At Home in Henrico: An almost forgotten acre in the Near West End

I never thought that a photograph in the Henrico Citizen would result in a reader reaching out to me. But, after the Citizen ran a photo of the Ivy Whackers clearing ivy from tree trunks at Trinity United Methodist Church earlier this spring, that’s what happened. Back in March, I took a call from Marianne Rollings.

Since 2017, Mrs. Rollings has been the steady spirit for recovering and restoring the Sons and Daughters of Ham Cemetery. This historic African-American cemetery is compactly scrunched between the city of Richmond’s Bandy Field, the University of Richmond, and the beginning western edge of Henrico County.

Mrs. Rollings knows every square inch of the cemetery’s history including the Revolutionary War, B.W. Green’s Huntley Plantation, Dahlgren’s Raid in the Civil War, and its founding in 1873.

After the Civil War and emancipation, members of the Bradford family, who had worked on the plantation, purchased property along Battalion Road, which would later be renamed as Bandy Road. These land purchases led to the expansion of the formerly secret slave organization, the Sons of Ham. Some members of the organization built homes along Battalion Road. These land purchases also included a section designated as burial grounds for the family of Moses Bradford, Sr. and members of the Ham Council.

Seventeen years after the establishment of the Ham Council, Richmond’s Maggie Walker played a significant leadership role in helping to forge an agreement between the Independent Order of St. Luke and the Ham Council. This was seen as a consolidation of St. Luke with smaller independent societies.

For more than 50 years, the Ham Council successfully oversaw the building of homes along Bandy Road, including properly maintaining the cemetery. Then in 1955, a significant intrusion occurred: the City of Richmond wanted the property to build a school. City officials imposed eminent domain. They forced the Bandy Road residents out, razed their homes, and also flattened most of the Civil War earthworks on the property.

Ironically, the school was never built, but the disrupted residents relocated to Bon Air, western Henrico, Northside, and an area around Westwood Baptist Church.

Eventually, that 1955 disruption had an impact on the cemetery. For the Ham Council families who had been forced to move, their ability to properly maintain the cemetery diminished.

That failed upkeep slowed Mrs. Rollings in her effort to locate the burial grounds.

“I lived two blocks away from the cemetery, and the years of decomposing leaves and overgrown vegetation prevented me from finding the cemetery,” she told me.

In 1998, the city made an attempt to sell the property. On another front, the University of Richmond pushed an effort to acquire the Henrico County cemetery. But efforts by the Friends of Bandy Field and members of the Bradford family prevented these potential purchases.

By 2019, Mrs. Rollings had successfully completed and filed the required paperwork so that the cemetery was incorporated as a nonprofit. In 2021, Mrs. Rollings was filing more paperwork. This time, she was in pursuit of grant funding from the National Trust and the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. Once again, her historical knowledge of the site and her vision for what the grounds could become helped her to win grants from both organizations.

Much progress has been made in locating and cleaning up the site. But, this is on-going seasonal work that requires volunteers to maintain the property on four annual cleanup days. Friends of East End Cemetery, Henrico County employee volunteers, the University of Richmond, Boy Scouts, and a variety of non-profits and individuals have helped with the cleanup days.

One Boy Scout developed his Eagle Scout project to construct a much needed bridge. Mrs. Rollings noted that significant interaction and help has occurred with Oliver Hill Scholars from the University of Richmond as well as the school’s archaeology department.

I asked Mrs. Rollings if there was a total for the number of grave sites on the property. Depending upon the source, she estimated that 50 to 100 souls are interred.

Yet, despite those estimates, only two grave markers remain. Sadly, from time to time vandalism has been a challenge. Yet, the two remaining markers are significant. One marker honors Private Moses Bradford, Jr., a Buffalo Soldier, and son of the founder of the Sons of the Ham Council. The other marker remembers Queenie Bradford Johnston, the granddaughter of that same founder. Queenie’s father had also toiled on the plantation.

With its founding in 1873, this year marks the sesquicentennial for the cemetery. For Mrs. Rollings, this 150 year birthday is the perfect time to recognize the history, the cleanups, the pathways, and signage improvements that have taken place since 2017.

From Mrs. Rollings’ vision there is much more to come in the future. She acknowledged the opportunity in working with an archaeologist to uncover more grave sites, the creation of a memorial garden on the site to help slow down the busyness of our lives, and an augmented reality program that will use a QR code to give visitors a deeper insight into the history of the Sons and Daughters of Ham.

When it comes to this piece of property, Marianne Rollings is a veritable history book. She has truly embraced one of her mantras in the restoration of this property: “every acre counts.”

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If you or your organization would like to assist Rollings, e-mail her at hamcemeteryrva@gmail.com.

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Bill Pike is a member of the Henrico Citizen Advisory Board, a former member of the Henrico School Board and a retired longtime Henrico principal and educator.

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