Farmville in Prince Edward County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Free Blacks of Israel Hill
Photographed by Craig Swain, February 27, 2010
1. Free Blacks of Israel Hill Marker
Inscription.
Free Blacks of Israel Hill. . Just to the west lies Israel Hill, settled in 1810-1811 by approximately ninety formerly enslaved persons who received freedom and 350 acres from Judith Randolph under the will of her husband, Richard Randolph, cousin of Thomas Jefferson. These "Israelites" and other free African Americans worked as farmers, craftspeople, and Appomattox River boatmen; some labored alongside whites for equal wages and defended their rights in court. The family of early settler Hercules White bought and sold real estate in Farmville and joined with white citizens to found the town's first Baptist church in 1836. Israel Hill remained a vigorous black community into the twentieth century.
Just to the west lies Israel Hill, settled in 1810-1811 by approximately ninety formerly enslaved persons who received freedom and 350 acres from Judith Randolph under the will of her husband, Richard Randolph, cousin of Thomas Jefferson. These "Israelites" and other free African Americans worked as farmers, craftspeople, and Appomattox River boatmen; some labored alongside whites for equal wages and defended their rights in court. The family of early settler Hercules White bought and sold real estate in Farmville and joined with white citizens to found the town's first Baptist church in 1836. Israel Hill remained a vigorous black community into the twentieth century.
Erected 2009 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number I 14-a.)
78° 25.354′ W. Marker is in Farmville, Virginia, in Prince Edward County. It is at the intersection of West 3rd Street (Business U.S. 15) and Layne Street (County Route 695), on the right when traveling east on West 3rd Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Farmville VA 23901, 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 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: A New Birth of Freedom (approx. 1.7 miles away); a different marker also named Farmville Female Seminary Association (approx. 1.7 miles away);
Another marker is no longer nearby. Farmville Female Seminary Association (was approx. 1.7 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Credits. This page was last revised on February 3, 2020. It was originally submitted on February 28, 2010, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 31,378 times since then and 1,592 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on February 28, 2010, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.
