WILLIAMSBURG — The city’s African American Heritage Trail could be open by Juneteenth of next year.
Williamsburg City Council approved a contract Thursday that pushes the trail to the next step — the creation of a mobile app and physical map to go along with the trail. When it’s completed, the two-mile pedestrian trail will wind through the city to highlight Williamsburg’s Black history and community.
The city hopes completion will be by next June 19 — the holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
Both the app and map are being developed to serve as guides for visitors to navigate the trail and provide additional site information. Richmond-based brand and consulting firm JMI, which has already been working on the project for the past few years, will develop both features.
Each of the 12 stops along the trail will give information on various places and people important to the city’s Black history, such as the Williamsburg Bray School, the historic First Baptist Church and the Triangle Block, which once held many Black businesses. The trail has been planned since 2020 and has involved working with the community to gather personal stories and to get accurate histories of the area.
A map depicts the route of the African American Heritage Trail coming to Williamsburg. The trail will follow a path through downtown, with stops along the way describing different events in Black history. Courtesy/City of Williamsburg
Funding for the trail comes from a variety of sources, including from the city’s tourism fund and the federal government. The city also has applied for grants.
Bronze medallions are being developed by Richmond-based design group Tektonics to mark the trail’s landmarks on the ground. The design will be based on Colonial Williamsburg’s Compton Oak tree, a 70-foot-tall, 97-feet-wide oak tree on the edge of Market Square that dates to the 1930s. The inspiration came from the sturdiness and power of an oak tree’s roots, said Assistant City Manager Michele Mixner DeWitt.
Bronze medallions will be inlaid in the ground to mark the African American Heritage Trail. The design is inspired by Colonial Williamsburg’s Compton Oak tree. (Courtesy/City of Williamsburg)
The medallions will include the three themes of the trail’s narrative: “Strength from Faith, Power from Education, Resilience from Community.” Ground markers — or “breadcrumbs” — are also being designed to go in between the medallions to help visitors traverse the trail.
The final design work is being completed, which will be followed by construction. Construction will begin with the trailhead at Lafayette Street, the trail’s first segment from Lafayette to Scotland Street and a public restroom. While an exact timeline hasn’t been released, the city hope to have the trail completed by next June.
Vice Mayor W. Pat Dent said it is exciting to see the trail come together, noting that Juneteenth 2026 will be “here before we know it.”
James W. Robinson, 757-799-0621, james.robinson@virginiamedia.com
