Adams-Van Lew House

Richmond mayor Dr. John Adams built a mansion here in 1802. It later became the residence of Elizabeth Van Lew, whose father obtained it in 1836. During the Civil War, Van Lew led a Union espionage operation, and African Americans such as her associate Mary Jane Richards served in Richmond's Unionist underground. Van Lew was postmaster of Richmond from 1869 to 1877. Maggie Lena Walker, a nationally known African American businesswoman, banker, and leader of the Independent Order of St. Luke, was born here by 1867. The house was razed in 1911, and the Bellevue School was erected in its place in 1912.

Richmond, Virginia · United States