Washington Park Community

Emancipated African Americans settled in this area after the Civil War. They organized St. John Baptist Church ca. 1868 and built a sanctuary here in 1893. First Baptist Church was founded in 1921. Two planned developments, Oak Park and Washington Park, constituted what is now known as Washington Park early in the 20th century. The neighborhood’s Market Inn nightclub featured performances by such acts as Redd Foxx, the Shirelles, and the Drifters, and was listed in the Green Book, a guide for Black travelers during the segregation era. The City of Richmond annexed part of the community from Henrico Co. in 1914 and the rest in 1942. Dr. Roy West, Richmond’s second Black mayor, grew up here.