Shockoe Hill facts for kids

View of Shockoe Hill from Church Hill

Shockoe Hill is one of the oldest parts of Richmond, Virginia, in the United States. It's one of several hills where the city first grew. This area stretches from downtown Richmond, where the state capitol building is, almost a mile north. The hill then drops sharply down to a winding stream called Shockoe Creek. Today, Interstate 95 cuts through the hill, separating the busy downtown part from the quieter, more residential northern area.

Important Cemeteries

Near the northern edge of Shockoe Hill, you'll find two very important cemeteries. These places tell many stories about the past.

Shockoe Hill Cemetery

Shockoe Hill Cemetery is a historic burial ground. Many famous people are buried here, including:

• John Marshall: A very important judge who served as the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Peter Francisco: A hero from the American Revolutionary War, known for his strength and bravery.
• Elizabeth Van Lew: A brave spy who helped the Union during the American Civil War.

Many soldiers from the Confederate States of America are also buried here. After the Civil War, the remains of over five hundred Union Army prisoners of war (POWs) were moved from a nearby African Burying Ground to the Richmond National Cemetery.

Hebrew Cemetery

The Hebrew Cemetery of Richmond was started in 1816. It's special because it's believed to have the largest Jewish military burial ground outside of Tel Aviv, Israel. Many important Jewish families from Richmond, like William Thalhimer, who started the famous Thalhimers department store, are buried here.

The Almshouse Building

Right next to the Hebrew Cemetery is The Almshouse building. It was built in 1860 to be a "poor house," a place for people who didn't have anywhere else to go. During the American Civil War, it became a hospital for soldiers. In 1865, for a short time, it even housed the students from the Virginia Military Institute. Many Confederate soldiers buried in the nearby cemeteries had died while being treated in this building.

Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground

The "Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground" is a very important but often forgotten burial site. It was a cemetery for enslaved people and free people of color. On old maps from the 1870s, it was sometimes called "Potter's Field."

This burying ground is located at 5th and Hospital Street. Early maps show it as two separate acres: one for "Free People of Colour" and one for "Negroes" or "Slaves." Over the years, it was known by different names, such as the "Burying-ground for Coloured Persons" and the "African Burying Ground."

This cemetery was started in 1816 by the City of Richmond. Even though it was separate, it was part of the larger Shockoe Hill Burying-ground, also known as the Shockoe Hill Cemetery. Over time, it grew much larger. Today, you wouldn't easily recognize it as a cemetery because there are no visible signs on the surface. Some people now call it the "2nd African Burial Ground" or "African Burial Ground II."