Completion of Improvements At Historic Woodland

08.2026

The cemetery where the remains of two of Richmond’s most renown African Americans—Arthur Ashe, Jr. and Reverend John Jasper—had been long neglected. Established in the Jim Crow Era, Woodland Cemetery on Magnolia Road was the final resting place for more than 30,000 souls. By the 21st century, after years of neglect, the cemetery had become overgrown with vegetation and many grave markers damaged by vandalism. And much of the site had become an illegal dump site.

In 2020, Henrico County began working with the Woodland Restoration Foundation, community partners and volunteers to clean, clear and restore the cemetery. Over the past six years, more than two-thirds of the property has been cleared of overgrowth and several thousand grave sites have been recovered.