National Park Service presents $750,000 grant to Hopewell to preserve Shiloh Lodge #33

HOPEWELL — The National Park Service presented the city of Hopewell with a $750,000 grant award for the preservation of the Shiloh Lodge #33 located at 601 Prince Henry Avenue. The city will provide matching funds of $124, 256 to support the preservation project.

On April 30, the National Park Service listed the Shiloh Lodge project as one of the $23.4 million grants awarded to preserve African American Civil Rights history. The goal of these grants are to preserve and protect sites associated with the struggle for equality from the transatlantic slave trade forward.

The Shiloh Lodge is a perfect example due to its historical and cultural impact in the African American transcendence over slavery and struggle for civil rights to the present day. This historic structure was originally believed to have been a tavern and later during Grant’s occupation the headquarters for the Christian Commission. Following the Civil War and for more than 140 years, the structure was the home of the City Point African American Masonic Lodge of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Virginia free and accepted masons. In 2019, the city of Hopewell acquired the property from the members of the Lodge.

Hopewell: Historic Shiloh Lodge #33 preservation project

"We're very grateful to the National Park Service because without the grant we wouldn't be able to preserve this structure and make it safe to reopen to the public," Charles Bennett, Director of Economic Development and Tourism, said.

The Shiloh Lodge is located at a strategic location in Historic City Point. The building stands at the intersection of “Main Street," later changed to Prince Henry Avenue and Maplewood Avenue, which was a path down the bluff to the James River and City Point wharfs. It is located few blocks from the Appomattox Manor, which is part of the National Park Service Petersburg National Battlefield.

The City of Hopewell Department of Development and Economic Development and Tourism are working together on the preservation project. The completed project will honor the extensive and lasting history of the African American community within Hopewell, Virginia, and serve as a catalyst for economic development in the Historic City Point District.

The project has also received grant funding from Cameron Foundation for a Highest and Best Use Study. The project has also received countless hours of community support by citizens, elected City Officials, historians, architects and preservationist. The sum of this work was instrumental in moving the project forward.

Charles Bennett: Director of Economic Development and Tourism

Bennett's enthusiasm for working on Hopewell's historic projects is quite evident on LinkedIn. Months ago, he shared his joy for his involvement in historical preservation.

"For years, I have had the honor and privilege to work on historic adaptive reuse projects. They get under my skin in a good way. The kind of project that you you are happy to skip lunch, stay late or get up early to work on. There is something special about preservation of historical sites and stories that once you have been a part of you just want more. That is what it is like for me everyday here in Hopewell. Surrounded by history on every block and every corner. Stories of people, passion and places that are waiting to be told through arts, architecture preservation and education. One such project I am very excited about is the historic Shiloh Lodge at City Point," Bennett posted.

Visit Bennett's LinkedIn to view the "Shiloh Lodge Highest and Best Use Study." For more information on the Shiloh Lodge preservation and other exciting projects in Hopewell, contact Bennett at 804-541-2270 or cbennett@hopewellva.gov and visit hopewellva.gov.

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This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Hopewell: $750K grant, preserve African American Civil Rights history