Henrico, CRLC, developer partner to protect historic land near Roslyn Hills Park

Henrico County and the nonprofit Capital Region Land Conservancy have joined forces to acquire and preserve 6.4 acres of wooded property for expanded public access adjacent to Roslyn Hills Park, near Ziontown and Ridge roads. 

The land was part of Ziontown, a Black community established following emancipation by Henry Pryor, who had been enslaved at nearby Ravenswood plantation. Ziontown, which means “heavenly place,” began with Pryor’s purchase of 5 acres and prospered into the 1960s, with about 50 homes and as many as 275 residents, according to research for a historical marker installed by the county in 2020 along Ridge. 

The Henrico Board of Supervisors voted Oct. 28 to acquire the land in collaboration with CRLC. With a $850,000 grant from the county, CRLC acquired the property from Dan and Linda Wilson, of University Park LLC, through a part-gift and part-sale transaction. Then, CRLC donated it to Henrico, and the county conveyed a conservation easement to CRLC, designating the site for the perpetual preservation of open space and restricting future development. The closing was finalized Nov. 24. 

“Henrico County is proud to work with the Capital Region Land Conservancy to protect this land and preserve the memories of Ziontown, its residents and its visionary founder, Henry Pryor,” Tuckahoe District Supervisor Jody K. Rogish said. “By bringing this land into Roslyn Hills Park, we will enrich the lives of neighbors and other park visitors. We also will highlight what is possible when opportunity meets vision. With his newly gained freedom and just a few acres of land, Henry Pryor created a community in which Black men, women and families were finally able to live freely and thrive, changing the course of future generations in dramatic and immeasurable ways.” 

“We are honored to partner again with Henrico County to protect land that will serve the public as a future park,” said Parker C. Agelasto, executive director of CRLC. “This additional land triples the size of the existing park and is within a 10-minute walk for more than 8,500 residents. What’s more, the documented history of this land reveals its importance as the enclave of the Black community in western Henrico for much of the past 150 years.” 

“As a developer, homebuilder and owner of the property for the past 25 years, we have learned so much about the legacy of Ziontown that it is our privilege to donate a sizeable contribution in land value to preserve that legacy rather than see the history and forest paved over,” said Dan Wilson, sole proprietor of University Park.

CRLC works to conserve the natural and historic resources of the Richmond region for the benefit of people and nature. The nonprofit has protected more than 15,000 acres of land since it was founded in 2005. 

The Henrico site consists of eight parcels that are northeast of Roslyn Hills Park, which is located at 195 Roslyn Hills Drive. The neighborhood park currently totals 2.5 acres that were acquired in the early 1980s. It includes two playgrounds, with slides, other equipment and picnic tables. The newly acquired 6.4 acres includes an unmarked cemetery in its northwest corner. Due to the conservation easement, any changes to the property are expected to be minimal, for example, with a trail network, removal of invasive plant species and historical signage. No plans have been finalized. 

The Ziontown property represents the second recent acquisition of parkland in Tuckahoe. In July, the Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of a 6-acre wooded property along Patterson Avenue by Maybeury Elementary School and the Tuckahoe Family YMCA. The Division of Recreation & Parks held a community meeting in October to begin to develop a master plan for the park. 

Henrico and CRLC have collaborated previously to preserve land in Varina. In 2018, the county and other partners helped CRLC acquire 871 acres of the historic Malvern Hill Farm. Of the total, 428 acres have been transferred to Henrico for a future public park and are protected under a conservation easement. The balance of the Malvern Hill Farm land is now part of the National Park Service’s Richmond National Battlefield Park.