The Black History Museum
The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia was founded in 1981 by Carrol Anderson, Sr.
In 1991, the Museum was opened to the public at its present location,
00 Clay Street, in the historic Jackson Ward district of Richmond.The
house built in 1832 by German descendant Adolph Dill, incorporates both
the Federal and Greek Revival architectural styles. Under the
leadership of Maggie L. Walker, the country's first female and Black
bank president, the Council of Colored Women purchased the house in
1922.In 1932 it became the Black branch of the Richmond Public library
and was named for Rosa D. Bowser, the first Black female school teacher
in Richmond.
The Museum seeks to become a permanent repository for visual, oral and
written records and artifacts commemorating the lives and
accomplishments of Blacks in Virginia.