Old Town North in Alexandria, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

African American Neighborhoods

City of Alexandria, Est. 1749

— Alexandria Heritage Trail —

African American Neighborhoods Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 20, 2024

1. African American Neighborhoods Marker

Inscription.

African American Neighborhoods. City of Alexandria, Est. 1749.

"We have 'Petersburg,' and 'Richmond,' 'Contraband Valley,' and 'Pump Town,' and twenty other towns in our midst." , Alexandria Gazette, August 25, 1864

, Three African American neighborhoods surrounded Oronoco Bay, what became known as The Berg and Fishtown to the south and west and Cross Canal to the north. Community names took a variety of inspirations including areas from which enslaved men and women fled during the Civil War to Union-controlled Alexandria or characteristics of their new settlements., During the war, "Grantville" and "Petersburg" came to identify roughly the same area of the city. Historic records attribute the name Grantville to two people: General Ulysses S. Grant, who led Union forces for the last few years of the war, and Peter Grant, a shoemaker said to have built the first house in the neighborhood for a cost of $39. the community's name, recognizing both Grants, was said to have "killed two birds with one stone." In 1863, Julia Wilbur, abolitionist and aid worker to freed men and women in Alexandria, wrote "Grantville numbers about 100 houses now, and they are building a school house too.", Petersburg, shortened to "The Berg," alluded to the area in southern Virginia from which many of the refugees had fled, a location of intense fighting during the Civil War. A 1982 oral history interview with long-time resident of The Berg, Henry Johnson, spoke of the connection between the neighborhood's name and the city in Southside Virginia. After the Civil War, The Berg replaced Grantsville as the neighborhood's name in the written record., Residents of The Berg included 20th-century luminaries like Earl Lloyd, the first African American athlete to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), breaking the color barrier on October 31, 1950. Born in 1928 in Alexandria raised in The Berg, Lloyd graduated from the city's segregated Parker-Gray High School. Today, the Parker-Gray site is the location of Charles Houston Recreation Center on Wythe Street across from the Alexandria Black History Museum. Lloyd received a scholarship to play basketball in college before entering the NBA. He was also the first African American to become an assistant coach in the NBA.

"We have 'Petersburg,' and 'Richmond,' 'Contraband Valley,' and 'Pump Town,' and twenty other towns in our midst."
Alexandria Gazette, August 25, 1864

Three African American neighborhoods surrounded Oronoco Bay—what became known as The Berg and Fishtown to the south and west and Cross Canal to the north. Community names took a variety of inspirations including areas from which enslaved men and women fled during the Civil War to Union-controlled Alexandria or characteristics of their new settlements.

During the war, "Grantville" and "Petersburg" came to identify roughly the same area of the city. Historic records attribute the name Grantville to two people: General Ulysses S. Grant, who led Union forces for the last few years of the war, and Peter Grant, a shoemaker said to have built the first house in the neighborhood for a cost of $39. the community's name, recognizing both Grants, was said to have "killed two birds with one stone." In 1863, Julia Wilbur, abolitionist and aid worker to freed men and women in Alexandria, wrote "Grantville numbers about 100 houses now, & they are building a school house too."

Petersburg,

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shortened to "The Berg," alluded to the area in southern Virginia from which many of the refugees had fled, a location of intense fighting during the Civil War. A 1982 oral history interview with long-time resident of The Berg, Henry Johnson, spoke of the connection between the neighborhood's name and the city in Southside Virginia. After the Civil War, The Berg replaced Grantsville as the neighborhood's name in the written record.

Residents of The Berg included 20th-century luminaries like Earl Lloyd, the first African American athlete to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), breaking the color barrier on October 31, 1950. Born in 1928 in Alexandria raised in The Berg, Lloyd graduated from the city's segregated Parker-Gray High School. Today, the Parker-Gray site is the location of Charles Houston Recreation Center on Wythe Street across from the Alexandria Black History Museum. Lloyd received a scholarship to play basketball in college before entering the NBA. He was also the first African American to become an assistant coach in the NBA.

Erected by City of Alexandria, Virginia. (Marker Number 1.)

Topics and series.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 20, 2024

2. African American Neighborhoods Marker

This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Settlements & Settlers • Sports • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Virginia, The City of Alexandria series list. A significant historical date for this entry is August 25, 1864.

Location. 38° 48.657′ N, 77° 2.356′ W. Marker is in Alexandria, Virginia. It is in Old Town North. It can be reached from Madison Street east of Mt. Vernon Trail, on the right when traveling east. The marker stands on the grounds of Oronoco Bay Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 Madison Place, Alexandria VA 22314, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area

and in Northern Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

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

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States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Tide Lock of the Alexandria Canal (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Old Dominion Glass Company (approx. 0.2 miles away); Cross Canal (approx. 0.2 miles away); Origins of "The Berg" (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Alexandria Canal Company, 1830 - 1886 (approx. 0.2 miles away); Life in "The Berg" (approx. 0.2 miles away); Next Door Neighbors (approx. 0.2 miles away); Fishtown (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Alexandria.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 20, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 20, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 200 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 20, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.