Photo courtesy of The Roanoke Times

Overview:

The Washington Park Caretakers Cottage dates to ca. 1840 and was built by Jeremiah Whitten on land first associated with a grist mill established by Mark Evans in the mid-18th century that later operated as part of Peyton Terry’s dairy farm in the late 19th century. Following the sale of the property to the City by the Charles Lukens family in 1922, the land became a public park for Roanoke’s African American community during the Jim Crow era of segregation and the one story brick cottage was lived in by the caretakers of the park. 

When a city landfill was built in the park in the early 1960s, this became a catalyst for local activism during the Civil Rights Movement with Rev. Wilkinson leading the fight to close it. The landfill was closed and the park was enhanced with picnic shelters, basketball and tennis courts, trails, ball fields, and a community pool.  

While a new swimming pool planned for the park will no longer require the demolition of the historic cottage, the future of this vacant and neglected historic house remains uncertain without a viable use and given its severely deteriorated condition. 

For a century, the park has grown, changed and served the nearby African American community while the historic cottage has remained a deeply important part of Roanoke’s history.

Threat:

In 2023, the City of Roanoke announced plans to rebuild the swimming pool at Washington Park due to soil restrictions from the park’s prior use as a landfill.  As such, the city had to choose another site location within the park for a pool. When they slated the deteriorating Evans House for demolition to make way for the new pool, the community became active in its opposition to the demolition of this historic property repeatedly asking why the City was not considering an intentional reuse of the house instead of tearing it down. The city began listening to community concerns through the advocacy of The Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation and the Friends of Washington Park. This resulted in the development of a plan for rehabilitation–likely to be undertaken by a private investor.

The cottage is also part of a larger preservation issue, the Evans Spring tract, a natural spring preserve located several miles to the north of the historic cottage which is also currently threatened by commercial development. 

Solution:

On Tuesday, May 14, 2024 in conjunction with the National Trust for historic Preservation’s Preservation Month and Preservation Virginia’s announcement of their 2024 Most Endangered Historic Sites, the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation held a well-attended Press Conference at Washington Park to announce its list of local 2024 Endangered sites.  In attendance was Steven Stewart (the Caretaker’s son) who lived in the house as a youth with his sister Mary and his father. The Friends of Washington Park, the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation, Hill Studio and others involved are pursuing a private investor to make a long-term commitment toward rehabbing and adapting the Washington Caretaker’s Cottage for a community center with possible event and food service space. Additionally. the City of Roanoke continues to apply for grants to help stabilize the property and have also met with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources regarding next steps to be taken.

Fund Raising:

In October 2024, the Friends of Washington Park partnered with the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation to begin raising funds to help stabilize and restore the Washington Park Caretaker’s Cottage.

If you would like to help, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Friends of Washington Park through the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation’s secure online portal. All donations should be made payable to RVPF and noted as “for the Evans Cottage”.  In addition, know that all funds raised, no matter the size, will help as 100% of all funds raised go directly toward the stabilization and restoration of this important piece of Roanoke’s history and our African American neighborhood.  

Together, our success in preserving Roanoke’s Washington Park Caretaker’s Cottage will also raise awareness to help ensure that the adjacent park’s open space is developed in a way that complements this historic cottage, the Washington Park neighborhood and our  community spaces. 

For more information, please contact Alison Blanton by email to [email protected] or call (540) 765-7154.