Pick up a copy of the “African American History of Fredericksburg, Virginia” self-guided walking tour brochure at the Fredericksburg Visitor Center.
Blacks first inhabited Virginia in 1619. They came to the sparsely settled Rappahannock Valley long before Fredericksburg was officially founded in 1728. Enslaved people worked on plantations, on the docks, in iron industries, mining and quarries, mercantile businesses, construction, domestic services, and others were skilled blacksmiths, coopers, cobblers, and draymen. African Americans were vital in the development of the area.
The walking tour includes sites such as Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site), St. George’s Episcopal Church, Fredericksburg Area Museum, James Monroe Museum, Mary Washington House and Chatham Manor.
