Black History Driving Tour

James Alexander, also known as Jim Lewis, was a locally enslaved Black man who served as General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s “body servant” during the Civil War. During heavy flooding in January 1854, a canal boat with 45 passengers became stranded in the wild waters of the James River at Balcony Falls. Padget led four other men in a brave rescue effort. Unable to fight the current while attempting to rescue the last passenger, Padget tragically drowned. Balcony Falls is difficult to access unless you’re on the river. At the T-junction of US 501/Hwy 130, turn right onto US 501 south and drive two miles to the James River Overlook. This large gravel pull-off is about a quarter mile past the Amherst County sign. Walk to the southern edge of the pull-off and look down to see the falls far below.

This small school was Buena Vista’s only school for Black children from 1892 to 1957, and students from first through seventh grade were enrolled here. When it opened, the two-room building did not have electricity or plumbing. A central wood stove – fueled by wood stored in the brick outbuilding – provided heat. The school burned in 1915 but was rebuilt. Electricity, a sink, and a water fountain were later added, but the facility never had indoor bathrooms. A third room was added in 1926 due to increasing enrollment. The building has been recognized as a Virginia Historic Landmark. Article from The Herald at Southern Virginia University on Medium. Edward “Black Ned” Tarr was the first free Black man to own property west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Tarr’s blacksmith shop became a well-known landmark along the Great Wagon Road, which connected Philadelphia and the Carolinas. Route 11 roughly follows the path of the road through Virginia. A Righteous and Rascals of Rockbridge sidewalk paver at the Wells Fargo Plaza at the corner of Main and Nelson Streets in downtown Lexington commemorates Tarr. VMI History Professor Col. Turk McCleskey, gave a video lecture about Tarr at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in 2015. Those interred here include Harry Lee and Eliza Walker. Also buried here are Levi Miller and Jefferson “Jeff” Shields, two Black men who were forced to fight for the Confederacy. They were later lionized by Confederate heritage groups. After the war Shields became a notable mason and a leader in First Baptist Church. Veterans from both World Wars are also buried in the cemetery.

Ned Tarr, the Great Wagon Road & Timber Ridge Presbyterian Church After purchasing his freedom in Philadelphia in 1752, Tarr traveled south to the village of Timber Ridge north of Lexington. In 1753, he helped establish Timber Ridge Presbyterian Church, the area's oldest church, and the following year he purchased a 270-acre tract along Mill Creek. Built in 1855, this Greek-Revival brick building houses a private school at the junction of I-81 and Route 11.

The land was subsequently developed, and the remains from the cemetery were purportedly moved to Evergreen Cemetery. However, there is little documentation to support these claims. Evergreen Cemetery (Evergreen Place, formerly New Market Place) Funerals began at Evergreen Cemetery in 1880 after the closure of the original “Colored Cemetery” near the corner of Washington and Lewis Streets a short drive west. Recognized as the city's traditional Black cemetery, Evergreen Cemetery covers about 5 ½ acres and is maintained by the City of Lexington, which also maintains Oak Grove Cemetery (formerly Stonewall Jackson Cemetery) on Main Street. Its access road was renamed from New Market Place, site of a notable 1864 battle involving VMI cadets.

Knights of Pythias Hall (221 N Main St) – Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, and Count Basie’s Orchestra all performed inside this building, once dubbed the House of Fun. Completed in 1926, it was owned by a Black chapter of the Knights of Pythias fraternal organization. After World War II, the building housed the African American Floyd-Davidson Post No. 126 of the American Legion. Marked by its rusticated concrete block exterior and a stepped parapet, it was moved a short distance south in 2014 to accommodate the new VMI Aquatic Center. Three historical panels outside the building detail its evolving social use over the course of a century.

From the 1940s-1965, high school students traveled to Lexington to continue their education at Lylburn Downing High School. The once-segregated Lylburn Downing School opened in 1927, replacing the overcrowded Freedmen’s Bureau School (also known as Central School and Lexington Colored Graded School) on Randolph Street. Thanks to pressure from local Black parents and activists, Downing originally served grades one through nine, then later expanded to include a high school, first granting degrees in 1944. The newer building now houses Lylburn Downing Middle School. Born enslaved in 1862, Lylburn Downing attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and became a respected Presbyterian minister in Roanoke. A longtime civic leader, he was a passionate advocate for education for African Americans, serving on integrated statewide educational committees. His parents attended Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s Sunday School lessons at Lexington Presbyterian Church. The county-wide African American school named for Reverend Downing was built in 1927. It sits atop Diamond Street, next to Richardson Park, which was named for local mid-20th century civic leader and Scoutmaster Leroy Richardson.

This grand house at the top of Henry St was constructed in the Federal-style in the late 1820s for Jacob Fuller, a classical scholar and librarian at Washington College. John Randolph Tucker, a founder of Washington & Lee Law School, bought the property in 1872. He remodeled it in the Italianate style and named it Blandome. Harry Lee Walker, the co-owner of Walker and Wood Brothers Meat Market, and his wife Eliza Bannister Walker bought the house in 1917. In the summer they advertised their home as a vacation spot for Black travelers, with rooms in the house as well as cabins and cottages on the three-acre property. Closed to the public. You’ll find an article, slideshow, and video about Eliza Bannister Walker, a civic leader, social activist, and poet, on the RHS website. Franklin Tourist Home (9 Tucker St) – Owned by Zack and Arleana Franklin, this house near Blandome was regularly included in the Green Book. Famous musicians who played at Washington & Lee stayed here as did Black chauffeurs who dropped off their employers at the RE Lee Hotel. It served as a tourist home until 1952.

The Rockbridge Historical Society (RHS) maintains a virtual archive of informative Black history articles and videos. Many of them were created during the Historical Society’s Local Black History series, which kicked off in 2020 and continues today. Walker was noted to be “the most prosperous colored man in Lexington,” at the time of his death in 1906. ‘ Ancient Jane,’ an anonymous young woman whose remains were found behind the Rockbridge Historical Society, was re-interred here. The Rockbridge Historical Society website shares several informative articles and videos about Lexington’s African American school, including “ The Impact of Educators of Color in our Community Then and Now.” Rockbridge Historical Society Museum (101 E. Washington Street) Headquarters to the area’s oldest local history organization, the Rockbridge Historical Society Museum hosts permanent exhibits on social history across four centuries, as well as rotating exhibits on distinctive themes, and events. Integrated within its onsite displays, digital resources, and ongoing research are a number of artifacts and resources engaging Local Black Histories. Many are freely accessible at RockbridgeHistory.org and the RHS YouTube Channel. RHS also provides advice on genealogical research, and the sale of books and maps. Free to the public, and open by appointment: RHS@RockbridgeHistory.org.