Virginia Department of Historic Resources
(dhr.virginia.gov)
For Immediate Release
July 2026

 

Contact:
Ivy Tan Ager
Department of Historic Resources
Marketing & Communications Manager
ivy.ager@dhr.virginia.gov
804-482-6445

11 New State Historical Highway Markers Approved

—Markers cover topics in the counties of York, James City, Orange, Caroline, New Kent, King William, and Nelson, and in the cities of Petersburg, Richmond, and Fredericksburg—

—Text of each marker reproduced below—

PLEASE NOTE: DHR creates markers not to “honor” their subjects but rather to educate and inform the public about a person, place, or event of regional, state, or national importance. In this regard, erected markers are not memorials.

RICHMOND – The Department of Historic Resources (DHR) has announced 11 new historical markers coming to roadsides in Virginia. The markers will recall various topics in the Commonwealth’s history, including a Caroline County village with ties to major national events since the 18th century; two lynchings that took place in Virginia during the Jim Crow era; and a seminal piece of music that influenced the development of Rock & Roll in the 20th century.

The Virginia Board of Historic Resources approved the markers on June 18, 2026, during its quarterly meeting in Richmond hosted by DHR.

Before Europeans settled in the area, Native Americans resided near what is now the community of Dawn. In the 18th century, patriot and French forces used a major north-south route that passed through Dawn to travel north after defeating the British at Yorktown. In 1800, enslaved men from plantations located near Dawn participated in Gabriel’s Conspiracy, a foiled plan to rise against slavery by attacking Richmond. Local men from Dawn served in the Confederate military and in the U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War. Nearby schools in the 20th century included Old Dawn School for Black students, located just west of the village. Stable hands from Dawn worked at the neighboring Meadow Farm and played an important role in the development of the champion racehorse Secretariat.

One newly approved marker highlights the Spanish Jesuit Mission in Virginia before the onset of English colonization:

 

• In the late summer of 1570, eight Jesuit missionaries from Spain and a Spanish boy traveled without a military escort from present-day South Carolina to the Chesapeake Bay to begin the evangelization of Virginia’s Indigenous people. Don Luís, a baptized Virginia Indian who had spent time in Spain and Mexico, accompanied them on the journey. After arriving on shore, likely near present-day Newport News, the Jesuits celebrated Mass. They then traveled farther and erected a house and chapel, possibly near the Town of Kiskiak, at what is now the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. In February 1571, Don Luís led an attack on the missionaries. All of the missionaries were killed except for the boy, who was rescued by a Spanish relief expedition the following year.

 

Three new markers focus on key events and people in Virginia during the Colonial period and the American Revolution:

 

• While serving as vicar of Heathfield in Sussex County, England, the Rev. Robert Hunt was appointed chaplain of the Virginia Company’s expedition to establish a colony in North America. After arriving in the spring of 1607 with the first English settlers, Hunt played a pivotal role in settling disputes among the Virginia colony’s leaders and provided spiritual support during early hardships in Jamestown. Under the shade of a sailcloth spread between trees, he conducted daily services from the Book of Common Prayer. Hunt assembled the company for the first documented Protestant Communion in the present-day United States on June 21, 1607. Hunt’s contributions demonstrate the importance of the Anglican Church in England’s colonial enterprise.

 

• Born into wealth, Mary M. Tabb married the prosperous merchant Robert Bolling in 1758. After Robert’s death in 1775, Mary took over management of a vast estate, including lots and tobacco warehouses in Petersburg and plantations in Amelia County. She never remarried and was able to maintain control of her property. Mary bought and sold land, invested in banks, initiated lawsuits, engaged in philanthropy, and helped develop Petersburg. She was paying taxes on more than 10 percent of Petersburg’s total taxable wealth by 1790. Many of Mary’s businesses relied on enslaved labor. She was a patriot during the Revolutionary War and refused to leave her home, East Hill (also known as Bollingbrook), when the British seized it in 1781.

 

• In 1788, many Orange County Baptists, including the ministers John Leland, Aaron Bledsoe, and Nathaniel Saunders, opposed the ratification of the United States Constitution because it did not explicitly protect religious freedom. James Madison, the principal architect of the Constitution and a candidate to represent the county at Virginia’s ratification convention, needed the Baptists’ political support. Madison likely met with Leland in March of 1788 near present-day Constitution Highway and its intersection with Clifton Road in Orange County. The two reached an understanding that Madison would address the issue in the future. Madison was elected to the convention and played a pivotal role in securing Virginia’s ratification of the Constitution. He later introduced the Bill of Rights, which includes the First Amendment guaranteeing religious freedom.

