HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — In the decades before and after the Civil War, free Black landholders and entrepreneurs settled on the banks of the York River to build families and livelihoods. The community they established became known as the Reservation.
In 1918, the U.S. government commandeered the land to build what is now known as the Naval Weapons Station in Yorktown. Over the following years, families at the Reservation were displaced—pushed from their land and community.
Reservation descendants Mary Lassiter and Johnette Gordon-Weaver joins Coast Live to share their family history and connection with this time in Virginia's past, which they'll discuss further at an upcoming event.
Port Hampton Culture Series: "Life in the Reservation Community"
Monday, February 5, 7 - 8 p.m.
Hampton History Museum
120 Old Hampton Lane
Museum members: free
Non-members: $5
HamptonHistoryMuseum.org
