Richmond Heights: A Walk Through Our Neighborhood Series

The walk through Richmond Heights led by spoken word artist and environmental activist Arsimmer McCoy will tell an amazing story. At the start of World War II, Captain Frank Crawford Martin, a former West Point student and then a pilot for Pan American Airlines, purchased 3,000 acres from the Richmond Timber Company, adjacent to the new Richmond military base. He initially purchased the land to establish a fruit grove. However, a major hurricane in 1945 wiped out his papaya groves. Following the war, Captain Martin recognized a different opportunity in his undeveloped land. He decided that developing his failed papaya grove as a residential community for upstanding African American World War II veterans was an ideal business opportunity.

Martin devised the Richmond Heights subdivision plan with an initial build-out of 457 residences. In it, he set aside land for future development of churches, a school, a medical clinic, and a playground. Avenues throughout the neighborhood were named for US presidents, while streets were named for African American community leaders.

Host or Publisher Dade Heritage Trust