02-04-2025
Historical marker approved for Suffolk community founded by former enslaved man
SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) recently approved a state historical marker to highlight a community in Suffolk founded by a formerly enslaved man.
The marker is set to be unveiled on Wednesday, April 12 at 10:30 a.m. at 4300 Judah Lane, which is located at the intersection of Judah Lane and Townpoint Road.
The marker aims to educate the public about the community of Belleville, which is said to have originated in 1896 after William Saunders Crowdy, who escaped slavery during the American Civil war, established the Church of God and Saints of Christ in Kansas. In 1903, Crowdy purchased 40-acres of land in Suffolk, which eventually became the international headquarters of the church. The community of Belleville developed around the church in the 1920s.
According to a release, at the community's peak, it encompassed over 700-acres and included farms, a school, a home for widows and orphans, stores, an electric plant, a music hall and athletic facilities. Although Crowdy himself died in 1908, the church persists today and is known as an African American Judaic organization.
The Virginia DHR approved the marker in June of 2023, and the manufacturing costs were covered by the Church of God and Saints of Christ at Temple Beth El in Suffolk.
For more information on state historical markers, click here.
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