Historical Highway Markers

Community of Grove

WT-4

After the Civil War, in the area that later became known as the Community of Grove, the Freedmen's Bureau confiscated land for displaced newly freed slaves and free blacks. In 1867, the government restored the land to its previous owners. Some African American residents moved to and settled on lands that became known locally as the Reservation and the Banks. In 1918, their descendants returned to the area of Grove after the U.S. government forced their removal to make way for the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station and the Cheatham Annex. The expansion of these facilities during World War II led to the further growth of Grove.

Department of Historic Resources, 2012

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

U.S. Congress Executive Order #1472, President Woodrow Wilson, Records of the 65th Congress, Washington, D.C., July 1, 1918; The Virginia Gazette, Volume XXVI (New Series), No. 18, Williamsburg, Va., “Eleven Thousand Acres Taken by Uncle Sam,” August 29, 1918; The Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, Va., “Roadside History,” August 30, 2010; Daily Press, Newport News, Va., “Reunion Celebrates Community,” July 20, 2010; Yorktown Crier, Yorktown, Va., “Freedmen Forfeited Their First York Home,” February 17, 1988; Communication with Frederick Boelt, regarding oral history of Community of Grove, 2011