123-0083

Lee Memorial Park

VLR Listing Date

06/14/2000

NRHP Listing Date

08/14/2000

NRHP Reference Number

00000896

Lee Memorial Park (now Legends Park), a 300-acre park on the southern edge of the city of Petersburg, was established in 1921. The park is composed of a variety of features both recreational and horticultural. It exemplifies national trends in landscape design and is a relatively rare manifestation of an important but little-known women’s relief program of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. Under the WPA and the Petersburg Garden Club, unemployed African American women cleared land, built trails, and planted and labeled flowers and shrubbery to create the Lee Park Wild Flower and Bird Sanctuary. The legacy of the project has been preserved in the Lee Park Herbarium, a collection of pressed specimens of numerous species of plants in the sanctuary. These are complemented by 238 watercolors of the specimens by Petersburg artist Bessie Niemeyer Marshall.

Last Updated: June 26, 2024

Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.

Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark

For additional information Read

Nomination Form

123-0009

William R. McKenney Memorial Building

Petersburg (Ind. City)

123-5505

Walnut Hill Historic District

Petersburg (Ind. City)

123-0114-0002

Jarratt House

Petersburg (Ind. City)