The Slave Trade In Richmond

For several blocks, this area was the regional center of the commerce in black slaves, with four main dealers each operating a jail-like compound surrounded by heavy log fences. The largest and most fearsome was Lumpkin Jail, known as "The Devils ½ Acre," located here. Virginia banned the import trade in human beings in 1778 and the United States did so in 1808, but interstate trade continued in the South. Virginia, particularly through Richmond, became the major supplier as its plantations had less and less need for large numbers of workers. Some slaves were also rented to iron foundries and tobacco processing factories in Richmond. The sale of surplus slaves, some perhaps from breeding programs, helped keep slavery profitable. After emancipation, Lumpkin Jail was converted to classrooms for former slaves, and later this became the site of the first college for African Americans in the Commonwealth, now called Virginia Union University.

Richmond, Virginia · United States