Abraham Peyton Skipwith
Photo Credit: The JXN Project
About Richmond's Honorary Street Name Designations
Honorary street names can be found throughout Richmond, and are intended to memorialize individuals for their civic, cultural, humanitarian, or historically significant contributions to the Richmond Community. These designations typically apply to a portion of a street, such as a city block, and are designated by Richmond City Council via the passing of an Ordinance. Honorary street names do not replace the existing name of a street and do not require an alteration to maps or addresses.
Abraham Peyton Skipwith
Born enslaved in Williamsburg, Virginia, in the late 1700s, Abraham Peyton Skipwith filed a legislative petition to be freed in 1785, ultimately purchasing freedom for himself around 1789 and later manumitting his wife and family.
In February 1793, Abraham Peyton Skipwith purchased parcels of land on the northern edge of Richmond in the area that would later become Jackson Ward. He built one of the first dwellings in that area (one of Richmond’s oldest documented homes), a gambrel-roofed cottage at what is now 400 West Duval Street.
Around 1797, Abraham Peyton Skipwith became one of the first known Black Richmonders to have a fully executed will to keep the property in the possession of his family. He left the cottage and land to his wife, which was later inherited by his granddaughter and remained in his family’s ownership until 1905, when it was sold by Skipwith's last known descendent, Marietta Roper. In the 1950s, the property was slated for demolition by the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority to build a highway (now Interstate 95). A co-founder of the Historic Richmond Foundation moved the Skipwith-Roper cottage to Goochland County, where it remains to this day.
The JXN Project is working to build a replica of the cottage on its original site. Learn more about this undertaking here: The Skipwith-Roper Homecoming
Designation Area:
The 600 block of Judah Street has been given the honorary designation of Abraham Skipwith Alley.
Download the Council Ordinance:
Learn more about this Honorary Street Designation by downloading a copy of the legislation. The Council Ordinance below is in PDF format:
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