Pasture Point in Hampton, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Mary Smith Kelsey Peake

Photographed by Sarah erlandson, November 11, 2017

1. Mary Smith Kelsey Peake Marker

Inscription. Born free in Norfolk in 1823, Mary Peake devoted herself to the education of African Americans. About 1850, she founded the Daughters of Zion to aid the poor and the sick. A seamstress by day, Peake violated state law to teach her fellow blacks at night. During the Civil War, protected and encouraged by the occupying Union army and prominent local leaders, she taught openly in the shade of the Emancipation Oak in Hampton and at Fort Monroe. She founded the first black school in Hampton—a forerunner of Hampton University—at Brown Cottage in September 1861. Peake died on 22 Feb. 1862.

Erected 2008 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number W-97.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education • War, US Civil • Women. In addition, it is included in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series lists. A significant historical date for this entry is February 22, 1862.

Location. 37° 1.917′ N, 76° 20.678′ W. Marker is in Hampton, Virginia. It is in Pasture Point. It is at the intersection of Poplar Avenue and Wine Street, on the right when traveling west on Poplar Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hampton VA 23669, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Peninsula

and in Coastal Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. 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

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of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Mary Peake (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Federation of Colored Women's Clubs (about 500 feet away); Virginia State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs (about 600 feet away); First Baptist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Historic Hampton (approx. ¼ mile away); Pasture Point (approx. 0.3 miles away); Historic St. John's Episcopal Church (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Courthouse (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hampton.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, January 20, 2019

2. Mary Smith Kelsey Peake Marker

Mary Smith Kelsey Peake Headstone image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, August 9, 2025

3. Mary Smith Kelsey Peake Headstone

Mary Peake is buried about 100' north of the marker, in a small fenced-in family plot by a cluster of short trees.

Mary Smith Kelsey Peake image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, June 13, 2026

4. Mary Smith Kelsey Peake

Mary Peake is immortalized by a sculpture in Hampton University's Legacy Park.

Emancipation Oak image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, August 9, 2025

5. Emancipation Oak

The massive Live Oak that Mary Peake taught under still survives at the eastern edge of Hampton University's campus.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 10, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 11, 2017, by Sarah erlandson of Hampton, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,322 times since then and 59 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 11, 2017, by Sarah erlandson of Hampton, Virginia. 2. submitted on February 10, 2019, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. 3, 4, 5. submitted on June 15, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.