For Immediate Release

For more information, contact
Will Glasco, wglasco@preservationvirginia.org
804-338-1357

Preservation Virginia Receives African American Civil Rights Grant for Parker Sydnor Historic Cabin

National Park Service funds will preserve and rehabilitate historic log cabin site in Mecklenburg County.

Clarksville, Va. (September 9, 2024) – Preservation Virginia, in collaboration with Literacy InterActives, Inc., is recipient of a $258,000 grant from the African American Civil Rights Grant Program to preserve and rehabilitate the historic Parker Sydnor log cabin in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. This funding, administered by the National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior through the Historic Preservation Fund, will include engineering and architectural services and complete building stabilization and rehabilitation.

The Parker Sydnor historic site, a remarkable part of the 19th- and modern 20th-century Civil Rights era, is associated with framing civil rights through literacy and education. Patrick Robert "Parker" Sydnor (1854-1950), a literate African American farmer, preacher and well-known stone carver of grave markers, was born enslaved on a William Sydnor plantation in Virginia. His remarkable journey from slavery to literacy, learning to read and write at a Freedmen’s Bureau School after the Civil War, is a testament to the transformative power of education and civil rights.

"We are thrilled to collaborate with Preservation Virginia on this unique preservation project, the first of its kind, in Mecklenburg County," said Dr. Angelita Reyes, executive director of Literacy InterActives. "This work represents the inclusive history of Civil Rights and education in Virginia and beyond. Our public programs and community engagement highlight timely, multi-layered approaches to literacy. Literacy is more than reading a newspaper or a book in today’s world."

"As Virginia’s statewide preservation nonprofit, a priority for us is to offer support to local organizations working to preserve unique historic sites in their communities," said Elizabeth S. Kostelny, CEO of Preservation Virginia. "We’re thrilled to have assisted with the African American Civil Rights Grant. This is an important next step in making this special place more accessible to the public."

The ultimate goal is to open the historic site to the public, creating a tangible connection to local history and an interactive community space promoting education, diversity and inclusion.

The National Park Service announced its Fiscal Year 2024 awards of $23.4 million to 39 projects in 16 states and the District of Columbia as part of the Historic Preservation Fund’s African American Civil Rights Grant Program, which focuses on the preservation of sites and stories directly associated with the struggle of African Americans to gain equal rights.

About Preservation Virginia

The nation’s first statewide nonprofit historic preservation organization, Preservation Virginia is a private, nonprofit organization seeking to inspire and engage the public in fostering, supporting and sustaining Virginia’s historic places through leadership in advocacy, education, revitalization and stewardship. Learn more at www.preservationvirginia.org.

About Literacy InterActives, Inc.

Literacy InterActives, Inc., a nonprofit organization, promotes and constructively interprets the history and culture of civil rights in education represented by historic preservation and the Parker Sydnor log cabin site. Literacy InterActives has stewardship of the log cabin site, which was previously known as the "negro quarters" on the nearby Prestwould Plantation during the antebellum era. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register and is commemorated by a Virginia historical highway marker for statewide significance. Learn more at www.literacyinteractives.org.