Proffit, Virginia
Encyclopedia
Proffit is an unincorporated community in Albemarle County
, Virginia
. There is no commercial activity, with only houses lining the road and a bridge under which Norfolk Southern's Piedmont Division, Washington District line runs. It is recognized as a Virginia Landmark and a National Historic Place.
Shortly after the Civil War
the village was populated entirely by African American
s, when it was known as Egypt, and then as Bethel. It became known as Proffit when the railroad line went through, named for the man who bought the right of way for the line. As it became a minor commercial hub, the population gradually became more caucasian
. By the late 1920s there were only 15-20 African American families remaining in Proffit.
The historian, Claude Hall
, author of Abel Parker Upshur
, was born in Proffit, and procured three degrees from the University of Virginia
.
Albemarle County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 79,236 people, 31,876 households, and 21,070 families residing in the county. The population density was 110 people per square mile . There were 33,720 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. There is no commercial activity, with only houses lining the road and a bridge under which Norfolk Southern's Piedmont Division, Washington District line runs. It is recognized as a Virginia Landmark and a National Historic Place.
Shortly after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
the village was populated entirely by African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s, when it was known as Egypt, and then as Bethel. It became known as Proffit when the railroad line went through, named for the man who bought the right of way for the line. As it became a minor commercial hub, the population gradually became more caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
. By the late 1920s there were only 15-20 African American families remaining in Proffit.
The historian, Claude Hall
Claude Hall
Claude Hampton Hall, Sr. , was an historian of primarily American diplomacy who spent his entire academic career at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas...
, author of Abel Parker Upshur
Abel P. Upshur
Abel Parker Upshur was an American lawyer, judge and politician from Virginia. Upshur was active in Virginia state politics and later served as Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of State during the Whig administration of President John Tyler...
, was born in Proffit, and procured three degrees from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
.
Further reading
- The Proffit Historic District Online Resource Archive: A website that provides extensive documentation of the village's history, with a timeline, historical and contemporary photographs, census data, a virtual tour, and oral histories.