Porters Road

Porters Precinct--or Porters' or Porter's (with and without the 'Precinct') as it is sometimes written--appears on maps as early as 1864 and is referenced in newspapers and official documents from at least the 1830s. Yet this scant invocation of a name does little to convey the full scope of Porters' significance and the stories to which it bears witness. A host of people, all with deep ties to the land, share in the story of this community. We attempt here to begin to tell its story.

Porters Precinct rests on the ancestral homeland of the Monacan peoples. After driving them off their land, white landowning gentry established a plantation community there, relying on the labor of enslaved African-Americans to make their farms profitable. After emancipation, Black laborers and their families built settlements in the surrounding area. Long after the plantations that dotted this rural landscape have become relics to an exploitative system of antebellum slavery, descendants of that tightly-knit Black community continue to call this landscape home. For nearly two centuries, Porters Road has been the centerpiece of a storied history of Black civic, economic, and social life.

Today, however, many historical accounts erase those ties, writing about the region's history as if Esmont merely sprung forth out of nothingness in the 20th century. At best, they present Porters as a mere footnote in the larger history of white Esmont--if it is mentioned at all. But Porters Precinct and Porters Road are as persistent as the groups who hold it dear today. Porters was never nothing, and neither has it disappeared. In fact, the landscape is a testament to its long-ranging, ongoing history.

Porters Road likely took its name from a white man named Rezin Porter, who was granted over 1,000 acres across what is now known as Esmont in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Evidence suggests that the place-name Porters Precinct took root much later in 1831, when white landowners petitioned for a more convenient precinct election "on the crossroads on Capt. Peter Porter's property [the late Rezin S. Porter's son], his situation [being] nearly equidistant for the Nelson line above the Fluvanna line below where they exclusively [?] intersect the James River," given that the nearest precinct was "Garlands Store." (See 1867 Hotchkiss map.)

In 1846, the Scottsville precinct and magisterial district emerged out of another legislative petition in which Scottsville area landowners decried "lack of transportation to Porters" and positioned for their own precinct given the size of the (much larger) population there.

Both place-names clearly stuck. In 1850, only a few years later, Porters Precinct would receive a 'special' post office that likely operated on and off until around 1895. This post office was presumably active consistently from around 1876-1895, when it was replaced in name by the Esmont and the new West Esmont P.O. in 1905 at the behest of John H. Lane.

Today Porters Precinct is still a voting precinct, as it has been for nearly 200 years. Though in 1831 the precinct would have imposed the exclusion codified in the Constitution limiting legal rights to a small group of land-owning white men, after Reconstruction the formerly enslaved carved a community out of the parcels of former plantation territory. One source purports that in Porters Precinct, "one man named Branch['s]...freed Negroes bought [their] land from him after they had worked 'on shares' for five years" (Irwin 16; see figure 4).

From then on, Porters' history was shaped by a commitment to grassroots activism and community engagement--including a pivotal role in the short-lived radical Readjusters movement of the last 19th century, when it boasted an active Black voting bloc that proved newsworthy. Izetta Smith notes in her 1994 memoir "My Life's Experiences" that the former Porters Precinct P.O. was Matthew Carey's home in the 1990s (7), demonstrating the interconnectedness of all these histories and their role in Porters' lengthy commitment to civic life, education, and social activism.

Porters is a testament to the long struggle for African-American public education. A series of schools for African-American students were established beginning in the Reconstruction era, including Glendower School (1869), the Loving Charity Lodge (1909), Chestnut Grove School (1910), Oak Ridge School (early 1900s), and Esmont High School (1916). Evidenced by the community’s persistent efforts to furnish schooling for their children, Porters' Black population prioritized the necessity of education and fought to fundraise and contribute as much as possible to the various schools. The Esmont School League, established in 1912 by the Black men and women of Esmont and led by Benjamin F. Yancey, exemplifies one of the first organizational pushes for African-American schooling and eventually integration. Organizations like this one amplified the community’s ability to pool their resources and fundraise or even purchase land for schools. It was the financial contributions of the community which resulted in the creation of the Esmont Colored School in 1916, later converted to Esmont High School.

