Civil War  |  Historic Site

Pocahontas Island

Virginia

Sapony St and Joseph Jenkins Roberts St
Petersburg, VA 23803
United States

Website
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Pocahontas Island Historic District sign reading "Pocahontas - Oldest Black Community in the United States."
Pocahontas Island Historic District sign reading "Pocahontas - Oldest Black Community in the United States." Taber Andrew Bain (CC-BY-2.0)

The town of Pocahontas, established in 1752, became part of Petersburg in 1784. By 1860, more members of the city’s large free African American community lived here than in any other neighborhood. Their work in tobacco factories and on wharves fueled the bustling Appomattox River trade. Residents likely used their access to the river to help enslaved blacks escape via the Underground Railroad. After the Civil War, Pocahontas attracted many emancipated African Americans. A tornado left widespread damage in 1993. The Jarratt House, ca. 1819, at 808-810 Logan Street, is the oldest standing structure. Archaeological evidence indicates Native American occupation of this area as early as 6500 BC.

Marker: QA-35, Virginia Department of Historic Resources (2015)

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Pocahontas Island: What's Nearby

Petersburg, VA
Full MapView Nearby Monuments
Rev War  |  Marker
Lafayette Tour Marker, Petersburg, Virginia (VA-129)
Petersburg, VA
Civil War  |  Museum
Pamplin Historical Park and The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier
Petersburg, VA
Rev War  |  Marker
Lafayette Tour Marker at Richmond, Virginia (VA-108)
Richmond, VA
Civil War  |  Museum
The American Civil War Museum at Historic Tredegar
Richmond, VA
Civil War  |  Museum
The American Civil War Museum–White House of the Confederacy
Richmond, VA
Civil War  |  Museum
The Valentine Richmond History Center
Richmond, VA
Rev War  |  Marker
Lafayette Visit Marker, Williamsburg, Virginia (V-62)
Williamsburg, VA
Rev War  |  Museum
American Revolution Museum at Yorktown
Yorktown, VA
Rev War  |  Marker
Lafayette Tour Marker at Yorktown, Virginia (VA-60)
Yorktown, VA
Rev War  |  Marker
Lafayette Tour Marker, Columbia, Virginia (VA-146)
Columbia, VA
Rev War  |  Marker
Lafayette Tour Marker at Suffolk, Virginia (VA-21)
Rescue, VA
Rev War  |  Marker
Lafayette Tour Marker, Jackson, North Carolina (NC-7)
Jackson, NC
Civil War  |  Fort
The Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe, VA
Rev War  |  Marker
Lafayette Tour Marker, Halifax, North Carolina (NC-174)
Halifax, NC
Museum
Hampton Roads Naval Museum
Norfolk, VA
Rev War  |  Marker
Lafayette Tour Marker at Portsmouth, Virginia (VA-23)
Portsmouth, VA
Rev War  |  Museum
Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways Museum
Chesapeake, VA
Rev War  |  Marker
Lafayette Tour Marker, Enfield, North Carolina (NC-9)
Enfield, NC
Rev War  |  Marker
Lafayette Tour Marker, Fredericksburg, Virginia (VA-126)
Fredericksburg, VA
Rev War  |  Museum
Piney Point Lighthouse Museum & Park
Piney Point , MD
Civil War  |  Museum
The American Civil War Museum - Appomattox
Appomattox, VA
Rev War  |  Marker
Lafayette Tour Marker, Orange, Virginia (VA-94)
Orange, VA
Civil War  |  Museum
Point Lookout State Park and Civil War Museum
Scotland, MD
Rev War  |  Museum
National Museum of the Marine Corps
Triangle, VA
Museum
National Museum of the Marine Corps
Quantico, VA
Civil War  |  Historic Site
Abraham Wooten Monument & Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church
Princeville, NC
Civil War  |  Museum
Old City Cemetery and Pest House Medical Museum
Lynchburg, VA
Civil War  |  Museum
Sandusky Historic Site and Civil War Museum
Lynchburg, VA