Here’s a roundup of news briefs from around Southwest and Southside. Send yours for possible inclusion to news@cardinalnews.org.
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State announces 6 new historical markers
The Virginia Department of Historic Resources has announced six new historical markers across the state, including one in Washington County and another in Rockbridge County.
The Virginia Board of Historic Resources approved the markers last month. Following approval, it can take eight months or more before a new marker is ready for installation. The marker’s sponsor covers the $2,880 manufacturing costs for a new sign.
Here are descriptions from the state of the people, places and events highlighted by the new markers:
In Washington County, the Glade Spring School served Black children in grades one through seven starting in 1922. Support for the building’s construction came from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, which was created in 1917 after businessman Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington, head of Tuskegee Institute, partnered in a school-building campaign for Black students across the rural South. In 1965, Glade Spring closed after the county desegregated its public schools. The building was then used as a community center.
The former town of Cedar Grove in Rockbridge County became a transportation hub and market center by the 1830s. Located at the head of small-boat navigation on the Maury River, the community grew along with the region’s iron industry. When water conditions permitted, enslaved and free workers used river boats known as bateaux to transport iron from local furnaces and forges, as well as flour and other goods, to Lynchburg and Richmond. Cedar Grove was served by two toll roads and included mercantile stores, a gristmill, warehouses and a post office. The town was abandoned after the local iron industry declined in the later 1800s.
A marker in Virginia Beach will highlight the life and work of Willis A. Hodges, who was born in Princess Anne County in 1815. Before the Civil War, he moved between New York and Virginia and became an outspoken abolitionist. In 1847, he cofounded the weekly antislavery newspaper the Ram’s Horn in Brooklyn. After the war, Hodges returned to Princess Anne, where he opened a school and became a Republican Party leader during the Reconstruction era. He was the first Black man to win election in Princess Anne County and served in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1867-68.
In Essex County, the Woman’s Baptist District Missionary Convention opened the Old Folks Home around 1909 to provide care for impoverished elderly Black people. Funded by churches, individual donors and timber sales, the home operated for approximately 30 years. It exemplified a nationwide social reform that began in the late 1800s in which charitable groups, often led by women, established residences for the indigent elderly as alternatives to public almshouses.
Paul Sullivan rented a house in Fairfax County to Theodore R. Freeman Jr. in 1965. As part of the lease, Sullivan attempted to transfer a Little Hunting Park membership to Freeman. However, the LHP board denied the transfer in part because the Freeman family was African American. Sullivan’s membership was also revoked by the board after he launched a spirited campaign of protest. In 1966, both the Sullivan and Freeman families filed a lawsuit, but lost several appeals. In December 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Sullivan v. LHP that excluding African Americans was a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and thus constituted illegal housing discrimination. The case, along with the Fair Housing Act of 1968, led to the desegregation of recreational clubs in communities across the United States.
Built in 1889, the pin-connected Pratt truss bridge now known as the John G. Lewis Memorial Bridge was installed for service in 1890 on Virginia’s Leesburg and Alexandria Turnpike, present-day Virginia 7, in Loudoun County. In 1932, the bridge was relocated to Featherbed Lane over Catoctin Creek. Standing at 159 feet, the structure is among the longest metal truss bridges still in use in the state.
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Danville offers free Youth Police Academy
Youth ages 9 to 17 are invited to participate in Danville’s annual Youth Police Academy.
The free summer camp runs from 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from June 10 to 27. Breakfast and lunch are provided. Parents must provide transportation to and from the Danville Police Department.
The academy will feature awards, speakers, demonstrations, physical fitness activities and more.
For the participant application, click here. For Youth Police Academy leader applications, click here. Leaders must have previously graduated from the Youth Police Academy to be considered for this role.
Space is limited to the first 35 participants.
For any questions, or special cases, contact Cpl. Sylvia Brooks at brookss@danvilleva.gov or 434-797-8898 ext. 4.
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Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation announces $684,000 in grants
The Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation awarded more than $684,000 in grants during its fall grant cycle, it announced recently.
The foundation received a record 95 applications for grant funding in the fall, according to a news release. The selection process resulted in $492,000 awarded in competitive grants and more than $190,000 in recommendations from the foundation’s donor-advised funds.
Competitive grants ranged from $24,000 to $1,000, with an average grant of $6,300. Nonprofit organizations serving Lynchburg and the counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell are eligible to apply.
The next grant deadline is March 15.
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JA of Southwest Virginia to participate in national workforce initiative
Junior Achievement of Southwest Virginia is one of five JA offices across the U.S. participating in a $1.9 million federal grant to create a workforce pathways program for youth.
The award from the U.S. Department of Labor is part of its Workforce Pathways for Youth demonstration initiative, according to a news release from Junior Achievement. JA programs in Southwest Virginia, California, Indiana, New York and Pennsylvania will create workforce readiness resources for residents between the ages of 14 and 21, primarily in rural areas. The resources will address issues including soft-skill development, career exploration, job readiness and work-based learning opportunities.
As part of the workforce initiative, JA USA is launching several initiatives focused on this young adult space, covering issues including coaching, credentialing and resume development, the release said.