 

The architectural trends of 19th-century Virginia ground one new marker:

 

• Hampstead in New Kent County was built circa 1825-1827 for the planter Conrade Webb, who was a grandson of George Webb, author of the influential law manual known as “Webb’s Justice” (published in 1736), and a grandson-in-law of Carter Braxton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Hampstead exemplifies the Commonwealth’s leading architectural works of the 19th century. The mansion boasts Federal and Greek Revival features and reflects the influence of Asher Benjamin’s American Builder’s Companion, a popular architectural handbook first published in 1806. Hampstead’s central hall features a rare free-standing spiral staircase. Agricultural and industrial operations at the plantation were sustained by enslaved laborers, who numbered approximately 130 by the mid-1800s. Five enslaved individuals were killed in a steam boiler explosion in 1859.

 

From 1866 until well into the 20th century, more than 100 people, primarily Black men, were lynched in Virginia. In its meeting on June 18, the Board approved two markers under a special initiative to place state historical highway markers at, or near, the sites of lynchings that occurred in the Commonwealth:

 

• Peter Bland was an African American husband and father about 40 years old. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being convicted of assaulting and injuring his White employer/landlord. On February 4, 1884, Bland was held in the King William County jail along with his wife, who was awaiting trial on charges from the same incident. An estimated 15 armed men threatened the assistant jailer, obtained the keys to Bland’s cell, and took him outside, where they shot and hanged him on the courthouse grounds. The case was widely covered by the press. Governor William E. Cameron issued a proclamation offering a $100 reward for the arrest of the perpetrators, but no one was held accountable for Bland’s murder.

 

• African American husband and soon-to-be father Pinkney Murphy was lynched in Nelson County on September 14, 1900. A young White woman had accused him of assaulting and choking her as she walked through the woods earlier that day. Searchers captured Murphy in Arrington. His accuser identified him and he reportedly confessed. A magistrate ordered for him to be taken to the county jail in Lovingston. On the way to the jail, a crowd stopped the buggy in which Murphy was riding and took him from his two guards. They then hanged him from a tree and shot him dozens of times. A coroner’s jury was convened, but no arrests were made in connection to Murphy’s death.

 

One newly approved marker spotlights the history of a school built for Black students during racial segregation in Virginia’s public schools:

 

• When Virginia’s public schools were segregated during the Jim Crow era, a series of schools—including one opened by the Freedmen’s Bureau in 1869—were constructed in the City of Richmond’s Hickory Hill neighborhood to serve African American students. Chesterfield County, located just south of the city, built an elementary school in 1915 on land donated by Black patrons within Richmond’s current boundaries. In 1925, after two new buildings were erected with support from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, the Black community, and the county, the county training school moved to the area. In 1938, the training school became Hickory Hill High after the work of Black activists led to the construction of a new brick building. Hickory Hill High School’s principal, James P. Spencer, was a local Civil Rights leader. Additionally, three of the school’s teachers pursued legal action that led to federal court decisions in 1948 requiring the county to equalize salaries for Black and White teachers.

 

One new marker highlights a 20th-century tune that helped shape modern Rock & Roll music:

 

• At a performance at the Fredericksburg Arena, pioneering guitarist Link Wray (1929-2005) improvised “Rumble,” a raw instrumental tune that influenced the development of Rock & Roll. A “stroll” had been requested, but Wray instead delivered an edgy improvisation featuring power chords and distortion. Wray recorded and released “Rumble” in early 1958. Some disc jockeys at the time refused to play the song for fear that it would promote juvenile delinquency. “Rumble” popularized distortion and the power chord. Highly influential to many guitarists, the tune was inducted as a single into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Wray, a North Carolinian who highlighted his Shawnee Indian heritage, was inducted in 2023.

