Washington Park Founded in 1868 By Emancipated Blacks

by Mariah Williams 11.2025

Rising above the trees like a quiet sentinel, the conspicuous blue water tower watches over North Avenue. On sunny days, it gleams against the sky, its curved steel catching the rays of sunlight. It’s a fixture in this part of  Richmond’s Northside. The irony is its proximity to a neighborhood that, according to Brenda Dabney Nichols, author of “African Americans of Henrico County,” did not have running water until 1975. That neighborhood is Washington Park, an historic Black community that emerged shortly after the Civil War. 

A full twenty years before Lewis Ginter began purchasing land to develop America’s first street car suburbs, Washington Park was settled by emancipated slaves who sought to build their own independent and self-reliant community. They bought land, established schools, and erected churches. St. John Baptist, the neighborhood’s oldest church, was founded in 1868. Today, while Washington Park’s beginnings remain mostly obscure for those who live outside of the community, for its current residents it is a source of great pride.

“We had just two ways to enter the neighborhood back then (when she was a child),” says Zanthia Mathis, a former Washington Park resident. Her face lights up as she recounts her early memories of “The Park” where she moved with her parents as a young child. 

The history of communities like Washington Park often go untold, obscured by intentional efforts to erase them from collective memory, and through exclusionary development policies. Washington Park has remained steadfast. But as Richmond undergoes an effort to rewrite the rules that shape how the city grows as part of  the Code Refresh, it brings questions about how to balance equitable growth, historic preservation, and neighborhood identity. 

“We're in a neighborhood that, for a lot of different reasons (real estate) values have stayed very low,” says Anne Soffee, a current Washington Park resident and real estate broker. “We are further north, so we're further away from the walkable coffee shops and restaurants, and further away from downtown. Some of the houses are on the small side. So as a rule, our values have stayed low and this has made us very attractive to builders, flippers, landlords, and all kinds of investors.”

Over the years, she and other residents of Washington Park have been part of efforts to protect their community from institutional buyers and to preserve the historic character of Washington Park as proposed developments threatened to disrupt the neighborhood’s very fabric. 

“The neighborhood has on several occasions banded together to protest, with varying levels of success, For example, special use permits in the neighborhood for people who want to build over-sized structures, structures that don't conform to required setbacks, or lot requirements,” Anne says.

The implications of the Code Refresh for an historic neighborhood like Washington Park is not just about maintaining facades and historic architecture, it is also about  acknowledging a long history of racism, discrimination, and inequity in Richmond’s development policy that have disproportionately impacted Black people and Black communities. When Washington Park was annexed by Richmond, first in 1914 and then in 1942, it became a part of a city determined to maintain residential segregation. 

Beyond federal policies like redlining, which was a lending practice designed to prevent communities of color from receiving investment, often leading to economic deterioration and a significant wealth gap, the city of Richmond codified segregation into law by using exclusionary zoning policies. In 1924 after the Supreme Court ruled race-based zoning unconstitutional, Richmond adopted the state’s “Racial Integrity Act,” which prohibited residents from living in a neighborhood where they were not allowed to marry a member of the majority population. When the Courts ruled that to be unconstitutional, restrictive covenants and real estate practices continued to reinforce the city’s residential segregation. 

Even amidst segregation, Washington Park remained an example of a Black community committed to building. In 1914, Reverend Archie Kent started Kent’s Temple Baptist, later renamed First Baptist. The church still stands in the neighborhood on Cheatwood Avenue today. The Washington Park School, the only school for Black children, operated until it closed its doors in 1920. In 1921, Robert Long opened The Market Inn, first as an ice cream shop and then as a nightclub, which became a prominent Greenbook destination for Black entertainers like the Shirelles, Redd Foxx and the Drifters. Washington Park was also home to prominent leaders like Dr. Roy West, Richmond’s second African-American mayor. 

But it's not only this rich history that Washington Park residents work hard to protect. It is also about protecting community members from rising housing costs and subsequent gentrification. Although Washington Park’s age demographics are changing, seniors still are the predominant population and are most susceptible to displacement. 

While some are apprehensive about the Code Refresh and the changes that may come with it, others see it as a potential opportunity to add amenities to the neighborhood. “Apart from facilities, it would be nice to have some kind of a small business, like Stir Crazy or something. A coffee shop, you know, or places to sit outside,” says Charmaygne, a Washington Park resident who moved into the neighborhood in 1993. 

Change of any kind can be difficult. But it is also inevitable. The question becomes how the Code Refresh balances these changes with affordability, sustainability,  and preservation as it works to honor the past,  meet residents’ present needs, and manage growth for the future.  

In the meantime, residents like Anne remain optimistic about Washington’s Park future and engagement from residents. “One thing I would love to see in the neighborhood is more participation in the civic association, by legacy residents and by new residents, too. We’ve had a few people who moved into the neighborhood, come to one association (meeting), and they never come again.”

Like the blue water tower that rises above the trees, Washington Park also stands as a quiet sentinel — a reminder of endurance. Its history tells a story of people who built something lasting out of little more than faith, determination, and community. As Richmond rewrites its codes and re-imagines its future, the question is whether that future will rise with the same purpose and be one rooted in equity, memory, and care for new residents as well as for those who have long called Washington Park home. 

In a changing city, Washington Park is a living legacy of resilience, connection, and hope for what community can still mean. 

To learn more about Washington Park, read “African Americans of Henrico County” by Brenda Dabney Nichols.