Preliminary Information Form for Historic Districts: Rose Hill Neighborhood Historic District

Kalbian, Maral

A Preliminary Information Form for the Rose Hill Neighborhood Historic District. Narrative Description Summary: "The roughly 80-acre proposed Rose Hill Neighborhood Historic District in Charlottesville, Virginia encompasses multiple streets. It lies in an area north of Preston Avenue between 10th Street, NW, and Harris Street. The northern boundary is generally defined by Rivanna and Madison avenues. The neighborhood is named for the 19th century Rose Hill plantation, a portion of with was sold to Charlottesville Industrial and Land Improvement Company in the late 19th century. Only one industrial resource survives in the district. The balance of the 171 resources are primarily early-20th-century dwellings; a small number of commercial buildings; a few apartment dwellings; a large high school built in 1951 for African Americans from Charlottesville and Albermarle County; and Booker T. Washington Park, established as a part for a African Americans in 1926. The neighborhood is notable for not only the large percentage of contributing resources, but also for its association with Charlottesville's African-American residential history. The area of Rose Hill Drive was one of several neighborhoods in the City that were marketed to African Americans . These include the history neighborhoods known as Lincoln Heights and Preston. The area east of Rose Hill Drive was primarily settled by whites with little desegregation of the neighborhood until the mid-20th century. The proposed Areas of Significance for the district are Criterion C for Architecture, and Criterion A in the areas of Community Planning and Development, Education, Entertainment/Recreation, Commerce, Industry, and African-American Heritage. The Period of Significance spans the years 1890-1968. The Rose Hill Neighborhood Historic District has a fairly high degree of architectural integrity with the number of non-contributing resources being extremely small." From District's History and Significance: "The proposed Rose Hill Neighborhood Historic District is a well preserved area of Charlottesville with a rich history of development from an 18th-century plantation to a vibrant neighborhood. The wide variety of architectural resources dating from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries illustrates its history of grown and development. The resources with the proposed district contribute significantly to the larger understanding of this area's history as it relates to the themes of architecture, community planning, industry, commerce, education, African-American heritage, and education." Project funding was provided in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, administered by the State, Tribal, Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S Department of the Interior (grant number P17AF00053).

Preliminary Information Form for Historic Districts: Rose Hill Neighborhood Historic District

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