Preferred Citation

Richmond Slave Trail Commission and African Burial Ground materials collection, 2002-2006, Collection # M 396, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Melinda Kate Callaway and David Herring, April 2009.

Biographical / Historical Information

The Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission was established by Richmond City Council in 1998 with the intent of preserving the history of enslavement in Richmond. This work has, thus far, been carried out through a number of projects between 2003 and 2011. The majority of these projects are centered around archaeological assessments, the discovery of architectural artifacts, a reconciliation statute, the development of Richmond Slave Trail Markers, and more.

Scope and Contents

The Richmond Slave Trail Commission and African Burial Ground materials collection contains documents collected by Melinda Kay Callaway (a VCU history undergraduate who worked in Special Collections and Archives for one semester on a project funded by the VCU History Department and Slave Trail Commission) and materials donated by David Herring, Executive Director of Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods (ACORN) in 2009.

The collection consists of materials around the 2006 Richmond Slave Trail Commission project to conduct an archaeological assessment of Lumpkin's Slave Jail, and the work leading up to that assessment. This work resulted in a Preliminary Archaeological Investigation from 2006, which includes the research design; testing results; analysis of soil stratigraphy, site location, and artifacts; conclusions and recommendations; references; and appendices on primary source documents, the site inventory form, and the artifact inventory. The archaeological assessment completed in 2010 is not part of this collection.

This collection also includes information and photos of Winfree Cottage, a two-room 19th century cottage that once belonged to Emily Winfree. Emily Winfree was a free Black woman who was formerly enslaved by a wealthy Manchester enslaver and landowner. The cottage was slated for demolition, but in 2002, ACORN stepped in and saved it.

Lastly, the collection contains some maps and history about the Shockoe Bottom African American Burial Ground, enslavement in Virginia, and Gabriel's Rebellion.

Arrangement

Collection folders are arranged chronologically, followed by a VHS tape.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• African American cemeteries -- Virginia -- Richmond
• Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods
• Callaway, Melinda Kate
• Herring, David
• Historic preservation -- Virginia -- Richmond
• Historic sites -- Virginia -- Richmond
• Lumpkin's Jail Site (Richmond, Va.)
• Richmond (Va.) -- Antiquities
• Richmond (Va.). City Council. Slave Trail Commission
• Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground (Richmond, Va.)
• Slave cemeteries -- Virginia -- Richmond