HomeProgress-Index, 02/09/2006
Pocahontas Island worthy of preservation
When (not if) the Appomattox River is dredged to reestablish a harbor in Old Towne Petersburg, it appears that the city will be ready on all fronts.
Last week a crowd of 300 turned out to begin the process of shaping waterfront development. Yet even as officials plan big changes, preservation remains a priority.
On Pocahontas Island a team of archaeologists is conducting a dig, the first step toward having the tiny community listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Being listed would qualify Pocahontas Island (or individual buildings on it) for federal tax benefits and federal assistance for historic preservation. Further, it would designate Pocahontas, according to the National Register web site, as “worthy of preservation and of consideration in planning and development decisions.” Beyond preservation for the sake of preserving history and promoting tourism, such a designation could be the difference between backing from the Pocahontas Island community and strong opposition.
It is a community worthy of preservation and recognition.
The island existed in relative obscurity until a tornado in August 1993 damaged all 50 homes and flattened the Pocahontas Community Chapel. With help from volunteers and federal assistance, the homes were repaired and the Chapel rebuilt. With the help of its most prominent citizen, Island Mayor Richard A. Stewart, who has established a Black History Museum there, the small community has been the recipient of significant publicity over the past 13 years. The tornado and Stewart's emergence as a government watchdog/community activist have helped focus the spotlight on Pocahontas Island's rich history as a community of Free Blacks before and during the Civil War and as a home to American Indians before that.
Among the places of particular significance on Pocahontas are the former train depot (which is being excavated), a home that was part of the Underground Railroad that slaves used to escape to the North, and the Jarratt House, former home to Richard Jarratt, a Free Black businessman who was active in the fishing and transportation trades.
Listing Pocahontas Island on the National Register of Historic Places would fit the pattern for Petersburg's downtown/Old Towne revitalization strategy: Cultivate a business district and arts community within the framework of the existing historical setting through renovation and waterfront development. It's good to see that Pocahontas is part of the plan.
