Blacksmith Shop, circa 1890

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Dublin Core

Title

Blacksmith Shop, circa 1890

Description

Moses Parker and Horace Gibson, former slaves who purchased their freedom, moved to Fairfax County from Culpeper. They opened a blacksmith shop on the corner of Little River Turnpike and today's Prosperity Avenue and served travellers between Alexandria and points west. By 1878, the Gibsons and Parkers owned 400 acres of land that formed Ilda, a community of shops and a church likely named after Matilda Gibson Parker, daughter of Horace and daughter-in-law of Moses. In this photo, Matilda Gibson Parker stands in the center.

Source

Courtesy of the family of Hareem Badil-Abish, from the book Shades of Gray: A Beginning...The Origins and Development of a Black Family in Fairfax, VA by Hareem Badil-Abish

Rights

Hareem Badil-Abish photos are copyrighted and may be reproduced or otherwise used only with written permission of the family of Hareem Badil-Abish