As the birthplace or adopted home of many African American artists, activists, and achievers whose contributions have shaped and strengthened the nation, Virginia is a veritable treasure trove of Black history.
From Lynchburg-born astronaut Leland Melvin, to pioneering civil rights attorney and son of Richmond Oliver Hill, to Olympic gold medalist and Virginia Beach’s own Gabby Douglas, to Grammy-winning producers/musicians/Hampton Roads natives Missy Elliott and Pharrell Williams, the state is well-known for its plethora of homegrown changemakers.
But did you know that Jackson Ward, the historically Black community in the Commonwealth’s capital city, served as an early incubator of Black brilliance and excellence, whose impact can still be seen and felt in the city today?
Here, we review the historic singularities and contemporary significance of aspects of Jakcson Ward’s legacy.
Entrepreneurship & Economic Development

Photo Credit: Big Orange Frame
You may have have heard Jackson Ward described as “Black Wall Street” and the “cradle of Black capitalism." These monikers point to the community’s reputation as a hotbed of Black business in the late 19th century through the first half of the following century.
Jackson Ward was home to more than 100 businesses owned by African Americans. Of the six chartered, African American owned banks in Richmond between 1889 and 1929, all had a presence in the neighborhood. The Ward was also home to the first Black bank to be chartered in America, the Savings Bank of the Grand Fountain United Order of True Reformers.
Businesses including pharmacies, insurance companies, law offices, and funeral homes flourished in Jackson Ward, and fomented generations of successful Black entrepreneurs. George O. Brown was the very picture of one such enterprising person: Brown was born enslaved, but by 1899 had become a trained photographer and opened a studio in Jackson Ward. The family-run operation provided African American Richmonders “portraits that please” until the 1960s. Businesses like Brown’s also bolstered the economic development of the area, and contributed to a rising Black middle class who bought homes, a key metric of personal and family wealth building.
Today, the JWC Foundation is the continuation of this legacy. A membership-based Black business incubator and resources hub, the Jackson Ward Collective was co-founded in 2020 by Black business owners Rasheeda Creighton, Kelli Lemon, and Melody Short. The group provides resources and hosts events in order to help entrepreneurs "learn, grow, and own" in the Black community.
Inspiring Architecture

Widely-circulated photos of the stately homes on historic Jackson Ward’s “Quality Row” are visual evidence of the economic prosperity and social mobility of the community’s Black elite in the early 20th century. Serial entrepreneur and the first known woman bank president Maggie Walker, for example, resided on the Row.
But Quality Row –the forerunner of East Leigh Street – was just one feature of the Ward’s striking historic architectural history. Not only was Jackson Ward home to the second-largest collection of decorative wrought iron detailing outside New Orleans, it was also the training ground of architects whose work transformed the built environment of Black Richmond.
Spotlight: Charles Russell
One such architect, Charles Russell, was born in Jackson Ward in 1875. Russell learned carpentry at Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), graduating in 1899. After teaching carpentry and completing an architectural apprenticeship at Booker T. Washington’s Tuskegee Institute, he returned home to Jackson Ward. There, he would serve as Richmond’s first resident Black architect, one of the first licensed Black architects in the state of Virginia, and as an instructor at Virginia Union University.
Russell’s designs morphed Jackson Ward from a mainly residential neighborhood into a booming business sector of Black Richmond. His first commission was Maggie Walker’s famed three-story St. Luke’s Penny Savings Bank building, constructed at First and Marshall Streets in 1910. Russell’s trademark designs were multipurpose buildings that showed his creativity and adaptability—often including a ground-floor business, living quarters above, and a flex space that could be used as an auditorium or banquet hall. The design style, conceived by Russell and his colleagues in Jackson Ward, was quickly taken up by architects around the country.
Many of the dozens of buildings Russell designed have been lost to time and neglect. However, a mansion he designed, located at 508 St. James Street in Jackson Ward, still stands. Russell designed the palatial, colonial revival style home as the principal residence of Dr. William C. Hughes and his family in 1915.
After Hughes’ death in 1952, the house passed from family ownership. For the next fifteen years, it housed the only school for blind Black people in Virginia, but by 2013, the property landed on the city’s imminent danger list, at risk of demolition due to its extreme disrepair. Historic Richmond intervened to save the home and recommended it for purchase to historic preservationist Zarina Fazaldin, who had restored more than two dozen homes in historically Black Richmond communities.
Fazaldin completed a total overhaul of the home in 2023. The renovation managed to preserve much of its character and some of its original elements, like the gleaming oak wood floors found throughout the first level of the home. The home now contains several apartments, amping up Jackson Ward’s stock of affordable housing.
Go Deeper: To learn more about Jackson Ward’s built environment and immerse yourself in its rich history, consider booking a “Walking the Ward” tour, hosted by Jackson Ward native and radio personality Gary Flowers.
Entertainment & Dining

