The Jefferson Park Friends Group was founded in 1996 by area residents driven by a mission to increase the diversity of tree species, improve tree health, and to assist the City of Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities with improving the accessibility and functionality of the park. Since its founding, the group’s mission has expanded to include raising funds for new playground equipment, creating a fitness trail with exercise stations, and installing a decorative fountain overlooking the park’s iconic view of the city skyline. The group also won a competitive bid for the relocation of “Mr. Smedley,” a bronze sculpture created by Virginia artist Jack Witt, which was originally commissioned by the Public Art Commission and sited at the entrance of Sixth Street Marketplace.
The park, located atop Union Hill, one of the Seven Hills of Richmond, hosts an annual spring workday coordinated by Friends of Jefferson Park and assisted by the Richmond ToolBank. Volunteers plant trees, pull weeds, spread mulch, and collect trash, efforts that continue on a more informal basis throughout the year. In coming years, Friends of Jefferson Park are redoubling their efforts to beautify the park to commemorate one of the most tragic anecdotes in Richmond lore: in the subterranean clay and rock deep under are what remain of the infamous Church Hill Tunnel.
The tunnel, constructed by Chesapeake & Ohio Railway in 1873, collapsed in 1925, burying several workers (as well as the steam locomotive and connected cars) under the bluff hillside. Hindered by instability, subsequent efforts to recover the workers’ bodies were halted, leaving two men interred in what remained of the cavernous tunnel; a year later the tunnel was ordered sealed by the state, making Jefferson Park the final resting place for the two men. As the 100th anniversary of this tragedy approaches, Friends of Jefferson Park are dedicating their efforts in the park to the men whose bodies were never retrieved following the collapse, ensuring that the park functions as a suitable memorial for those left behind by the city a century ago.
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