WASHINGTON PARK - LAND HISTORY

The land that is currently occupied by Booker T. Washington Park has a long history.

First, the land was established in 1820 as part of the 400-acre Rose Hill Plantation by John H. Craven, who prior was managing Thomas Jefferson’s 540-acre Tufton Farm. After the abolition of slavery and no one to tend to the fields, Craven sold his land to the Charlottesville Industrial and Land Improvement Company, who purchased 350+ acres of land. Within the roughly 50 acres leftover, the Cravens continued to live in their plantation home and established 23 lots with the remainder of the land. These lots were purchased by African American families post-Civil War and are now part of the Rose Hill neighborhood. Two lots, 16 and 17 also known as the Grove Lot, belonged to the Craven’s and their in-laws until 1904. James Hayden then purchased this land and sold it to the city of Charlottesville, which later became a glass dump in the 1910s.

Finally, Paul Goodloe McIntire purchased the 9.5 acres of land and gave it back to the city as “a public park and playground for the colored people of the City of Charlottesville” in 1926.

WASHINGTON PARK – PARK DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

• Development of the park as a recreational facility was slow, and primarily led by citizens rather than funded by the City of Charlottesville.
• 1934 - Washington Park had a baseball diamond, tennis courts, and a recreation hall.
• During WWII - the community organized victory gardens in the park.
• 1950s - a wading pool and playground were added.
• 1968 - Swimming pool was constructed.
• 1974 - Park was redeveloped to include baseball and softball fields, a new basketball court, new playground area, and seating areas.
• Late 1990s - The park was redesigned with a new picnic shelter “the barn” on the site of the original recreation hall and the pool refurbished.
• 2010 - Updated the pool’s waterslide and bathhouse.

Help us plan for the future! Take a few minutes to complete these additional surveys and exercises.