Adrienne T. Washington
3413 Woods Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22303
703-379-5253
(atwashin@aol.com)
March 10, 2009
Dear City Mayor, City Council Members, City Manager, City Staffers of the Alexandria Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities, and Fellow Alexandrians:
When you walk in the gated Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery on the grounds of Ft. Ward Park today there is a headstone to the left that marks the Randall family plot; to the right is a headstone that marks the Terrell family plot. These names represent who I am, a fifth-generation Alexandrian, a family historian and a noted journalist, who is attempting to restore and record this rich overlooked history of African-Americans who contributed, in no small part, their hard labor and land to develop Alexandria into the vibrant city it is today. My maternal and paternal heritage is linked to the countless, nameless African Americans who lived on or near Ft. Ward and the Virginia Theological Seminary and Episcopal High School campuses before and after the Civil War into the mid-1960s until their descendants were relocated to Woods Avenue, Woods Place and elsewhere.
Nothing would honor these valiant citizens more than permanent markers to commemorate their community contributions and endeavors which includes building schools, churches and businesses that sustained not only their own families, but also these historic institutions for which Alexandria is known. However, today a number of their graves are unmarked throughout the Ft. Ward Park, primarily buried under the city recreation and parks department’s maintenance yard and nursery. This dishonorable situation must be remedied as soon as possible.
That is why I, as a descendant of African Americans, who lived and worked in the Ft. Ward and Virginia Theological Seminary communities and who founded the Oakland Baptist Church more than a century ago, wish to thank the City of Alexandria Recreation, Park, and Cultural Activities Department for the opportunity to comment on the proper future uses and projects we hope will maintain and preserve the historic significance of Ft. Ward. Several of my family members and others have attended the recent public meetings held and contributed to the community process of determining what’s best for the 32-acre historic site as the city moves forward into this century to “balance” its uses.
I understand and concur with the current environmental concerns, including overcrowding, loud noise and alcohol abuse, expressed by the Friends of Ft. Ward and the neighboring communities, such as the Seminary Hill Civic Association and the Seminary Civic Association on Woods Avenue and Woods Place, where many of the descendant families still reside.
It is my premiere desire and request that the long overlooked and neglected history of the African Americans, who worked the land, owned the land, buried on the land, and summarily displaced from the land, be restored, preserved and commemorated in a formal fashion, especially as we come upon the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War. I have been voluntarily gathering oral histories from former residents, as well as old photographs and official documents (some already gathered by the city’s archeological department) to compile a more comprehensive written narrative.
My greatest fear is that the historic areas of the park, which contain marked and unmarked graves, including that of my great-great aunt, Clara Adams, and her husband, as well as my maternal grandparents, William and Bernie [McKnight] Terrell and my paternal relatives of the Randall family, will be further desecrated, and the valuable contributions of African-American slaves, contraband and freedman will be lost forever if overburdening recreational uses at Ft. Ward Park are expanded before mandatory archeological and historical studies are conducted and completed.
As discussed during the recreation department planning meetings this year, I encourage:
Immediate removal of trash, debris, equipment, etc., from around the gravesites of Clara Adams and her husband, that are currently located in the city’s park and recreation maintenance yard and nursery on the east side of Ft. Ward Park.
Eventual relocation of the maintenance yard and nursery which we are certain is the location of other unmarked graves, a former school, church and homes of African Americans dating back before, during and after the Civil War.
Immediate fencing or some other protective barrier around the marked graves outside of the Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery and near the maintenance lot.
Establishing a walking tour of the historic Ft. Ward African-American community after further historic and archeological study.
Inclusion of historic markers throughout the park that note significant points about the Ft. Ward African-American community.
Inclusion of an exhibit about the Ft. Ward/Seminary African-American community in the Ft. Ward Museum.
We offer our support and assistance in making improvement to Ft. Ward Park that “balance” it uses and that we believe will benefit all Alexandrians and future generations in knowing the full history of our great city.
