Vinegar Hill: Difference between revisions
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'''Vinegar Hill''' (originally known as | '''Vinegar Hill''' (originally known as '''Random Row''') was a historically black neighborhood that was razed in 1964 as part of a Charlottesville-led redevelopment program.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vinegar Hill Monument Proposal|url=http://www.charlottesville.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=20564|author=|work=|publisher=Dialogue on Race|location=Page 13|publishdate=|accessdate=November 21, 2011}}</ref> The neighborhood extended along [[Main Street]] from the eastern end of today's [[Downtown Mall]].<ref name="james">{{cite web|title=Early Charlottesville: Recollections of James Alexander, 1828-1874|url=http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=2006_01/uvaBook/tei/b000239102.xml;chunk.i|author=|work=Jeffersonian Republican|publisher=Albemarle County Historical Society|location=|publishdate=1942|accessdate=5 Aug 2013}}</ref> | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
Revision as of 15:36, 5 August 2013
Vinegar Hill (originally known as Random Row) was a historically black neighborhood that was razed in 1964 as part of a Charlottesville-led redevelopment program.[1] The neighborhood extended along Main Street from the eastern end of today's Downtown Mall.[2]
History
The neighborhood was first settled by Irish families in the early 1800s and annexed by the City of Charlottesville in 1835. James Alexander, a newspaper editor who lived in Charlottesville in the 19th century, said the name Vinegar Hill was given to the neighborhood by George Toole in honor of his family home by the same name in Ireland.[2] African American families first moved to the neighborhood following the Civil War.[3] In 1960, Charlottesville voters approved a referendum authorizing the redevelopment of Vinegar Hill. A poll tax prevented many of the neighborhood's residents from participating in the vote. The area was leveled in 1964. Many of the approximately 500 displaced residents moved into the Westhaven public housing project.[4]
Legacy
Since the redevelopment was completed, it has been a point of contention in local race relations. On November 7, 2011, City Council approved a resolution apologizing for the redevelopment.[4]
Monument
The Vinegar Hill Monument Action Team of the Dialogue on Race is seeking to build a monument to the neighborhood on the grounds of the Jefferson School City Center and asked City Council in early 2012 for $24,000 from the Percent for Art fund to pay for its design.[5] Council only gave $18,000 to the design stage.[6] Construction is budgeted between $100,000 and $200,000. Three artists were in the running for the sculpture but Melvin Edwards of New York City was selected to create it.[7]
Local Voices, Local History
| VIDEO CREDITS: Narrated by John Gaines and Ann Carter; Graphic design: Jen Fleischer; Project Manager: Kristin Rourke. |
References
- ↑ Web. Vinegar Hill Monument Proposal, Dialogue on Race, Page 13, retrieved November 21, 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Web. Early Charlottesville: Recollections of James Alexander, 1828-1874, Jeffersonian Republican, Albemarle County Historical Society, 1942, retrieved 5 Aug 2013.
- ↑ Web. Vinegar Hill, City of Charlottesville, retrieved 5 Aug 2013.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Web. Charlottesville officially apologizes for razing Vinegar Hill, Graham Moomaw, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, November 07, 2011
- ↑ Web. November 21, 2011 City Council Agenda, City of Charlottesville, Page 12, retrieved November 21, 2011.
- ↑ Web. City to vet possible designers for Vinegar Hill monument, Graham Moomaw, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, April 14, 2012, retrieved April 16, 2012.
- ↑ Web. Renowned sculptor selected to create Charlottesville's first commissioned work in decades, Graham Moomaw, Daily Progress, Lee Enterprises, April 29, 2012, retrieved May 1, 2012.