Presented by Petersburg Preservation Task Force

On two weekends (November 16, 17 & 23, 24), five different walking tours will be available on different topics primarily related to the City of Petersburg’s rich African American history, as well as its popularity as a location for filmmaking, the most recent being “Harriet” which will be in theaters on November 1. These free tours will last for 45 minutes-one hour. Parking will be available convenient to each tour and the schedule of tours will allow a visitor to do all five in one day on the 2 Saturdays. The topics will be: First Baptist Church, the oldest African American Baptist congregation in the United States; Pocahontas Island, which grew in the 1700s from a white only community to a thriving free black community through the 1860s, and to include the Jarrett House & the Underground Railroad, and the Petersburg Black History Museum; Elizabeth Keckly and her life in Petersburg, and her life as the modiste, dressmaker to Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln, as told by Keckly interpreter, Evelyn Franklin wearing one of Ms. Keckly’s dresses; Peoples Cemetery, the story of how this African American cemetery originated across the street from the white only Blandford Cemetery; and a Movie Tour during which you will see a variety of locations used in productions including “Harriet”, AMC’s “TURN: Washington’s Spies”, “Lincoln”, and the PBS drama “Mercy Street”.