Today marks the one-year countdown to the Skipwith-Roper Homecoming in Jackson Ward — a revitalization project set for a grand opening on April 17-19, 2026, coinciding with the neighborhood's founding anniversary.

This initiative, developed by the local preservation nonprofit The JXN Project, aims to replicate the 1793 home of Abraham Peyton Skipwith, the first known Black homeowner in Jackson Ward. Further plans propose a surrounding, multi-story community and interpretive center called "JXN Haus."

The vision for Skipwith-Roper Cottage (right) and the multi-story JXN Haus (left) | Rendering by Burt Pinnock with Baskervill

Some history

Between 1789 and 1793, Abraham Peyton Skipwith secured freedom from enslavement, purchased land in what is now Jackson Ward, and built a home for his family. In his will, he gave the cottage (along with several other notable belongings) to his descendants.

According to research by The JXN Project and Michael Paul Williams with Richmond Times-Dispatch, the cottage stayed in the Skipwith family lineage until 1905. Approximately 50 years later, construction of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike forced the building's condemnation and relocation, resulting in a significant loss of historical integrity.

Rather than re-relocating the altered home, The JXN Project is committed to rebuilding the original cottage from the ground up with a vision for permanent, untouched preservation.

Archival photos courtesy of the Richmond-Times Dispatch, Valentine Museum, Commonwealth Architects, Sandra Sellars, and The JXN Project

What’s next?

The first construction phase is officially underway, and the countdown begins for history to return home in Jackson Ward.

The first dig at the cottage site unearthed medical bottles believed to be used at the neighboring, former practice of Sarah Garland Boyd Jones — the first Black Virginian woman to pass the medical bar examination in the 1890s. | Photo and context provided by The JXN Project

The JXN Project is raising funds to meet a $3.5 million goal to support the second and final phase of development, which you can donate to now. For more in-depth history, updates on construction, and potential involvement opportunities, visit the nonprofit’s website.