Mick,

I don't know the details and don't have a list of the petitioners handy.
I know that Gregg Kimball has a keen interest in that episode, and of
course Phil Schwarz has been working through all of the material in
great detail. I had better yield to my learned colleagues.

You might wish to see this article from this morning's Richmond
Times-Disgrace:



Published: February 26, 2009

If former Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder's slavery museum is being
abandoned in Fredericksburg, some Richmond officials say it's time to
talk about the project -- or something like it -- for Shockoe Bottom.

"I really feel, that from the very beginning, it should have been in
Richmond" because of the city's role in the slave trade, said Del.
Delores L. McQuinn, D-Richmond.

McQuinn, a former member of the Richmond City Council, and City
Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson said they want to talk to Mayor Dwight
C. Jones about approaching Wilder to see if his U.S. National Slavery
Museum might find a home in Shockoe Bottom in light of signs that the
project may have shut down in Fredericksburg.

The Main Street Station train shed and nearby Seaboard Building could be
used until a permanent museum is built, McQuinn said.

"It's not something that he's considered, and it's not something that's
been brought to him," said Jones' press secretary, Tammy D. Hawley.

Wilder has not returned calls in recent days, and there's no indication
what his plans for the long-sputtering museum may be.

The nonprofit museum, selected for Fredericksburg in 2001 over sites in
Richmond and at Hampton University, has not paid a $24,093 real estate
tax bill that was due Nov. 15 for its 38-acre property on the
Rappahannock River.

The museum's phone system is set for outgoing calls only. Messages left
yesterday with its Washington-based public-relations firm weren't
returned.

Lawrence A. Davies, a member of the museum's board of directors and a
longtime friend of Wilder, said he has no idea where the project stands.

Davies, a Baptist minister and former mayor of Fredericksburg, said it's
unusual for him to have not heard from Wilder for so long: "I can only
hope he will surface in some form soon."

The buzz about the museum comes about two months after remains of the
Lumpkin's Slave Jail were unearthed in a parking lot in Shockoe Bottom
and as Richmond officials face major decisions about the area's future.

Highwoods Properties has proposed a minor-league baseball stadium as
part of Shockoe Center, a $363 million development that would include
shops, offices, hotels and residences.

The proposal calls for retail on the first floor of the Main Street
Station train shed.

On the building's second floor, GRTC Transit System is planning an
open-air downtown bus-transfer center, a project designed to reduce bus
traffic on Broad Street and in downtown. Long term, the center also
would support regional efforts, including light rail, said John M. Lewis
Jr., chief executive officer of GRTC.

With preliminary designs complete, the $70 million transfer center is at
"a very important crossroads" for approval and is being positioned for
funding through the federal stimulus package, Lewis said.

The city hasn't yet approved the project, but Jones supports the idea,
as well as preservation of the Lumpkin's site, Hawley said.

However, City Councilman Bruce W. Tyler said he believes the transfer
center should go elsewhere, in part to allow for proper commemoration of
Shockoe Bottom's role in the slave trade.

The Lumpkin jail, owned by Robert Lumpkin, held slaves from 1840 until
the end of the Civil War, a period when Richmond served as the nation's
largest domestic slave market.

Tyler argues that the transfer center would be too expensive and fears
that its ramps could end up isolating the 12,000-square-foot
archaeological site from the rest of Shockoe Bottom.

"I believe it's time for Richmond to enter into a serious discussion
about developing a heritage center, where Lumpkin's jail is a key
component," he said. "We have to decide what's more important" -- a
transfer center or the area's history.

McQuinn, who leads the Richmond Slave Trail Commission, said she has
some concerns about the transfer center but said it's worth seeing how
it might be fashioned with the slave-jail site and a potential museum.

"Somebody's going to have to begin the discussion so there can be some
decisions made," she said.

Lewis defended the transfer center as a sound investment and a good use
for the historic train shed. An initial environment assessment submitted
to federal authorities shows the project won't have an adverse impact on
the slave-jail site, he said.

"I don't know what the needs are for the museum," Lewis said. "I think
it's a great concept. What happens on the first floor is entirely up to
the city. We're only taking up the second floor."

The developers for Shockoe Center said they haven't been in contact with
Wilder but are interested in talking.

"I think we would be receptive to discussions with the National Slavery
Museum and people associated with them," said Ralph L. Axselle Jr., an
attorney for the developers. "Richmond is, in many respects one of the
most appropriate places to memorialize and honor one of the most
difficult periods of our history." 



-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael Nicholls
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 3:29 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [VA-HIST] Gabriel's gallows

I have a puzzle--well actually many, but may I inflict one on those who
know Richmond circa 1800? Of the 25 Henrico executions in the aftermath
of Gabriel 18 were at the "usual place of execution. After
15 of these executions 13 men petitioned to have the site of execution
moved, but apparently to  no avail, though their petition did
unintentially delay the execution of two men and a final pardoning of a
third. In 1804 the city agreed to work with the county in creating a
gallows near the magazine, which was probably up Shockoe a bit, near the
gallows and African American cemetery that shows up on Young's map of
Richmond ca 1809. However, it does not appear that the 13 petitioners
whose families were disturbed by the sight of the executions lived where
they might look into Shockoe and see the gallows. Samuel Mordecai in
Richmond in by-gone days 2nd ed.  
p. 97-98 describes John Harvie's mansion on Gamble's Hill overlooking
the armory and says "The house was planned by Mr. Latrobe, the architect
of its neighbor, the Penitentiary; the intermediate ground embraced
Gallows hill, the edifice on which was rendered in a great measure
useless by the Penitentiary..." A gallows there would have been more in
sight of the petitioners. Have I just mistakenly assumed the site of the
executions in Richmond was always in Shockoe, or is this something that
is a puzzle to me only--I would appreciate any hard knowledge specific
to 1800--Mick Nicholls

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