Victoria in Lunenburg County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Nathaniel Lee Hawthorne

(1923–1975)

Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 21, 2017

1. Nathaniel Lee Hawthorne Marker

Inscription. Nathaniel Lee Hawthorne, civil rights leader, campaigned for racial and social justice for the people of Southside Virginia. A native of Lunenburg County and a World War II veteran, he conducted his work despite death threats and other attempts at intimidation. Operating from the “Freedom House" in Victoria, Hawthorne chaired the Lunenburg branch of the NAACP from 1965 to 1974 and was a coordinator of the Virginia Students Civil Rights Committee. He led efforts to desegregate schools, register voters, gain equal access to restaurants and stores, and secure African American representation in local government. In 1965 he organized a voting rights march that passed along this route.

Erected 2017 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number SN-40.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1965.

Location. 36° 59.018′ N, 78° 13.371′ W. Marker is in Victoria, Virginia, in Lunenburg County. It is at the intersection of Mecklenburg Avenue and West 10th Street, on the right when traveling south on Mecklenburg Avenue

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. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Victoria VA 23974, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont,

in Southside Virginia,

and specifically in Central Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: A different marker also named The Peoples Community Center (approx. 0.2 miles away); Places of the Past (approx. 0.7 miles away); Businesses & Merchants (approx. 0.7 miles away); People of Victoria (approx. 0.7 miles away); Railroad History (approx. 0.7 miles away); Town of Victoria (approx. 0.7 miles away); Lunenburg High School (approx. 0.9 miles away); Lunenburg County Confederate Monument (approx. 2.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Victoria.

Another marker is no longer nearby. The People's Community Center (was approx. 0.2 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Also see . . . Nathaniel Lee Hawthorne, Virginia’s forgotten civil rights pioneer. 2015 column by Dale Brumfield in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “As the uncompromising chairman of the Lunenburg County NAACP, the Victoria native faced a daunting task: one fourth of all black families in Southside earned less than $1,000 annually, mostly in menial, tobacco-related jobs. The black student school dropout rate averaged 70 percent, and

Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 21, 2017

2. Nathaniel Lee Hawthorne Marker

even though blacks composed about 50 percent of the population, only 18 percent were registered to vote, due in part to county registrars who purposefully kept random, unannounced working hours.” (Submitted on August 28, 2017.)

Credits. This page was last revised on August 28, 2017. It was originally submitted on August 28, 2017, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 3,456 times since then and 161 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 28, 2017, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.