Izetta Smith also tells of her father and the community's role in purchasing the initial plots and the communal efforts to raise the money to fund these schools:

"The people had very little money in those days. In order to get the Junior High School established, Professor Terry went to many of the rich people in the area asking for help and they never turned him down. I will never forget one rich lady, Mrs. Robinson, sent a 500 lb. bull to the school on May Day to be sold. The men built a platform down near the road and the animal was put on display to the public. He stood there all day but there was no sale. Then she took the animal back to the farm and sent Professor Terry a check for $500.00. Thanks to God and Mrs. Robinson, the building soon went up. Of course, the churches gave what they could. Soon there were five buses running, bringing children to the Esmont School. Rooms were being added as needed. The present school is an entirely new building." (8-9)

This enormous effort paid off immensely for the Black students in Esmont and Porters. By the 1940s, there were only three primary schools serving Black students in all of Albemarle County: Jefferson High School, Esmont High School, and Albemarle Training School. Still, the Black community’s philanthropy and contributions were essential to keeping these schools afloat due to the insufficient aid coming from Albemarle County (which was only obligated to provide minimal funding as result of Virginia's segregationist educational policies). The Black community of Esmont was persistent in their attempts to integrate–or at the very least equalize–the eduational standards for their children, but white efforts in Albemarle County to maintain segregation were tenacious. The obstinacy of both sides reveals the ways in which Esmont’s landscape at this point in time–and indeed throughout its entire history–served as a poignant reflection of the struggle the nation as a whole was enduring throughout the fight for civil rights. 

Eventually, the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County reached an agreement to create a single school for all the Black students grades 8-12 in Albemarle County. Jackson P. Burley High School opened in 1951 in the city of Charlottesville, with 542 students enrolled for its first year. Although it posed an immense and oppressive inconvenience to Black rural students, the rural white people were relieved of the burden of educating Black students—the primary motivation behind the geographic location of the school. Burley High School was established just a few years prior to the Brown v. Board of Education decision, which effectively eliminated segregation in public schools. And yet the pro-segregationist stances of the Charlottesville School Board as well as local politicians like Senator Harry F. Byrd worked to continue the educational separation of black and white students. Desegregation continued in Charlottesville well into 1958, when the Charlottesville School Board denied transfer applications for 33 Black students from Burley High seeking to attend the all-white Lane High School. The site of Burley High School is a physical manifestation of the relentless white effort to resist integration in Albemarle County. 

Porters Road is also known for its vibrant Black business district that was further stimulated by the presence of the stone quarry, bank, and railroad nearby. Izetta Smith notes in the early 1900s and 1910s that:

While some of these businesses had closed by the end of the 20th century, their impact has not faded. Today, the B.F. Yancey Community Center is an active and visible part of the social and civic fabric of the community, providing essential outreach to those in the surrounding area.

The churches, schools, businesses, homes, and other sites in Porters and the broader Esmont area now and then serve as fertile loam for a vibrant, historic community. Below we have highlighted and researched some key sites that residents today remember and cherish.

Seven Black churches were founded in Esmont in the decades following the Civil War. They demonstrate the commitment of each congregation’s earliest members to create a beacon of faith in the community. Throughout the 20th century, these churches provided not only spiritual homes, but essential resources to residents. Churches met the needs for schoolhouses, meeting places for organizations, and burial sites for generations of families. The original structures were expanded or renovated over time to reflect shifts in membership and community needs. They continue to anchor the Porters community and announce the importance of Christian faith to longtime residents.

The Porters community in southern Albemarle County has long been committed to education. As soon as the Civil War ended, community members established schools for Black students, including Glendower School (1869), the Loving Charity Lodge School (1909), Chestnut Grove School (1910), Oak Ridge School (early 1900s), and Esmont High School (1916). The Esmont School League was established in 1912 by the Black men and women of Esmont to demand quality educational facilities for Black children. Led by Benjamin F. Yancey, the League was responsible for the establishment of the Esmont Colored School in 1916, which later became Esmont High School.

By the 1940s, there were only three high schools serving Black students in Albemarle County: Jefferson High School, Esmont High School, and Albemarle Training School. Once again, local leaders demanded better schools, and once again they raised funds and purchased land to accommodate those improvements. Determined to resist integration, however, white residents in the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County reached an agreement in 1947 to build a school for all Black students in grades 8-12 in the city of Charlottesville. Jackson P. Burley High School opened in 1951, with 542 students enrolled for its first year.

