By Brack Stovall

Following is the verbiage for the State Historic Marker:

The house here at 1312 Wythe St. is the only original dwelling from the once – thriving, predominantly African American neighborhood known as Colored Rosemont. Virginia F. W. Thomas, a White real estate entrepreneur, inherited and purchased land in this area early in the 20th century. She sold home lots without restrictive racial covenants. despite their common use then. By about 1950, many Black middle-class families lived between Madison. Pendleton. N. Fayette, and N. West Streets. In the 1960s, the City of Alexandria expropriated property in Colored Rosemont, compensated the owners, and constructed a public housing project, undeterred by a lawsuit and vigorous opposition from the neighborhood.

As regular readers of The Old Town Crier and followers of Sarah Becker’s column are aware, since January 2020, her column uncovered a hidden gem that was to be found in the Alexandria African American community of Colored Rosemont. Over the next several years through 2024, we discovered Colored Rosemont in the first of a two-part narrative, Colored Rosemont – A Black History Lesson (https://oldtowncrier.com/2020/01/31/colored-rosemont-a-black-history-lesson/) and Colored Rosemont Part 2 (June 2020) https://oldtowncrier.com/2020/06/02/colored-rosemont-part-two/). This narrative was followed in 2022 with details of the real estate entrepreneur’s vision of providing accessible housing for African American families, in Virginia Fitzhugh Wheat Thomas and Colored Rosemont (June 2022) (https://oldtowncrier.com/2022/03/01/virginia-fitzhugh-wheat-thomas-and-colored-rosemont/). Further details of Virginia Wheat Thomas life are given to us in Ms. Becker’s fourth installment, Virginia Fitzhugh Wheat Thomas – Abolitionist Angel (December 2023) (https://oldtowncrier.com/2023/12/01/virginia-fitzhugh-wheat-thomas-abolitionist-angel/). The fifth installment of this story is found in Colored Rosemont – Final Installment (August 2024) (https://oldtowncrier.com/2024/08/01/colored-rosemont-final-installment/), where the reader appreciates the extensive political and historical forces driving Virginia Wheat Thomas’s vision in spite of efforts from the status quo to thwart the movement towards racial equality and fairness in Alexandria and thus providing a model for those forces playing out in the march towards equity in these United States.

The recognition of Colored Rosemont as a legitimate African American neighborhood in Alexandria is now celebrated with the establishment of a permanent highway marker placed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, located on 1312 Wythe Avenue. This highway marker, one of over 2500 in Virginia, solidifies Colored Rosemont as one of the significant cultural and historical drivers in the Commonwealth today. The dedication of the marker took place on September 13th. A beautiful late summer afternoon where Alexandria dignitaries, including Mayor Alyia Gaskins and members of the City Council, joined former and current residents of Colored Rosemont to celebrate this significant honor bestowed on the history of the neighborhood and efforts of Virginia Wheat Thomas to right an instilled injustice to a significant portion of our community.

After opening ceremonies and comments, attendees were treated to the recollections from family members who grew up together in Colored Rosemont through the 1940s and 1950s. Here was the real fruit of this occasion. Members of the families from that period included the children of John and Carrie Greene, who purchased the now last remaining home of Thomas’s vision on 1312 Wythe Avenue in 1949. In addition to the Greene’s daughter, Veronica Greene Pace, were Sheila Cross Redi and Deborah Turner. Their narratives heard that afternoon are evidence of the thriving community Colored Rosemont was in those two decades. Told, were recollections of playing in the streets and in and out of the family homes. Homes where the occupants were instilled with the family values of community. Sledding on icy streets in winter snows followed by the warm embrace of special recipes and the love that flowed from young families with the knowledge of an affluent future brought on by the hope growing in a healthy neighborhood. Listening to the comments I could not help but notice the constant flow of traffic on now paved avenues, connecting Alexandria neighborhoods, diluting the unique character grown in each community.

Among the attendees were the granddaughter and great granddaughter of Virginia Wheat Thomas. Granddaughter, Ms. Katherine Whitman recollected how she would come with her grandmother when she made regular appearances in Colored Rosemont, often bringing along fruits from her farm in Loudoun County to the owners of the homes financed through her community vision. Stanley Greene, living in the home of his parents remembers Ms. Thomas as an abolitionist angel, making inroads for the African American families of Colored Rosemont to have what had been denied though the efforts of institutionalized Jim Crow laws throughout the South.

The dedication ceremony was recorded, and the complete program will be made available on the alexandriava.gov website. It is recommended viewing for anyone who missed the program to understand the significance of the Colored Rosemont neighborhood and community. But I would also encourage the reader to review Ms. Becker’s five articles that proved to be the significant driver along with Stanley Greene ‘s continuing efforts toward the end result and recognition of Colored Rosemont as a place along with over 2500 recognized sites in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

About the Author: Brack Stovall is a retired Librarian, musician with an extensive interest in the community.