thousands crowded the Bridge and shore to watch." (Print from W.L. Sheppard drawing, Courtesy of Virginia Sate Library)

Also see . . .
1. John Jasper (1812-1901). VCU Libraries Special Collections and Archives - Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia (Submitted on November 6, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Mechanicsville, Virginia.)