Throughout the 20th century, the Porters community's organization and philanthropy kept local Black schools afloat in the face of Virginia's segregationist educational policies. The experience of school children in the Porters community during this period serves as a poignant reflection of the civil rights struggles that finally transformed education in the nation as a whole.

In 1961, the B.F. Yancey Elementary School was built on the same site where Esmont High School previously stood. On May 25th, 2017, the School Board voted to combine Yancey Elementary School into the Red Hill and Scottsville Elementary School districts. Since March 9, 2019, the building has served as the Yancey School Community Center. A permanent exhibit about the history of Black education in Esmont is located in the entrance hall.

Starting in 1916, Black students in first through eighth grades attended Esmont Colored School, a six-room school located at 7625 Porters Road. Benjamin F. Yancey and other community leaders from the Porters community pooled their resources to establish this school, donating three acres of land and overseeing the construction. Mr. Yancey and his wife, Harriet Yancey, ran the school and taught there for many years. By the 1930s the school was severely overcrowded and a second two-room school known locally as “The Little School '' was opened down the street for the younger grades. The original school building was then renamed Esmont High School and expanded to teach fifth through eleventh grades. By the 1940s the high school was again overcrowded and in need of repair. Local parents and community leaders again rallied, forming a PTA and raising money to acquire four acres adjacent to the existing school to accommodate expansion. But the all-white Albemarle School Board had other plans. In 1949, it combined three Black high schools in Albemarle County--Jefferson High School, Esmont High School, and Albemarle Training School--into one single school: Burley High School, which opened in Charlottesville in 1951.

One of many extracurricular activities at Esmont High School included the publication of the Esmont High School Journal. The fourth issue of the journal, published on May 13th, 1944, featured in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, contained an article titled, ‘Are We Progressing?’ The article was written in bullet-point style, listing examples of the various ways Esmont High School had progressed as well as highlighting individual achievements over the past year. Some newly founded clubs, awards, and types of entertainment included: a Beautification Club, a Student Council, a Victory Pageant, Operetta, Musical Concert, Christmas Pageant, the Fashion Show, winning the Inter-County Oratorical Contest. These accomplishments not only highlight the success of Esmont High School but gives the reader a sense of the supportive climate and comradery generated by the students, teachers, and administrators.

Located on 7625 Porters Road, B.F. Yancey Elementary School is a beloved pillar of the community in Esmont. From the  Yancey School Community Center Heritage and History Center: 

"In the mid-1930s, several parents of Esmont School students joined together to create the Parent-Teacher League to further support African American education in Esmont. The group eventually became an accredited Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). By the 1940s, the Esmont High School and Little School were in poor condition, so members of the PTA raised money to purchase another four acres of land and petitioned the Albemarle County School Board for a modern brick school building. The school was finally built in 1960, replacing the Esmont School for Colored Students. It was named after Benjamin Franklin Yancey, and served grades one through seven, while 8-12 graders were sent to Burley High School in Charlottesville."

In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed. In the late 1960s, BF Yancey became one of the integrated elementary schools in Albemarle County. BF Yancey served the community until 2017, when it was closed by the Albemarle County School Board. Though it no longer functions as a formal elementary school, the building remains a symbol of the long history of community-led African American education in Esmont.

Students who attended BF Yancey Elementary School have fond memories of their time at the school and credit it for giving them a solid educational foundation and a lifelong love of learning. The school established strong traditions, like the Fall Festival and the May Pole. Thousands of students were educated where Yancey is now located between 1916-2017.

Yancey’s continued existence is a testament to Esmont and Porters' incredible ability to mobilize the community “every two or three years…to resist the forces that threaten the survival of B.F. Yancey School” (Rice 1988) and to the longstanding importance of Black public education, equity, and social action for Black citizens in Esmont. While no longer active as a school, the building has continued to serve the community in several capacities since 2019, including hosting a food pantry, a gym and yoga space, community garden, serving as a polling precinct, hosting agencies like Jefferson Area Board for the Aging (JABA) and Blue Ridge Health Center, and the permanent Esmont historical exhibit “African-American Education in Esmont: Making a Way Out of No Way.”

