This is a copy of the constitution of the Virginia Abolition Society that is on microfiche at the Library of Virginia. Robert Pleasants, a prominent Quaker is shown as the president. His story is remarkable, and so is part of his legacy, Gravel Hill in Henrico.

The connection with Oregon Hill is that the mother of John Miller was freed from slavery by actions of Robert Pleasants. John Miller’s house in Oregon Hill is the only known surviving house in Richmond that was built, owned and occupied by free blacks before and during the Civil War. (Editor’s note: this is a correction from an earlier version of this post, which erroneously suggested that Robert Pleasants lived in Oregon Hill.)

The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association successfully petitioned the Richmond City Council in 2003 to name Pleasants Park at 401 South Laurel Street for Robert Pleasants.

Of course, this is not to say that Oregon Hill has been a place of racial harmony either. There is an uglier past.