Petersburg – History, Museums and Parks

Petersburg National Battlefield preserves the sites of a siege that lasted 292 days. This history offers an introduction to Petersburg’s culture of remembrance: the city is also home to sites of African American history, historic buildings and expansive green spaces.

The Siege and African American History

Pocahontas Island is a peninsula that was originally parceled out in 1749. In the 19th century, it developed into a Freedom Colony and is considered the first settlement in Virginia to be inhabited predominantly by free Black people. A natural launch site for canoes and kayaks is another feature of the peninsula.

During segregation, People’s Memorial Cemetery became the largest African American cemetery in Petersburg. People’s Cemetery preserves records of funeral and craft businesses that were owned and operated by Black people. First Baptist Church of Petersburg, originally called First African Baptist Church, is Virginia’s oldest continuously operating Black church. In the 1950s and 1960s, it also became a center for community organizing, civil rights marches and voter registration.

A tour of Blandford Church Museum covers the building’s history as an 18th-century Anglican place of worship and its use as a field hospital during the siege. The museum has decorative stained-glass windows that were entirely designed and installed under the direction of Louis Comfort Tiffany of New York. At Centre Hill Museum, the basement galleries feature exhibits on Petersburg history, memorabilia, photographs from the Centre Hill archives and furnishings from First Baptist Church. Centre Hill Mansion dates to 1823 and is an example of the Federal style.

Farmers Bank also connects architectural history with a specific glimpse into its former use: built in 1817, the building is considered one of the oldest bank buildings in the United States. A tour includes the original vault and safe, a printing press, teller windows and other artifacts.

Architecture and Cityscape

Petersburg Courthouse Historic District centers on an 1840 courthouse that shapes the downtown skyline. The present-day city hall is the former Petersburg Customs House, built from 1856 to 1859 in the Renaissance Revival style. Christ and Grace Episcopal Church is locally significant for its Gothic Revival architecture; the building has remained largely unchanged since it was constructed.

The Walnut Hill Historic District is characterized primarily by homes from the 1910s and 1920s, designed in the Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles. Historic Old Towne offers walkable streets lined with local restaurants, breweries, cafés, galleries and other shops in restored 18th- and 19th-century buildings. Here, different chapters of the city’s history sit alongside today’s business and cultural life.

Parks, Trails and River Activities

Historic Poplar Lawn Park is a four-block green space with open lawns, mature trees and walking paths. Legends Park spans 330 acres and also includes natural, undeveloped land. The two parks offer different experiences: open spaces and walking paths at one, and unspoiled terrain at the other.

Sections of the Lower Appomattox River Trail run through Petersburg. The Appomattox River and its trail are suitable for bird-watching. Pocahontas Island also has a natural launch site for canoes and kayaks. For art and industrial history, Appomattox Iron Works offers a different focus: it is one of the most complete surviving examples of an early ironworks complex in the United States. Its outdoor areas can be used for concerts, entertainment and special events.

Art and Recurring Events

Petersburg Area Art League showcases work by local artists in three galleries with rotating exhibitions and hosts a summer concert series every year. Centre Hill Museum holds an annual ghost watch on January 24. Battersea is a colonial villa built in 1768 in the Neo-Palladian style. Each April, Battersea hosts “The Battle of Petersburg Rev War Re-enactment”; its annual “BBQ, Oysters, and Battersea Festival” takes place there in November. The cultural calendar thus spans different seasons, while the historic sites themselves offer further subjects to explore during a stay.

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