00 Clay Street

00 Clay street has served multiple purposes for the citizens of Jackson Ward

NPS Photo/Maggie L. Walker NHS

Quick Facts

Location:

Jackson Ward, Richmond, Virginia

Significance:

First location of the first NAACP branch in Richmond

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

MANAGED BY:

Privately owned

Built in 1832, this building was formerly the home of baker Adolf Dill. It would later be purchased by Maggie Walker’s CCW, or Council of Colored Women. This organization raised much-needed money for the Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls in Hanover County. The building also served, reportedly, as a meeting place for African American soldiers and the early Richmond NAACP. 00 Clay Street would later become home to the first branch of the Richmond Public Library for African Americans. The branch was named in honor of noted educator, Rosa Bowser. Later, a school bearing her name would also occupy this building. Today, 00 Clay Street is home to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, one of the largest African American history museums in the state of Virginia.