I’m standing under the magnificent canopy of branches from the Emancipation Oak, a historic southern live oak tree believed to be more than 200 years old in Hampton, Virginia. I’m in the midst of a two-day Black history tour of Hampton, a coastal city with historical roots that are part of the genesis of America, from the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in 1619 at Old Point Comfort to the self-emancipation of men and women who sought and found refuge at Fort Monroe during the Civil War. As I work to absorb the many stories of perseverance and triumph, I picture teacher Mary Peake sitting beneath the massive, outstretched branches of this hardwood to educate those formerly enslaved people, laying the foundations of Hampton University, a historically Black university.
Against this backdrop, I arrive at Aberdeen Gardens, a wonderfully preserved time capsule of a New Deal-era resettlement community. These neighborhoods, part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s initiatives, were created to relocate struggling families to communities planned by the federal government. Its initial mission was to relocate rural farming communities to richer farmland.
Aberdeen Gardens, which started in 1934, was a unique Black resettlement community in an urban area. It was the only one designed, built, and inhabited entirely by Black people. At a time when systemic racism sought to marginalize Black workers, Aberdeen Gardens offered a rare chance for homeownership and economic stability.
According to Robert Watson, assistant history professor at Hampton University, “Aberdeen Gardens is a continuation of the role that Black people play in the Hampton Roads area. And I think the fact that that you have Fort Monroe right down the road, where the arrival of the first Africans in 1619 [took place], and then the subsequent creation of other neighborhoods like Aberdeen Gardens, shows resiliency. It becomes a road map for other communities throughout the country.”
A New Beginning During the Great Depression
During and after the Great Depression, the U.S. government established 29 New Deal resettlement communities to relocate struggling families into planned neighborhoods to help them regain stability. Development of Aberdeen Gardens was initiated when Hampton University secured a $245,000 federal grant. The university’s leaders ensured that skilled Black artisans designed and constructed the homes.
The 158 single-family brick homes featured hardwood floors, indoor plumbing, heating, front and back porches, and garages. The structures also had a small plot of land for gardening and raising chickens to ensure the families could provide for themselves. An elementary school and a commercial center were also constructed in the 440-acre district.
The home costs ranged from $1,800 for a three-room house to $3,300 for a five-room house with a lease-to-own option. “One of the other things that makes it unique is that Aberdeen Gardens offers home ownership and an improved quality of life in a rural setting right here in Hampton,” Professor Watson adds.
Preserving the Community
There was some initial opposition to the project. One group asked government officials to convert Aberdeen Gardens into a white-occupancy project. When First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was informed about these discriminatory efforts, she visited Aberdeen Gardens to ensure the program’s mission was not derailed.
Margaret Wilson, a local historian and president of the Aberdeen Gardens Historical Foundation, has worked tirelessly to ensure that the neighborhood’s story is told. Wilson has a personal connection to the district; her grandparents were one of the first families to move into the community, and she spent part of her childhood living in one of the historic homes. “It was a community of folks who came together to preserve something that was given to them by the government,” she says. “They protected that community.”
In 1994, community members boarded buses headed for Richmond, where they successfully lobbied to secure a place for Aberdeen Gardens on the Virginia and National Register of Historic Places. While that was a significant feat, leaders noted that education was also a vital preservation component. To that end, the neighborhood transformed two of its homes into the Aberdeen Gardens Museum, a space filled with artifacts from the 1930s and ’40s that provide a glimpse into life for early residents.
Professor Watson notes, “The importance of visiting Aberdeen Gardens is to let people know that they too can do it, that they too can survive, that they too can…be a model for people who want to be active agents in their own lives.
A Legacy Worth Exploring
Wilson and others are diligently working to bring greater awareness to Aberdeen Gardens, even pushing for recognition in the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. “The challenge we have right now is trying to get the history in a wider area than just Hampton,” Wilson explains. “We’re trying to get young people from the high school to get interested because we know we’re not going to be around. We want people to continue to tell the story.”
Aberdeen Gardens is a must-visit for history lovers and travelers seeking to understand the depth of Black contributions to America’s story. From the shores where the first enslaved Africans arrived to the make-shift classrooms under the Emancipation Oak and the homes of Aberdeen Gardens, Hampton serves as a living testament to the indomitable spirit of the Black community there.
Aberdeen Gardens Historic Museum (Uploaded to YouTube by The Vacation Channels)
Although it started as a weekend getaway, a two-day Black history tour of Hampton helped me to show my children the importance of learning our stories. Adding a tour of the Aberdeen Gardens Museum to a Hampton or Williamsburg itinerary is an excellent way to enrich a trip for those looking to support its preservation. Donations to the Historical Foundation of Aberdeen Gardens can also help to ensure that this remarkable community remains for generations to come.
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Comments
Such history should be preserved and serve as a lesson to younger generations.
And Bob McGowan, Jr said what he said about it so well that my remarks along that line would have been superfluous.
This is a moving account of a part of the American story which I, who flatter myself that I know a lot about it, had been unaware.
Notice how it differs from the planned “communities” which came with The Great Society years: those were hideous high rises for the most part, built according to the inhuman impulses of modern architecture, with no yard space for children to play or neighbors to stroll and meet other neighbors. They fostered no individuality or opportunities for privacy, and subtly discouraged residents’ natural instincts to take pride in their homes.
Worst of all, the government welfare policies which began in the Johnson administration discouraged the formation of families and provided every incentive for existent families to break up. I believe in a generous social welfare state. No decent society can be anything but that. Life is too harsh in its surprises. The vast majority of people yearn to do well in life, yearn to be good parents and citizens, and most will do anything to avoid having to avail themselves of government help.
But this remarkable community proves that government planned communities can be blessings, not curses, and I would like to know more of the story. I close by noting something I alluded to earlier: the culture is everything. The America of the 1930s had a vibrant culture. It wasn’t just literate, it was literary. Its music was, as one of the few surviving musicians of the era said about twenty years ago, the last American popular music which was also the highest quality music. And that culture was intrinsically a Christian or at least a Christ honoring one.
Thank you for this feature on the Aberdeen Gardens resettlement community, Ms. Burton. It’s a legacy all Americans can and should be proud of. The fact it came about in 1934 during The Great Depression makes it all the more remarkable.
It’s important that it stays intact as it is/was, with any maintenance updates always keeping this preservation first and foremost. I’m glad its location is in Virginia, where there is respect shown for America’s past. In California (specifically Los Angeles) there is no such respect shown. It’s all about greedy developers re-developing previous over developments, etc. to the point of generic nothingness historically, physically or spiritually.