By Aidan Smagh
Frank Day, a professor of moral philosophy at Randolph-Macon College, and his wife, Florence Day established the College Terrace subdivision in Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1919.[1] Day graduated from Roanoke College in 1889 for his undergraduate and was a Ph. D. graduate from George Washington University.[2] Day acquired the land from William Bradley, a newspaperman, presumably from the Free-Lance Star, in Fredericksburg, Virginia.[3] Bradley, along with the rest of his family, inherited the land from James H. Bradley, Williams’ father. William Bradley may have met Frank Day through similar social circles.
Of the over 150 lots within College Terrace, every single one included a racially restrictive covenant. Each deed used the same language: “The said party of the second part covenants that she will not lease or sell the within described property to people of African descent for a period of Fifty (50) Years from date of this deed.”[4] This covenant followed the rule against perpetuities, in which a restriction could not be legally binding for more than a single generation. Some of the surrounding subdivisions had similar language, but had different term limits. The exceptions were Fairview, Massey, and Brooks, in which there was either no year limit posted or a limit of ninety-nine years, in the case of Massey.
Plat Map of College Terrace from Deed Book 50, Page 322 (1918), Fredericksburg City Courthouse
While other local subdivisions had a list of covenants that restricted how the land was to be used, College Terrace only had this one. Like neighboring subdivisions, the covenant may have been in place due to a fear that African Americans might purchase lots. College Terrace was in close proximity to Shiloh Cemetery. The cemetery originated from Liberty Town, an African-American neighborhood emerging in the middle of the nineteenth century.[5] Liberty Town’s cemetery was named Potters Field although it was known as the Colored Cemetery.[6] Eventually the Colored Cemetery was moved to Shiloh Cemetery at the end of the nineteenth century to the northern edge of College Terrace. Unlike subdivisions like Hanover Heights, this subdivision’s covenant was aimed solely at African Americans.
Table 1: Initial College Terrace Property Owners, 1920 Census
| Name: | Race: | Occupation: | Lots Purchased: |
| John W. Masters | W | Business Owner for building materials | 34 lots |
| Wm. W. Butzner | W | Lawyer | 5 lots |
| S. L. Powell | W | Mail Carrier | 17 lots |
| Archie Snellings | W | Fredericksburg Steam Laundry | 2 lots |
| John W. Allison, Jr. | W | Real Estate | 1 lot |
| Wallace C. Grady | W | 9 lots | |
| Leonard A. Briggs | W | Cattle Dealer | 2 lots |
| W. W. Hall | W | 1 lot | |
| Emmett Allen Carneal | W | 1 lot | |
| C. O’Conor Goolrick | W | Lawyer | 1 lot |
| Robert L. Keiser | W | 1 lot | |
| Arne L. Keiser | W | Bellhop | 2 lots |
| Henry A. Gaydash | W | Carpenter | 3 lots |
| Frank H. Cox | W | 35 lots | |
| James Gardner Harrison | W | Railroad Ticket Agent | 3 lots |
| James H. Holmes and Nannie Holmes | W | Mechanic | 2 lots |
| Virginia Taylor | W | 25 lots | |
| R. A. Kishpaugh | W | Business owner for printing, stationary, and office supplies | 1 lot |
| Louise D. Cox | W | Homebuyer | 5 lots |
The subdivision was located between Cornell Street, Grove and Kenmore Avenues, and Sunken Road, adjacent to the Kenmore subdivision, which used a similar racially restrictive covenant. Every parcel was sold by the Days between 1919 and 1922 to a small group of people. A few people might have purchased land to build a home for themselves at a later date. Others, however, were most likely developers, who most likely planned to build homes and sell them to white families. John W. Masters, for instance, bought 34 lots, the largest purchase at College Terrace.[7] Masters, a local lumber business owner, would have profited from new home construction in Fredericksburg. A. C. Garrison, a contractor in Fredericksburg, was the first to construct houses in the new subdivision.[8]
College Terrace remains today and currently reflects the efforts of A. C. Garrison’s efforts to create a residential area.
[1] Randolph-Macon College, The 1919 Yellow Jacket Yearbook (Ashland, Virginia: 1919), 43.
[2] “Degrees conferred by Roanoke College,” The News Leader, June 6, 1923.
[3] James H. Bradley Will (1850) and Probate (1859), Fredericksburg, VA; Virginia Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900; accessed April 18, 2024, ancestry.com
[4] Deed Book 52, Page 220 (1919), Fredericksburg City Courthouse, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
[5] Kevin W., “Liberty Town: Fredericksburg: Timeless,” The Historical Marker Database, March 4, 2023, accessed April 16, 2024. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=33107
[6] Kevin W., “Liberty Town.”
[7] Deed Book 52, Page 220 (1919), Fredericksburg City Courthouse, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
[8] “Developing New Section: Contractor Garrison Providing Attractive Homes in College Terrace,” The Daily Star, February 14, 1925.