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The Settlement Recordation Project
The Settlement was established by formerly enslaved people. It is shown on various maps, but its boundaries have never been identified and its story is known only to its inhabitants. According to oral histories conducted during the summer of 2018, its center has been and remains the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church and its congregation. The community coalesced with the start of land ownership after the Civil War and thrived through the last quarter of the twentieth century, however, its boundaries were never formally mapped. The results of the 2018 oral history project provided a better understanding of the land that comprises the core of The Settlement, an area roughly the shape of a triangle with Carver Road, Old Carolina Road, and U.S. Route 29 making up the three sides.
After the Civil War, freed slaves moved off plantations, bought land and created a community eventually called The Settlement. Evolving over its history as an African-American community in segregated Virginia, The Settlement grew in importance to support its own church, dance hall, restaurant, and school.
The Settlement Recordation Project is intended to record remaining elements of this community and tell its history from immediately after the Civil War to the present day. The Prince William Board of County Supervisors allocated funds to pay a consultant to assist with this effort.
The recordation project builds on research completed in 2018 by Amanda Lim Patton as a student intern from the University of Virginia. Ms. Patton's research included oral history interviews, genealogical research, and title searches on eight members of the community. The Settlement Oral History Project is the result of Ms. Patton's efforts. Oral history research is baseline documentation that researchers use to answer research questions and help prepare histories.
Starting in 2019, work began to complete four remaining oral histories and record architectural elements of The Settlement. Additionally, two Preliminary Information Forms (PIF) for a proposed The Settlement Historic District and the Shady Inn Dance Hall and a National Register Nomination for the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church were prepared. These forms were sent to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR) staff to evaluate and submit to the Virginia State Review Board for its evaluation during its June 18, 2020 meeting. VDHR staff determined The Settlement Historic District was not eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (see PIF for a map of the district) and deferred bringing forward the Shady Inn Dance Hall to the State Review Board. The State Review Board did recommend a National Register nomination form be prepared for Mount Pleasant Baptist Church.
In summary, preparation of the PIFs resulted in the core of The Settlement being recorded as a historic district and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church and Shady Inn Dance Hall (at present, The Golden Church of God and Prophecy) being recorded as individual architectural sites with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. On December 10, 2020, the Virginia Historic Resources Board and the Virginia State Review Board voted to list Mount Pleasant Baptist Church on the Virginia Landmarks Registry and voted to recommend the National Park Service list Mount Pleasant Baptist Church on the National Register of Historic Places.
National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form - Mount Pleasant Baptist Church and Cemetery
Still in progress are the final edits to the oral history and the plan to interpret and tell the history of The Settlement.
Contact the Planning Office with any questions or comments:
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: (703) 792-7615