Richmond Cemeteries

Exploring Richmond Virginia’s Historic Burial Grounds

Author: RyanSmith

  • The Charlottesville anniversary and the Monument Avenue commission report

    We approach the one-year anniversary of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville which left one dead, over thirty injured, and a nation scarred and seared. The purported prompt to the rally was the city’s decision to remove its Robert E. Lee equestrian monument (erected in 1924) from a public park. The horrifying events of…

  • Shockoe Cemetery’s stewards

    It was a common story – a vandal recently ransacked Shockoe Hill Cemetery, among several others, and stole a number of items — gravestones, interpretive markers, and military insignia. The story took a turn, however, when the Friends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery noticed that the items were missing in mid-June 2018. The Friends reviewed their…

  • Enrichmond, East End, and Style Weekly

    I got some news recently that I am passing along. The attempt by the Enrichmond Foundation to acquire Richmond’s East End Cemetery has moved along significantly. In legal terms, this notable African American cemetery is abandoned property, as its trustees have all died or disappeared. A legal advertisement of the court proceedings to transfer the property to…

  • Shockoe Hill Cemetery tour, 5/20

    On Sunday, May 20, I will be leading a tour of Shockoe Hill Cemetery at 2:00pm, showcasing the many excellent student projects from this past Spring semester. We have new revelations on Nannie Caskie (the big angel monument) as well as many other stories in the cemetery. Join us there?

  • HIST 201 podcasts – Spring 2018

    In preparation for the East End Cemetery Community Gathering on April 27, I am posting some of this semester’s student research projects here. Each one offers an in-depth look at a particular grave/individual in the region: J. E. Ferguson (? – 1859), barber, Barton Heights Cemetery. Podcast by Bruno Davila, Blier Smith, and Isaiah Tyler.…

  • Oakwood’s mortuary chapel

    Fascinating new piece by Selden Richardson on the c. 1890 Daubrenet mortuary chapel at Oakwood Cemetery, now threatened by time and decay, in the Shockoe Examiner. There’s been very few studies of such mortuary chapels around town, and this particular study is urgent.

  • East End Cemetery Community Gathering

    The University of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the Friends of East End Cemetery will be hosting an open community event on Friday, April 27, from 5:30 to 7:30pm. It will take place at the Robinson Theater at 2903 Q Street. All are invited, and pizza will be provided. The purpose of this community gathering…

  • Shockoe Hill Cemetery

    Fun piece in the Richmond Times-Dispatch by Bill Lohmann this week on the recent activity at Shockoe Hill Cemetery and the work of its Friends group. He highlights the new Daniel Norton marker and its celebration. The Friends have two more activities upcoming: at 2:00pm on February 4, the group will celebrate the life and…

  • Shockoe Bottom’s future

    From Michael Paul Williams in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (January 8, 2018), a lovely and thoughtful meditation on African American history and commemoration in Shockoe Bottom. Williams explores the possibilities for Richmond’s African Burial Ground and other sites in Shockoe in light of related public history projects in Washington, DC, and Fredericksburg and beyond.

  • Spring 2018 classes

    In the Spring 2018 semester, I will be teaching my cemeteries course again at VCU: HIST 201 The Art of Historical Detection – Richmond Cemeteries. It will enroll 125 students, mostly non-history majors. That means a few field trips and hopefully lots of new podcasts to post. Doug Winiarski at U.R. will also be offering…