Lynchburg History
Main and Fifth Streets
Fifth Street was known as Ferry Road early in the 1800s. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Douglas Southall Freeman was born nearby in 1886. By the mid-20th century, thirty African American-owned businesses lined Fifth Street, the center of black life in Lynchburg before integration. They included a theater, funeral homes, nightclubs, and restaurants.
Old City Cemetery, at Fifth and Taylor Streets, was established in 1806 and is one of the oldest public cemeteries still in use in the United States. The cemetery has more than 20,000 graves, including those of more than 2,200 Confederate soldiers. The Legacy Museum of African American History is adjacent to the cemetery and preserves local African American history and culture.
Daniel’s Hill was originally part of Dr. George Cabell’s plantation, Point of Honor, which was later owned by the Daniel family. Point of Honor and the Daniel’s Hill neighborhood are visible to your left front. This historic district reflects a variety of architectural styles including Federal, Italianate, and Queen Anne.
The Garland Hill Historic District just off Fifth Street graces one of Lynchburg’s original seven hills. Early residents built lavish homes there with newly acquired wealth from the tobacco and shoe industries.
Rivermont, begun in 1890, was Lynchburg’s first planned community. Rivermont Bridge, completed in 1891, was then considered an engineering marvel. A streetcar line was soon added to the neighborhood to connect the new residential areas and Randolph-Macon Woman’s College with downtown.
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Lynchburg is a city rich in the history of Virginia and the nation. As with any city, some of our sites and buildings that reflect that history have changed over the centuries since Lynchburg’s origins in the 1750s. You can see for yourself the city’s historic places and how they have changed or remained intact. Just let the map guide you to the many historical markers that are located downtown. Enjoy learning about Lynchburg!
The Lynchburg History marker program is a partnership of the City of Lynchburg Museum System, Dept. of Communication & Marketing and Dept. of Parks & Recreation, discoverlynchburg, Lynchburg Historical Foundation, and Lynch’s Landing
Marker is on Main Street near Fifth Street (Virginia Route 153), on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
