Jackson Ward

Before the Civil War, Jackson Ward was home to free blacks and enslaved individuals, along with European immigrants and Jewish residents. The area served as a city electoral district from 1871 to 1903 and is still called Jackson Ward. By the early 20th century, it had become one of the premier centers of African American business, social, and residential life in the United States. Black-owned businesses such as the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, the Southern Aid Insurance Company, the Richmond Planet newspaper, and Miller's Hotel, later Eggleston Hotel, thrived during legalized racial segregation. In the 1950s, the new interstate highway bisected Jackson Ward. In 1978, the area became a National Historic Landmark.

Richmond, Virginia · United States