Kempsville in the 19th Century

Kempsville in the 19th Century. . , Government , In 1820 voters supported the relocation of the county seat to what became Princess Anne Courthouse, which was accomplished by 1823. Post-Civil War Virginia transitioned to a Board of Supervisors form of local government and the Kempsville Magisterial District was formed encompassing much of the western half of the county., With post-Civil-War state extension of suffrage to black men, Willis Augustus Hodges became the county's first elected African American officeholder, first as delegate to the 1867 state constitutional convention, and then supervisor for the Kempsville District. Several other African Americans were elected to serve in the Kempsville District during the Reconstruction era., An election day riot in 1878 involving black and white voters at the Kempsville polling place resulted in injuries and the arrival of troops from Richmond. Willis Hodges, seen as an inciter, was barred from Virginia for several years. The incident forecast emerging political tensions as Reconstruction ended, and African Americans lost their short-lived political influence., Transportation , After the relocation of the Courthouse to Princess Anne Courthouse in 1823, many of the county's dirt roads continued to intersect at the town. Timber and farm produce replaced tobacco as products shipped on to Norfolk. Proposed road improvements failed to materialize, and later construction of a canal linking the Lynnhaven River and Kempsville remained incomplete., The disruption of the Civil War halted an effort to revive the Kempsville Academy, prevented completion of the Kempsville Canal, and slowed efforts to build an improved roadway to Norfolk. The rail route connecting Norfolk to the new Virginia Beach resort in 1883 included a "Kempsville" stop at Euclid, one mile north of the "sleepy" town of Kempsville. , , Education , The private Kempsville Academy occupying the former jail structure achieved regional educational recognition by the 1840s. Academy officer William Roberts led a successful effort to win county support for a public school system in 1847, one of only a dozen in Virginia. The Academy building then became Kempsville's first public school building, although for white children only. Rolleston Hall near Kempsville was owned by former Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise. After the war, Wise sold the property to the Freedmen's Bureau and it became a school serving freed slaves., Agriculture , As depleted soil conditions and the lure of western lands led to a decline in Princess Anne's population, Kempsville farmers participated in agricultural reform societies. They displayed the fruits of their efforts and enjoyed ascension balloon rides at southeastern Virginia's first agricultural fair in 1852 at a farm on the western edge of Kempsville. After the Civil War, freed slaves settled nearby and worked as farmers, laborers and domestic servants., (captions) , Willis Hodges attending state constitutional convention in Richmond, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper February 15, 1868, African Americans settled on farms after the Civil War and found employment as farm laborers in the agricultural fields that surrounded Kempsville. Courtesy Virginia Wesleyan University Archives
Courtesy Virginia Wesleyan University Archives, Agriculture was the primary economic activity of the 19th-century for Kempsville and Princess Anne County. Irish potatoes are being planted in this image. Courtesy Virginia Wesleyan University Archives