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52-631: The names Blagden Alley and Naylor Court were derived from two 19th-century property owners, Thomas Blagden and Dickerson Nailor. After the Civil War, residential development in Washington, DC, expanded north from downtown to the Blagden Alley-Naylor Court area and attracted several prestigious, affluent residents, including Blanche Bruce , the first African-American to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate, whose historic house

104-546: A center for the study of civil rights in education. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 354 square miles (920 km ), of which 350 square miles (910 km ) is land and 3.9 square miles (10 km ) (1.1%) is water. Most of the county's streams drain into the Appomattox River, a tributary of the James River, but in the southeastern corner of the county, streams drain via

156-463: A collection of murals and mosaics, part of the D.C. Alley Museum, founded in 2015. One of the more notable murals is "LOVE" by Lisa Marie Thalhammer . Cafes, restaurants, and bars began opening in the alleys after 2010. A sandwich shop, SUNdeVICH , opened in Naylor Court in 2011, to citywide acclaim. The A&D Tavern opened at the 9th St. entrance to Naylor Court in late 2012. The owners of

208-481: A female householder with no husband present, and 34.90% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.20% under the age of 18, 23.50% from 18 to 24, 22.50% from 25 to 44, 19.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

260-517: A historical book about Bruce was authored by Lawrence Otis Graham , titled The True Story of America's First Black Dynasty: The Senator and the Socialite . Prince Edward County, Virginia Prince Edward County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia . As of the 2020 census , the population was 21,849. Its county seat is Farmville . Prince Edward County was formed in

312-701: A major party's nominating convention, with eight votes for vice president. The presidential nominee that year was Ohio's James A. Garfield , who narrowly won election over the Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock . In early 1889, politically connected blacks lobbied for Bruce to receive a Cabinet appointment in the Harrison Administration. Said one newspaper: "Bruce is a man of respectable ability, and has, perhaps, more than any other man of his race who has sat in Congress,

364-600: A policy promoted by the Byrd Organization led by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd , to avoid compliance with the Supreme Court ruling in Brown and its direction to integrate public schools. The state legislature (overwhelmingly dominated by whites since disfranchisement of African Americans in the state in the early 1900s) created a program of "tuition grants," which could be given to students so they could attend

416-517: A private school of their choice. In practice, this meant state support of all-white schools that were developed as a way to evade integration of public schools. These newly formed schools became known as the " segregation academies ". As a result of the Brown decision, and changes in Virginia laws, in 1959, the Board of Supervisors for Prince Edward County refused to appropriate any funds at all for

468-564: A range of specialized courses, such as business law, carpentry, agriculture and automotive technology. The Fuqua School , member of the Virginia Association of Independent Schools, is the primary K-12 alternative to the public schools for Prince Edward County, having been founded as a segregation academy . It, like each of the county's public schools, is located in Farmville. The private men's college Hampden-Sydney College

520-422: A residence designed by T. J. Collins . The D.C. Archives and Record Center moved into the former B.F. McCaully & Co. Tally-Ho Stables in Naylor Court in 1990, but the facility fell into disrepair over the next decade - the archives hold the original wills of Dolley Madison , Francis Scott Key , Frederick Douglass , Henry Adams , Woodrow Wilson , Alexander Graham Bell and Louis D. Brandeis . In 1996,

572-636: A school bus parked outside. Teachers and students did not have desks or blackboards. The school's requests for additional funds were denied by the all-white school board. On Monday, April 23, 1951, Barbara Johns , the sixteen-year-old niece of Reverend Vernon Johns , a civil rights activist, led students who staged a walkout protesting the conditions. The NAACP took up their case when the students agreed to petition for an integrated school rather than improved conditions at their black school. This vote passed by one count. Howard University -trained attorneys Spottswood W. Robinson and Oliver Hill filed suit against

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624-579: A strong supporter of the school in its early years. Fuqua remains the only large private school in Prince Edward County, but a few other smaller private schools have been opened in recent decades. The former R.R. Moton High School building in Farmville has been recognized as a nationally significant community landmark. In 1998, it was designated a National Historic Landmark . It now houses the Robert Russa Moton Museum ,

676-525: A then-new public school building on Marshall Street in Park View be named the Bruce School in his honor. In 1975, the Washington, D.C. residence of Bruce, was declared a National Historic Landmark and formally named The Blanche K. Bruce House. In October 1999, the U.S. Senate commissioned a portrait of Bruce. African-American Washington D.C. artist Simmie Knox was selected in 2000 to paint