 

The Board also approved one marker focused on the progress made by Virginia’s LGBTQ+ community in the 20th century:

 

• A group of students at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond established in September 1974 the Gay Alliance of Students, the university’s first openly LGBTQ+ student organization. A legal battle that attracted local and national support for the Alliance ensued after VCU rejected its application for official recognition. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in Gay Alliance of Students v. Matthews in October 1976 that VCU’s refusal to recognize the organization violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The court’s decision set a legal precedent. It extended protections to similar student groups in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

 

Following the Board of Historic Resources’ approval of the markers, it can take upwards of eight months or more before a new marker is ready for installation. The marker’s sponsor covers the required $3,000 manufacturing expenses for a new sign.

Virginia’s historical highway marker program began in 1927 with installation of the first markers along U.S. Route 1. It is considered the oldest such program in the nation. Currently there are more than 2,600 state markers, mostly maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation, except in those localities outside of VDOT’s authority.

 

Full Text of Markers:

(VDOT must approve the proposed location for each marker in its right-of-way; local public works departments must do so in jurisdictions outside VDOT’s authority.)

Spanish Jesuit Mission, 1570-1571
Late in the summer of 1570, eight Spanish Jesuit missionaries and a Spanish boy traveled without a military escort from present-day South Carolina to the Chesapeake Bay to begin the evangelization of Virginia’s native people. With them was Don Luís, a Virginia Indian who had spent time in Spain and Mexico and had been baptized. After making landfall, likely near Newport News, the Jesuits celebrated Mass before traveling farther and erecting a house and chapel, possibly near the Town of Kiskiak at what is now the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station. In Feb. 1571, Don Luís led an attack on the missionaries. All were killed except for the boy, who was rescued by a Spanish relief expedition in 1572.
Sponsor: Douglas Domenech
Locality: York County
Proposed Location: Penniman Road near the Cheatham Annex gateway

The Rev. Robert Hunt (ca. 1569-1608)
The Rev. Robert Hunt was serving as vicar of Heathfield, Sussex Co., England, when he was appointed chaplain of the Virginia Company’s expedition to establish a colony in North America. Arriving with the first settlers in the spring of 1607, he played a crucial role in settling disputes among the colony’s leaders and provided spiritual support amid Jamestown’s early hardships. Under the shade of a sailcloth spread between trees, he conducted daily services from the Book of Common Prayer. On 21 June 1607, he assembled the company for the first documented Protestant Communion in what became the U.S. His contributions reflect the importance of the Anglican Church in England’s colonial enterprise.
Sponsor: James City County Historical Commission
Locality: James City County
Proposed Location: Jamestown Road service road, just east of intersection with Route 31

Mary Marshall Tabb Bolling (ca. 1737-1814)
Mary M. Tabb, born into a wealthy family, married the prosperous merchant Robert Bolling in 1758. Upon his death in 1775, she took over management of a vast estate, including lots and tobacco warehouses in Petersburg and plantations in Amelia Co. Since she never remarried, she was able to control her property. She bought and sold land, invested in banks, initiated lawsuits, engaged in philanthropy, and helped develop Petersburg. By 1790, she was paying taxes on more than 10 percent of the city’s total taxable wealth. Many of her enterprises relied on enslaved labor. A patriot during the Revolutionary War, she refused to leave her home, East Hill (Bollingbrook), when the British seized it in 1781.
Sponsor: The Bolling Family Association
Locality: City of Petersburg
Proposed Location: N. Madison Street near YMCA

Religious Liberty and the Constitution
Many Baptists in Orange Co., including the ministers John Leland, Aaron Bledsoe, and Nathaniel Saunders, opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788 because it did not explicitly protect religious liberty. James Madison, principal architect of the Constitution and candidate to represent Orange at VA’s ratification convention, needed Baptists’ political support. Leland and Madison, likely at a meeting near here in March, reached an understanding that Madison would address the issue in the future. Madison was elected to the convention, played a pivotal role in securing VA’s ratification, and later introduced the Bill of Rights, including the First Amendment guaranteeing religious freedom.
Sponsor: Goshen Baptist Association
Locality: Orange County
Proposed Location: Constitution Highway and intersection with Clifton Road

History of Dawn
Native Americans resided in this area before European settlement. A major north-south route passed through here in the 18th century, and American and French troops used it to travel north after defeating the British at Yorktown. In 1800, several enslaved men from nearby plantations participated in Gabriel’s Conspiracy, a foiled plan to rise against slavery by attacking Richmond. During the Civil War, local men served in the Confederate military and in the U.S. Colored Troops. Area schools in the 20th century included Old Dawn School for Black students, just west of here. Grooms from Dawn worked at nearby Meadow Farm and played a vital role in the development of champion racehorse Secretariat.
Sponsor: Preservation Virginia
Locality: Caroline County
Proposed Location: Baylor Road

