West Bottom

It is a stormy Monday afternoon in Fluvanna County, and West Bottom Baptist Church stands seemingly empty with only a few cars parked on the gravel lot. Inside it's a different story.

At around 1 pm every Monday, a group gathers in the fellowship hall of the church. The table is scattered with research on Pastor Barrett of Thessalonia Baptist Church, recently published booklets about Oak Hill Cemetery, and loose sheets of paper with handwritten notes. Laptops lie on top of it all, their screens flashing with digitized newspaper articles and Ancestry.com records. The conversation jumps between the group's interests, from finding the mysterious settlement of "Point Look Out" listed several times on Property Tax Records to good-natured banter about a recent group trip to Monticello.

The conversation lasts for hours, often only interrupted around 5 pm because of unavoidable outside committments. However, the next Monday proceeds as though there's been no interruption, as the group resumes a vibrant discussion of Black history in Fluvanna. To this group, there is never an end to what they want to learn about their ancestors' roles in Fluvanna's history.

Mahalia Johnson, descendent of the Johnson and Barnett families, is "the nicest person you will ever meet," says Melissa Hill, who praises her consistent support of other group members. Melissa herself, a descendent of the Vowel, Hill, and Bowles families, always greets me with warmth and often a hug. Her humor brings an upbeat and light-hearted energy to discussions. Nadine Armstrong, a dogged researcher, shares stories about calling Melissa at 11 p.m. to ask her questions about Fluvanna history. Mahalia adds, "Melissa is honest" then exclaims, "Wait, take that out!" before they both erupt into laughter.

The West Bottom settlement arose in 1865, founded by formerly enslaved laborers from several Fluvanna County plantations across the Fluvanna--which sets it apart from settlements founded more locally.

A portion of the population were formerly enslaved at Bremo, the vast plantation owned by John Hartwell Cocke. Unusual among slaveowners, Cocke educated his enslaved workforce, not out of altriusm but in anticipation of relocating them to Africa through the (failed) efforts of the American Colonization Society. After emancipation, some Black laborers stayed at Bremo, working for wages, while many otheres moved to or helped establish settlements nearby, such as to West Bottom.

The origin of the name "West Bottom" is not known. Mahalia Johnson's theory is that it's named for the nearby creek where baptisms were held, a creek located at the "west bottom" corner of Bremo plantation.

While the community centered around West Bottom Baptist Church, other locations, especially schools and places of work, also shaped the lives of Black residents.

Many black residents of West Bottom have a family history that spans centuries in this community.

The sense of community and family that built the West Bottom community is still alive and well there today. You can feel it every Monday afternoon in the fellowship hall of West Bottom Baptist Church, where Melissa, Nadine, Mahalia, and their neighbors meet to expand their knowledge of the history of West Bottom and Fluvanna County. Historians tend to refer to Black history as "lost" or hidden, but it's neither: you just need to know where to look.

Sources:

Fluvanna Leaders of Race and Diversity. "A History of African American Churches in Fluvanna County," 2021. Slides 67-72.

Johnson, Tricia. "Investigation Confirms Structure Once Home to Enslaved People." Fluvanna Review, June 8th 2022.  https://fluvannareview.com/2022/06/investigation-confirms-structure-once-home-to-enslaved-people/ 

Johnson, Tricia. "Historic Black Cemetery Restored." Fluvanna Review, November 18th 2021.  https://fluvannareview.com/2021/11/historically-black-cemetery-restored/ 

“John Hartwell Cocke.” Monticello, https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/john-hartwell-cocke/.

"Offer Reward for Capture of Negro." The Richmond Virginian, May 16th 1913,  https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90052005/1913-05-16/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1777&index=1&rows=20&words=Bottom+West&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=Virginia&date2=1963&proxtext=west+bottom&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 

"Two Hundred Dollar Reward." The Times-Dispatch, May 17th 1913,  https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038615/1913-05-17/ed-1/seq-9/#date1=1777&index=12&date2=1963&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=Bottoms+West+WEST+west&proxdistance=5&state=Virginia&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=west+bottom&andtext=west+bottom&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 

"Reports are Bosh." Evening Journal, May 16th 1913,  https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=TEJ19130516.1.2&srpos=4&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22west+bottom%22------- 

“Rosenwald School Architectural Survey.” Preservation Virginia, 13 Jan. 2022, https://preservationvirginia.org/our-work/architectural-rosenwald-school-survey/.

Links to other Projects:

Contacts: Tricia Johnson - Head of the Fluvanna Historical Society Andi Cumbo-Floyd - Author and Historian

West Bottom Bapist Church Historical Group: Nadine Armstrong Mahalia Johnson Melissa Hill