728-536: A wealthy landowner of several thousand acres in the Mississippi Delta . He was appointed to the positions of Tallahatchie County registrar of voters and tax assessor before he won an election for sheriff in Bolivar County. He later was elected to other county positions, including tax collector and supervisor of education, while he also edited a local newspaper . He became sergeant-at-arms for

780-500: Is adjacent to the south entrance to Blagden Alley. Many African-Americans migrated to Washington during this time and came to live in the alley itself in simple dwellings, including lean-tos, and shanties. Local residents saw the alley dwellings as a nuisance, and Congress passed a law banning their construction in 1892. In the early 1930s, reformers led by Eleanor Roosevelt sought to eradicate deplorable living conditions in alleys citywide and used Blagden Alley as their model. Much of

832-595: The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. At that point, county and state supervisors gave in rather than risk prosecution and prison, ending the era of Massive Resistance in Virginia. The same summer, following the Griffith ruling, 16 students from Queens College (New York) ventured south to Prince Edward County during their "Student Help Project" Program, a precursor to the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer . The students served as teachers to

884-538: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revoked the tax-free status of non-profit discriminatory private schools. Prince Edward Academy was one of the latter and lost its tax-exempt status in 1978. In 1986, the school began to accept all students regardless of race or ethnicity. It was renamed the Fuqua School in 1992, in honor of J. B. Fuqua , a wealthy businessman who was born in Farmville and was

936-546: The Mississippi State Senate in 1870. In February 1874, Bruce was elected to the U.S. Senate, the second African American to serve in the upper house of Congress. On February 14, 1879, Bruce presided over the U.S. Senate , becoming the first African American (and the only former slave) to have done so. In 1880, James Z. George , a Confederate Army veteran and member of the Democratic Party,

988-650: The Norfolk and Western (N&W). In 1982, it became part of the current Norfolk Southern Railway system. Due to the high cost of maintaining the High Bridge over the Appomattox River, the line through Farmville was downgraded and eventually abandoned, in favor of the Farmville Belt Line , which had been built on a more direct line between Burkeville and Pamplin City, as had originally been envisioned in

1040-496: The Tidewater and Western Railroad , but was dismantled in the early 20th century. Prince Edward County is the source of Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County , a case incorporated into Brown v. Board of Education , which ultimately resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court decision that racially segregated public schools were unconstitutional. This ultimately led to the desegregation of all U.S. public schools. Among

1092-657: The Virginia Colony in 1754 from Amelia County . It was named for Prince Edward , second son of Frederick, Prince of Wales , and younger brother of George III of the United Kingdom . The original county seat housed the courthouse and was called Prince Edward Courthouse; it is now the village of Worsham . Near the headwaters of the Appomattox River , the Town of Farmville was formed in 1798 and

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1144-597: The Civil War. Bruce attended Oberlin College for two years in Oberlin, Ohio . He next worked as a steamboat porter on the Mississippi River . In 1864, he moved to Hannibal, Missouri , where he established a school for black children. In 1868, during Reconstruction , Bruce relocated to Bolivar near Cleveland in northwestern Mississippi, at which he purchased a Mississippi Delta plantation. He became

1196-519: The County School Board. It effectively closed all public schools rather than integrate them. The Prince Edward County Public Schools remained closed for five years. While other Virginia and some southern school systems resisted integration, Prince Edward County was the only school district in the country to resort to such extreme measures. During the interruption in access to Prince Edward County's public schools, white parents established

1248-691: The Nottoway River into the Chowan River and thence into Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. The highest point in the county is the top of Leighs Mountain at 714 feet above sea level. As of the census of 2000, there were 19,720 people, 6,561 households, and 4,271 families residing in the county. The population density was 56 people per square mile (22 people/km ). There were 7,527 housing units at an average density of 21 units per square mile (8.1 units/km ). The racial makeup of

1300-507: The Prince Edward Foundation. It founded a series of private schools restricted to white children. These schools were supported by the tuition grants from the state and tax credits from the county. Collectively they became known as " Prince Edward Academy ", one of Virginia's "segregation academies". Prince Edward Academy operated as the de facto school system and enrolled K-12 students at a number of facilities throughout

1352-612: The Queens College Department of Special Collections and Archives. As a result of Prince Edward County's actions, some students missed part or all of their education for five years. This group has been called the "Lost Generation" of Prince Edward County's youth. Even after the re-opening of the public schools, Prince Edward Academy remained segregated. Many of the segregated academies in Virginia eventually closed; others changed their missions and eliminated discriminatory policies. Some yielded on integration only after

