A road will be renamed for an African-American settlement that was founded near Dumfries 200 years ago.
Mine Road in Dumfries will be renamed Batestown Road at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 19. A celebration will be held from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. to commemorate the event. The event will take place in Merchant Park in Dumfries, near the historic Weems-Botts House.
Following the unveiling, Bailey will be joined by other elected officials and members of the Batestown Community, according to a press release.
Prince William County Potomac District Supervisor Andrea Bailey provided PLN background on the settlement.
Batestown is a predominantly African American community in eastern Prince William County that was founded in the 1820s. The community was one of only a handful of African American communities in Northern Virginia prior to the Civil War. After the Civil War, Batestown grew in population as formerly enslaved people moved here. Soon it became known as the African American section of Dumfries.
Mainly farmers, some residents also worked at the nearby Pyrite Mine and Quantico Marine Corps Base. New work opportunities in the area drew new residents from throughout Virginia to Batestown, with some families moving as far away as Richmond to Batestown.
By the 20th century the community grew large enough to support a church and school. In the 1930s the Federal government threatened eminent domain if local landowners did not sell their land to create Prince William Forest Park.
Not all sections of Batestown were incorporated into the Park, and the community still survives today.