Sincerely,
Adrienne Terrell Washington,
Ft. Ward/Seminary Descendent, Historian and Journalist
3413 Woods Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22303
703-379-5253
(atwashin@aol.com)
March 10, 2009
Dear City Mayor, City Council Members, City Manager, City Staffers of the Alexandria Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities, and Fellow Alexandrians:
When you walk in the gated Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery on the grounds of Ft. Ward Park today there is a headstone to the left that marks the Randall family plot; to the right is a headstone that marks the Terrell family plot. These names represent who I am, a fifth-generation Alexandrian, a family historian and a noted journalist, who is attempting to restore and record this rich overlooked history of African-Americans who contributed, in no small part, their hard labor and land to develop Alexandria into the vibrant city it is today. My maternal and paternal heritage is linked to the countless, nameless African Americans who lived on or near Ft. Ward and the Virginia Theological Seminary and Episcopal High School campuses before and after the Civil War into the mid-1960s until their descendants were relocated to Woods Avenue, Woods Place and elsewhere.
Nothing would honor these valiant citizens more than permanent markers to commemorate their community contributions and endeavors which includes building schools, churches and businesses that sustained not only their own families, but also these historic institutions for which Alexandria is known. However, today a number of their graves are unmarked throughout the Ft. Ward Park, primarily buried under the city recreation and parks department’s maintenance yard and nursery. This dishonorable situation must be remedied as soon as possible.
That is why I, as a descendant of African Americans, who lived and worked in the Ft. Ward and Virginia Theological Seminary communities and who founded the Oakland Baptist Church more than a century ago, wish to thank the City of Alexandria Recreation, Park, and Cultural Activities Department for the opportunity to comment on the proper future uses and projects we hope will maintain and preserve the historic significance of Ft. Ward. Several of my family members and others have attended the recent public meetings held and contributed to the community process of determining what’s best for the 32-acre historic site as the city moves forward into this century to “balance” its uses.
I understand and concur with the current environmental concerns, including overcrowding, loud noise and alcohol abuse, expressed by the Friends of Ft. Ward and the neighboring communities, such as the Seminary Hill Civic Association and the Seminary Civic Association on Woods Avenue and Woods Place, where many of the descendant families still reside.
It is my premiere desire and request that the long overlooked and neglected history of the African Americans, who worked the land, owned the land, buried on the land, and summarily displaced from the land, be restored, preserved and commemorated in a formal fashion, especially as we come upon the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War. I have been voluntarily gathering oral histories from former residents, as well as old photographs and official documents (some already gathered by the city’s archeological department) to compile a more comprehensive written narrative.
My greatest fear is that the historic areas of the park, which contain marked and unmarked graves, including that of my great-great aunt, Clara Adams, and her husband, as well as my maternal grandparents, William and Bernie [McKnight] Terrell and my paternal relatives of the Randall family, will be further desecrated, and the valuable contributions of African-American slaves, contraband and freedman will be lost forever if overburdening recreational uses at Ft. Ward Park are expanded before mandatory archeological and historical studies are conducted and completed.
As discussed during the recreation department planning meetings this year, I encourage:
Immediate removal of trash, debris, equipment, etc., from around the gravesites of Clara Adams and her husband, that are currently located in the city’s park and recreation maintenance yard and nursery on the east side of Ft. Ward Park.
Eventual relocation of the maintenance yard and nursery which we are certain is the location of other unmarked graves, a former school, church and homes of African Americans dating back before, during and after the Civil War.
Immediate fencing or some other protective barrier around the marked graves outside of the Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery and near the maintenance lot.
Establishing a walking tour of the historic Ft. Ward African-American community after further historic and archeological study.
Inclusion of historic markers throughout the park that note significant points about the Ft. Ward African-American community.
Inclusion of an exhibit about the Ft. Ward/Seminary African-American community in the Ft. Ward Museum.
We offer our support and assistance in making improvement to Ft. Ward Park that “balance” it uses and that we believe will benefit all Alexandrians and future generations in knowing the full history of our great city.
Sincerely,
Adrienne Terrell Washington,
Ft. Ward/Seminary Descendent, Historian and Journalist
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