1404-669: The alleys were rezoned from residential to commercial. New development accelerated with the opening of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center nearby in 2003. Blagden Alley was home to a thriving arts scene in the late 1990s, centered around the Signal 66 Art Space and the Planet Vox TV studio. Fight Club DC , an indoor skate park and music venue, was in Blagden Alley in the mid-2000s. The alley walls and garage doors display

1456-428: The building restored a faded sign on the building for "Julius Viedt Jr. Groceries." La Colombe Coffee Roasters opened its first D.C. location in Blagden Alley in 2014. Michelin-starred restaurant The Dabney opened in 2015, and the cocktail bar Columbia Room from award-winning mixologist Derek Brown opened in 2016. Blanche Bruce Blanche Kelso Bruce (March 1, 1841 – March 17, 1898)

1508-524: The county school system on behalf of the students. As in other Southern states , since the turn of the twentieth century black voters in Virginia had been largely disenfranchised , which resulted in their lacking political power. In Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County , a state court rejected the suit, agreeing with defense attorney T. Justin Moore that Virginia was vigorously equalizing conditions in black and white schools. The state verdict

1560-419: The county was 62.17% White , 35.82% Black or African American , 0.18% Native American , 0.55% Asian , 0.10% Pacific Islander , 0.23% from other races , and 0.95% from two or more races. 0.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 6,561 households, out of which 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.50% were married couples living together, 14.90% had

1612-607: The county. From 1959 to 1964, black students in Prince Edward County had to go to school elsewhere or forgo their education altogether. Some got schooling by living with relatives in nearby communities or at makeshift schools the community created in church basements. Others were educated out of state with funds raised by groups such as the Quakers . In the final year (1963–1964), the NAACP-sponsored Prince Edward Free School picked up some of

Blagden Alley-Naylor Court Historic District - Misplaced Pages Continue

1664-532: The couple traveled to Europe for a four-month honeymoon. Their only child, Roscoe Conkling Bruce , was born in 1879. He was named for U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling of New York , Bruce's mentor in the Senate. One newspaper wrote that Bruce did not approve of the designation "colored men." He often said, "I am a Negro and proud of it." In July 1898, the District of Columbia public school trustees ordered that

1716-497: The five cases decided under Brown , Davis was the only one initiated by students, after they walked out in 1951 to protest overcrowding and poor conditions at their segregated school under Jim Crow laws . The all-black R.R. Moton High School, named after Robert Russa Moton , a noted educator from neighboring Amelia County , did not have a gymnasium, cafeteria, or teachers' restrooms. Due to overcrowding, three plywood buildings had been erected, and some students had to take classes in

1768-695: The majority constructed in the 19th century, including three houses dating back to the 1830s and 40s. In addition to the Blanche K. Bruce House , the work of several notable architects were identified, including Queen Anne style brickwork on buildings designed by Nicholas T. Haller, the Romanesque Revival style of Thomas Franklin Schneider and Paul J. Pelz , the Classical Revival style of B. Stanley Simmons and Albert H. Beers, and also

1820-432: The many African-American children who had been denied an education. These volunteers worked with the students to prepare them to resume classes when schools reopened that fall. The volunteers from Queens College were housed among leading African-American families in the county that summer. They used local churches as school houses during the week. Many of the students involved in the program have since donated their archives to

1872-671: The neighborhood suffered damage in the 1968 Washington, D.C. riots , and the alley dwellings were largely abandoned. In 1990, the Blagden Alley Association of local homeowners submitted an application to the District's Historic Preservation Review Board to have Blagden Alley and Naylor Court designated as a historic district. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 16, 1990. The listing included 156 contributing buildings , with

1924-539: The planning for the Southside Railroad. Another railroad formerly served Farmville. In the late 19th century, the narrow gauge Farmville and Powhatan Railroad was built from Farmville through Cumberland , Powhatan , and Chesterfield counties to reach Bermuda Hundred on the navigable portion of the James River near its confluence with the Appomattox River at City Point . It was later renamed

1976-404: The population were below the poverty line , including 24.4 percent of those under age 18 and 15.9 percent of those ages 65 and over. Persons below poverty in the year of 2007 were 20.3 percent compared to 9.9 percent of Virginia. Native Americans accounted for 71.8 percent in 2000. There is a relatively large number of children between the ages of 12 and 17. This age group accounts for 27 percent of

2028-589: The portrait, which was unveiled in the Capitol in 2001. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Blanche Bruce on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans . A historical highway marker marking Bruce's birthplace at the intersection of highway 360 and 623 near Green Bay, Prince Edward County, Virginia , was unveiled by the African American Heritage Preservation Foundation on March 1, 2006. In June 2006,

