The Virginia Board of Historic Resources will be considering a pair of items related to Gwynn’s Island when it meets next Thursday, Sept. 21 in Danville—a proposed historical marker describing the “Black Exodus from Gwynn’s Island,” as well as the creation of a Gwynn’s Island Historic District.
The meeting will be held at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, Conference Room 207, 150 Slayton Avenue, Danville. It is open to the public.
The applicant for the historical marker is the Mathews County NAACP, and the proposed location is not yet determined, according to Allison Thomas, who has participated in the plans for the marker. A letter from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to Mathews County Administrator Ramona Wilson identified a specific location, but Thomas said it is no longer available.
As proposed, the text for the marker would read:
“Black Exodus from Gwynn’s Island
The Black community on Gwynn’s Island originated in the 1600s and numbered about 135 in ...