No survey of Jackson Ward’s history would be complete without mention of its shimmering days as the “Harlem of the South,” when it was considered an East Coast nexus of entertainment and recreation by Black Americans—pulsing with Black creativity, culture, and cool in the middle of segregation-era Virginia.
These were the glory days of The Hippodrome, when the art deco-style performing arts theatre on Second Street hosted the likes of Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, and Redd Foxx. A succession of Black-owned hotels, restaurants, and cafes bloomed in Jackson Ward during these years. Central among them was the Eggleston Hotel, which sheltered celebrities like jazz composer and Harlem Renaissance darling Duke Ellington when his orchestra’s tour came to Virginia.
Neverette Eggleston, Sr., a former country club chef and restaurant manager, had in 1942 transformed the Miller Hotel into an elegant establishment bearing his name, exclusively serving Black lodgers. Although the hotel no longer stands, its legacy lives on thanks to a historical marker and the Eggleston Plaza apartment complex that has taken its former plot.
There is no shortage of entertainment and dining options in modern-day Jackson Ward. The Hippodrome is now a multifunctional entertainment venue, replete with a herringbone-pattern dance floor in its historic theatre and both private and public dining spaces.
Those craving the comfort of soul food may head to Mama J’s or Big Herm’s Kitchen for can’t-miss deliciousness, especially flavorful fried fish. Get ready to slurp at Cheddar Jackson, a neighborhood staple that offers a series of soups and craft sandwiches. Urban Hang Suite, dubbed a “social cafe” by owner Kelli Lemon, is the perfect spot for a coffee and conversations, or uncork a bottle and share some tapas at Penny's Wine Shop.
Hungry for more? Here's a full list of Black-owned spots, compiled by the Richmond Black Restaurant Experience.
Jackson Ward Leaders

Trailblazers like Maggie Walker and newspaper editor John Mitchell, Jr. dominate popular knowledge about the Black leaders who emanated from Jackson Ward. While their accomplishments merit continued celebration, there are many lesser-known individuals whose contributions changed the course of American history.
- James E. Jackson was the son of one of Richmond’s first Black pharmacists, whose family home and pharmacy were located in Jackson Ward. As a young man, Jackson co-founded the Southern Negro Youth Congress, an organization that eventually became the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, whose pivotal Freedom Rides and sit-ins during the 1960s pushed for progress and racial justice. Through his work with the Youth Congress in the late 1930s, Jackson advocated for Richmond’s Black tobacco factory workers, who led a strike for better pay and working conditions. The effort prevailed, netting the workers more pay and shorter work days. Jackson went on to become a national leader in the Communist Party, spending five years as a fugitive after he and others were indicted under the Smith Act, at the height of the anti-communist McCarthy era. When Jackson emerged, he was convicted and sentenced to prison, but the Supreme Court overturned his conviction before his jail time began. Once again a free man, Jackson spent the next five decades in various aspects of national leadership for the communist party in the U.S., and co-founded with his wife Esther Cooper Jackson “Freedomways Journal,” a publication credited with launching the careers of Black writers and thinkers like Audre Lorde and Nikki Giovanni.
- Lucy Goode Brooks founded what would become the FRIENDS Association for Children family services organization in 1875 in still-emerging Jackson Ward, as Richmond rebuilt itself following the carnage of the Civil War. Brooks, born enslaved, organized resources and appealed to local religious and civic groups to create a care home for Black children who were left orphaned by the war. Today, the FRIENDS Association continues to provide vital services to hundreds of Richmond’s most vulnerable families and children. Additionally, Brooks’ great granddaughter, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, is a Harvard University professor and president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the group which founded Black History Month in America.
- Charles Sidney Gilpin was an acclaimed actor and singer, born in Richmond in 1878 and who, between gigs, apprenticed at African American newspaper The Richmond Planet’s print office in Jackson Ward. Gilpin made his Broadway debut in 1920 with his signature role in the stage production "Emperor Jones.” The role earned him an honor from the Drama League of New York, making him the first Black performer to land on its annual list of the ten most influential people in the American theater industry.
Jackson Ward: To Be Continued

In April 2021, a host of organizations commemorated Jackson Ward’s 150th anniversary. A pair of Richmond sisters, Enjoli Moon and Dr. Sesha Joi Moon, headed up the effort through The JXN Project, an immersive multimodal experience designed to discover and share the hidden histories of the neighborhood.
Using oral and written narratives, art, and live events, the year-long project shed new light on Jackson Ward’s past and breathed new life into its future.
Want to know more about Virginia’s lesser-known history? Dig into these articles and stay tuned for more But Did You Know… history pieces to learn about some of Virginia’s most incredible true but untold stories!
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