2080-503: The poverty. Unemployment accounted for 10.3 percent in Prince Edward County compared to 7.2 in all of Virginia. Prince Edward County Public Schools, the only school division in the county, operates the following schools, all located on the same multi-school campus in the Town of Farmville: Also located within the multi-school campus is the Prince Edward County Career & Technical Education Center, offering

2132-406: The respect of those with whom he served. Bruce served by appointment as the District of Columbia recorder of deeds from 1890 to 1893. A Philadelphia newspaper reported his appointment in 1890, but persistent claims that his salary was $ 30,000 a year are not substantiated by any primary records. He also served on the District of Columbia Board of Trustees of Public Schools from 1892 to 1895. He

Blagden Alley-Naylor Court Historic District - Misplaced Pages Continue

2184-560: The slack by educating some of the black youth who had been unable to leave the county to attend public schools elsewhere. In 1963, federal district courts ordered the public schools to open; Prince Edward County appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ruling in Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County , the Court unanimously agreed in May 1964 that Prince Edward County's actions violated

2236-403: Was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 95.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 31,301, and the median income for a family was $ 38,509. Males had a median income of $ 29,487 versus $ 21,659 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 14,510. About 14.6 percent of families and 18.9 percent of

2288-647: Was a participant in the March 5, 1897 meeting to celebrate the memory of Frederick Douglass and the American Negro Academy led by Alexander Crummell . He was appointed as Register of the Treasury a second time in 1897 by President William McKinley and served until his death from diabetes complications in 1898. On June 24, 1878, Bruce married Josephine Beall Willson (1853–1923), a fair-skinned socialite of Cleveland , Ohio, amid great publicity;

2340-551: Was an American politician who represented Mississippi as a Republican in the United States Senate from 1875 to 1881. Born into slavery in Prince Edward County, Virginia , he went on to become the first elected African-American senator to serve a full term ( Hiram R. Revels , also of Mississippi , was the first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate but did not complete a full term). He

2392-596: Was appealed to the U.S. District Court , which ruled for the plaintiffs, a decision the school district and the state appealed. Subsequently, it was one of five cases incorporated into Brown v. Board of Education , the landmark case in which the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954 ruled that segregated public schools were unconstitutional. In 1956, the Virginia General Assembly passed a series of laws (the Stanley Plan ) to implement Massive Resistance ,

2444-474: Was appointed as Recorder of Deeds in Washington D.C. during Benjamin Harrison 's presidency. His home, the Blanche K. Bruce House , is a National Historic Landmark. Bruce was born into slavery in 1841 in Prince Edward County , Virginia , near Farmville to Polly Bruce, an African-American woman who served as a domestic slave. His father was his master, Pettis Perkinson, a white Virginia planter . Bruce

2496-596: Was combined with the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad and the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad to form Mahone's Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O), which extended 400 miles across the southern tier of Virginia from Norfolk on Hampton Roads to Bristol . After the Financial Panic of 1873 , the AM&;O fell into default on its debt; it was purchased in the early 1880s by new owners who renamed it

2548-487: Was elected to succeed Bruce. After his Senate term expired, Bruce remained in Washington, D.C., secured a succession of Republican patronage jobs and stumped for Republican candidates across the country. He acquired a large townhouse and summer home, and presided over black high society. At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago , Bruce became the first African American to win any votes for national office at

2600-541: Was heavily damaged during the American Civil War . The High Bridge played a key role during Confederate General Robert E. Lee 's final retreat from Petersburg to Appomattox Courthouse , where the surrender to Union General Ulysses S. Grant took place in April 1865. After the Civil War, under the leadership of former Confederate General William "Billy" Mahone , the Southside Railroad was rebuilt. In 1870, it

2652-567: Was incorporated in 1912. The county seat was moved from Worsham to Farmville in 1871. In the 1850s, the Southside Railroad between Petersburg and Lynchburg was built through Farmville between Burkeville and Pamplin City . The route, which was subsidized by a contribution from Farmville, required an expensive crossing of the Appomattox River slightly downstream which became known as the High Bridge . The Southside Railroad

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2704-415: Was treated comparatively well by his father, who educated him together with a legitimate half-brother. When Bruce was young, he played with his half-brother. One source claims that his father legally freed Blanche and arranged for an apprenticeship so he could learn a trade. In an 1886 newspaper interview, however, Bruce says that he gained his freedom by moving to Kansas as soon as hostilities broke out in

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