Sources: Rice, Horace R. “Repeated Threat to School Unfair to Esmont Community.” The Daily Progress March 13, 1988, p. 54; Yancey School Community Center Heritage & History,  “African American Education in Esmont, Va.: Making a Way Out of No Way” .

The stores that served the Porters community--Thomas Stores, Gooding’s Store, Carey’s Store, Simpson Store, Porters Superette, and Nelson Store--were more than places to buy merchandise. These establishments were important social hubs. For instance, both Thomas Stores housed booths and a jukebox, creating an inviting space for community members to socialize and dance. Similarly, Nelson Store, equipped with a jukebox and a beer license, became a popular stop among truck drivers passing through the area. While Gooding’s Store and the Thomas Stores primarily sold canned and dry goods, Simpson Store offered a selection of fresh groceries like fish and sliced meats. Carey’s Store and Nelson Store exemplified the community's generosity by extending a system of credit to locals, allowing them to pay their account balances at a later date. These stores not only fulfilled practical needs but also demonstrated the spirit of communal support that defined the Porter’s community. 

In the heyday of the community, stores and businesses lined Porters Road, creating a vibrant community and helping residents become self-sufficient. Many were tucked into homes along the stretch between Esmont Road and Dawson’s Lane, including several beauty salons, garages, and a towing and logging company. Several businesses, such as the beauty salons, reflected areas of growing entrepreneurship for Black small business owners across the nation. Although most of these businesses no longer exist, they created economic opportunities for local residents for many decades, and helped establish a strong sense of belonging in Porters that continues today. 

Though none survive today, the Porters community once contained numerous entertainment and recreational options. The Odd Fellows Hall was not only a meeting place for the members of that civic-minded fraternal organization, but a community center for events and competitions. Baseball games were a regular feature after church on Sundays, and throughout the week residents would grab a sandwich at the Cozy Corner or play a few songs on the piccolo (jukebox). At night, Julia’s Inn and other restaurants provided a place where you could dance, drink, socialize with friends, and watch the occasional fight break out. Today families enjoy the playground, picnic areas, and walking trails of Simpson Park, named for a leading figure in Porter’s history, James Elias Simpson.  

This StoryMap was the product of a collaboration between the history keepers of Porters Road and the "Mapping Black Landscapes" class at the University of Virginia in the spring of 2024, taught by Prof. Lisa Goff. For more on the history keepers, see the companion " History Keepers " StoryMap. For historical information on other Reconstruction-era Black settlements in central Virginia, see Prof. Goff's project " Finding Virginia's Freetowns ," a collaboration with the Scholars' Lab at the University of Virginia.

Sources cited

Cagle, Sarah. "Esmont Resurgent," Daily Progress, February 16, 1997, p.1.

Citizens [of Albemarle County] petition for a separate election precinct at the house of Capt. Peter Porter, 1831. Library of Virginia Legislative Petitions Digital Collection,  (digitool)3055668 

Citizens of Scottsville petition for the establishment of an election precinct in Scottsville, 1846. Library of Virginia Legislative Petitions Digital Collection,  (digitool)3055769 . 

Cumbo-Floyd, Andi. Esmont, Virginia : A Community Carved from the Earth and Sustained by Story. Friends of Esmont, 2020.

Gilmer, Jeremy Francis. “Map of Albemarle County,” 1864. Library of Congress. Online  here .  

Irwin, Marjorie Felice. The Negro in Charlottesville and Albemarle County: An Exploratory Study. University of Virginia Phelps-Stokes Fellowship Paper Number Nine, 1929. Online  here .

Massie, Frank A. A New and Historical Map of Albemarle County, Virginia. Virginia School Company, 1907. Online  here . 

Records of the Post Office Department, Reports of Site Locations, 1937-1950. Virginia: Accomack - Albemarle. Microscopy 1126, Roll 602. Online  here .  

Smith, Izetta P. My Life’s Experiences. Carlton Press Corp., 1992. 

Snow, Helen Foster, “The Dameron-Damron Genealogy: The Descendants of Lawrence Dameron of Virginia, Who Had a Land Patent In Northumberland County, 1652, His Children Being: Bartholomew, George, Thomas, Samuel, Lawrence, Jr., and Dorothy,” 1950-1959. University of Virginia Special Collections Library.