John Jasper and Ken Richardson

Brown's Island and Sixth Mount Zion Baptist

Oh, my dad would have SO enjoyed today!!! Soon after Steve and I were married, before kiddos, my parents came to visit. I took a day off work and rode with mom and dad for a day trip to Richmond. I don't remember everything we did but what I do remember, I have never forgotten.

My dad wanted to go to Hollywood Cemetery. He was sooo excited. He loved history and this was the place to go if you enjoy history. In this cemetery, we found two US Presidents...John Tyler and James Monroe as well a Confederate President...Jefferson Davis and two Confederate generals...JEB Stuart and George Pickett. I also remember that we ate lunch at the MCV hospital! Dad did that a lot. :)

He also told me about a black preacher by the name of John Jasper. Dad had a paper pamplett that told about John Jasper and how he started a church in Richmond. I remember dad telling me that his church was on an island and he became so popular that people would come from all around to hear him preach. Dad was so interested. He said one day, he wanted to find that island and visit it. If we only knew, that from Hollywood Cemetery, we could actually SEE the island (I have since some to find that it is named Brown's Island) and if we had driven a couple of miles towards the James River, we could visit that island...we were SO close..but we didn't know.

TODAY, my family went there and more. Thank goodness for Google!!

We drove to Brown's Island....it was over 100 degrees and for Korie's sake, we couldn't get out and walk around. But we did drive around and see a little of it. Jasper was a funeral preacher... but his manner of speaking was so dynamic that he was often invited to speak at other churches. He was given permission to preach by his owner Samuel Hardgrove. He was invited to preach all around Virginia. But the invitees had to pay Samuel Hardgrove $1 for Jasper to travel and preach to make up for the work Jasper would miss.

Two years after Jasper's freedom, he and several close friends founded the Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church. They began meeting on Brown's Island in an abandoned Confederate Horse Stable on Sept. 3, 1867. By 1869, his congregation had grown so much that Jasper moved his flock to it's current site at 14 West Duval St. My family visited there today! I wish it had been a Sunday so we could worship with them!

Jasper's reputation grew as visitors, both black and white would fill the pews. His sermon called "De Sun Do Move" became popular and he had many requests to repeat it. It even appeared in a Richmond newspaper and he was requested to preach it in front of the Virginia General Assembly.

Jasper died in 1901. Steve and I went in this beautiful church today. There were homeless people surrounding the entrance because the church feeds them every Friday. Three ladies were working and one showed us around the church. She told us that since Jasper started this church, there have only been 9 pastors....since the Civil War time!! She was so kind and gave us a wonderful tour before she went back to serving the homeless. We are going back sometime to see the room dedicated to John Jasper. If you call ahead of time, the Historian will meet you and take you in the room....oh, dad!! If we had only knowns. How this would have make you so happy! But then again, I am sure you have met John Jasper himself and the two of you are probably great friends! It makes me smile to think of it!