Hampstead
Just to the west is Hampstead, built ca. 1825-27 for planter Conrade Webb. One of VA’s foremost architectural works of its era, the mansion contains Federal and Greek Revival features and reflects the influence of Asher Benjamin’s American Builder’s Companion (1806). Its central hall features a rare free-standing spiral staircase. Webb was a grandson of George Webb, author of the influential law manual known as “Webb’s Justice” (1736), and was a grandson-in-law of Carter Braxton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Enslaved laborers, numbering 130 by the mid-1800s, sustained the plantation’s agricultural and industrial operations. Five were killed in a steam boiler explosion in 1859.
Sponsor: Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation
Locality: New Kent County
Proposed Location: 5101 Hampstead Lane

Hickory Hill School
A series of schools, including one the Freedmen’s Bureau opened in 1869, served African Americans in Hickory Hill. In 1915 Chesterfield Co. built an elementary school here on land donated by Black patrons. The county training school was moved here in 1925 after two new buildings were erected with support from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, the Black community, and the county. In 1938, after Black activism resulted in a new brick building, the training school became Hickory Hill High. Principal James P. Spencer was a local Civil Rights leader, and three teachers pursued legal action that led to federal court decisions in 1948 requiring the county to equalize salaries for Black and White teachers.
Sponsor: Renewal of Life Land Trust
Locality: City of Richmond
Proposed Location: 3000 East Belt Boulevard

Rumble
During a performance at the Fredericksburg Arena near here, guitarist Link Wray (1929-2005) improvised “Rumble,” a raw instrumental tune that shaped the development of Rock & Roll. A “stroll” had been requested, but Wray instead delivered an edgy improvisation featuring power chords and distortion. After he recorded and released “Rumble” early in 1958, some disc jockeys refused to play it for fear of promoting juvenile delinquency. “Rumble” popularized distortion and the power chord, influenced many guitarists, and was inducted as a single into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Wray, a North Carolina native who highlighted his Shawnee Indian heritage, was inducted in 2023.
Sponsor: City of Fredericksburg
Locality: City of Fredericksburg
Proposed Location: Fall Hill Road east of the intersection with Route 1

Gay Alliance of Students
In Sept. 1974, a group of students at Virginia Commonwealth University founded the Gay Alliance of Students, the university’s first openly LGBTQ+ student organization. VCU rejected the Alliance’s application for official recognition, prompting a legal battle that attracted local and national support for the group. In Oct. 1976, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in Gay Alliance of Students v. Matthews that VCU’s refusal to recognize the organization violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The decision set a legal precedent, extending protections to similar student groups in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia.
Sponsor: Virginia Commonwealth University, Development & Alumni Relations
Locality: City of Richmond (VCU)
Proposed Location: Grassy area outside of VCU’s University Student Commons

Peter Bland Lynched
Peter Bland, an African American husband and father about 40 years old, was convicted of assaulting and injuring his White employer/landlord and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. On 4 Feb. 1884, he was being held here in the King William County jail along with his wife, who was awaiting trial on charges from the same incident. About 15 armed men threatened the assistant jailer, obtained the keys, and took Bland outside, where they shot and hanged him on the courthouse grounds. The case received widespread newspaper coverage. Although Gov. William E. Cameron issued a proclamation offering a $100 reward for the arrest of the perpetrators, no one was held accountable for Bland’s murder.
Locality: King William County
Proposed Location: 351 Courthouse Road

Pinkney Murphy Lynched
Pinkney Murphy, an African American husband and soon-to-be father, was lynched near here on 14 Sept. 1900. A young White woman had accused him of assaulting and choking her as she walked through the woods earlier that day. After searchers captured him in Arrington, his accuser identified him and he reportedly confessed. A magistrate ordered that he be taken to the county jail in Lovingston. On the way, a crowd detained the buggy in which he was riding, took him from his two guards, hanged him from a tree, and shot him dozens of times. A coroner’s jury was convened, but no arrests were made. From 1866 until well into the 20th century, more than 100 people, primarily Black men, were lynched in VA.
Locality: Nelson County
Proposed Location: Oak Ridge Road, Arrington

###