History Project

Two thousand and twelve was the 250th anniversary of the town of  Charlottesville, VA. In honor of the occasion, I wrote a series of articles I hoped would form an alternative history of the town, free from the sepia toned nostalgia and Jefferson worship that seems so inescapable there. I don’t know how alternative  they ended up being (they’re certainly not free of either nostalgia or Jefferson) but I think they’re honest attempts at wrestling with some of Charlottesville’s demons.

 

Blood on the Tracks: A biography of Charlottesville’s coal tower.

Being Tom Jefferson: Charlottesville’s complicated relationship with its founding father.

The Wonder Years: How real estate and gentrification changed a neighborhood.

A Queer History: Across 30 years and an epidemic, Charlottesville’s gay and lesbian communities came out together.