The Preservation Virginia group, which is comprised of both black and white Virginians, is working to stop the demolition and erect a memorial on the grounds. They want the city to consider an alternate design for the industrial park that would preserve and incorporate the historic site. Fearn Plantation has been added to Preservation Virginia’s list of Endangered Sites. The Virginia Department of Historic Resources has asked that the cemetery remain on Fern Plantation.
Enthusiasts and historians hope that the plantation will become an educational resource for Virginians and tourists, as well as a place for families to convene during reunions to learn about the lives lived and lost during a significant time in American history.
For more information on the preservation of the Fearn Plantation, contact Sonja Ingram, field representative for Preservation Virginia,
singram@preservationvirginia.org or visit preservationvirginia.org.
Little Known Black History Fact: The Fearn Plantation was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
