Virginia Department of Historic Resources
(dhr.virginia.gov)
For Immediate Release
October 9, 2024

Contact:
Ivy Tan
Department of Historic Resources
Marketing & Communications Manager
ivy.tan@dhr.virginia.gov
804-482-6445

State Historical Marker to Be Dedicated for Earliest-Known Black Sheriff in the North

—The marker will recall the life of Stephen Bates, a formerly enslaved man born in Charles City County who became one of the first Black sheriffs in the United States—

—Text of marker reproduced below—

PLEASE NOTE: DHR creates markers not to “honor” their subjects but rather to educate and inform the public about a person, place, or event of regional, state, or national importance. In this regard, erected markers are not memorials.

RICHMOND – A state historical marker approved by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) will be dedicated this weekend for Stephen Bates, the earliest-known Black sheriff in the North, who began his life as an enslaved worker in Charles City County.

The dedication ceremony for the marker will be held Saturday, October 12, starting at 11 a.m., at Historic Shirley, located at 501 Shirley Plantation Road in Charles City (23030). The dedication event is free and open to the public.

A faux marker will be unveiled at Historic Shirley after the ceremony. The actual marker will be installed near the intersection of Route 5 and Shirley Plantation Road. Parking for guests will be available in the visitors’ parking lot at Historic Shirley.

The dedication program will begin with a “Blessing of the Land” led by Chief Stephen Adkins of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe, followed by an invocation by the Reverend Becky McDaniel, rector of Westover Parish. Welcoming remarks will be given by Lauren Carter, an owner of Historic Shirley, and Michelle Johnson, the Charles City County administrator. Also scheduled to speak at the ceremony are Amanda Terrell, director of the Community Services division at DHR, and Larry Schuyler, a great-grandson of Stephen Bates. The dedication will feature musical performances by the Charles City Community Choir.

Born enslaved in 1842 at the Shirley plantation in Charles City County, Stephen Bates became the earliest-known Black sheriff in the North. Bates began his life as a domestic worker at Shirley before claiming his freedom during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign of the Civil War. Following the Civil War Battle of Malvern Hill, he worked for a Union officer at Harrison’s Landing, located along the James River in Charles City, before leaving Virginia with the Federal army in August 1862. Bates was then hired in Washington, D.C., as a coachman for Frederick E. Woodbridge, a congressman for the state of Vermont. In 1869, Bates moved with Woodbridge to Vergennes, Vermont, where he would later serve as the city’s constable for four years starting in 1875. The white electorate in Vergennes selected Bates for the role of sheriff in 1879. He continued to get re-elected as sheriff and was consistently appointed chief of police until his death in 1907.

The Virginia Board of Historic Resources, which is authorized to designate new state historical markers, approved the manufacture and installation of the Stephen Bates (1842-1907) historical marker in June 2023. The sponsors of the marker—the Charles City County Richard M. Bowman Center for Local History, the Stephen Bates family, Historic Shirley, and the City of Vergennes Marker Committee—covered its manufacturing costs.

Virginia’s historical highway marker program began in 1927 with installation of the first markers along U.S. Route 1. It is considered the oldest such program in the nation. Currently there are more than 2,600 state markers, mostly maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation, except in those localities outside of VDOT’s authority.

Full Text of Marker:

Stephen Bates (1842-1907)

Stephen Bates, the earliest-known Black sheriff in the North, began life at Shirley enslaved as a domestic worker. Along with many other people enslaved in the region, he claimed his freedom during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. After the Battle of Malvern Hill, he worked for a Union officer at nearby Harrison’s Landing and departed with the army in August. Bates became a coachman for VT Congressman Frederick E. Woodbridge in Washington, DC, and in 1869 moved with him to Vergennes, VT. The city council appointed Bates constable (1875-79), and in 1879 the overwhelmingly White electorate chose him to be sheriff. He was regularly elected sheriff and often appointed chief of police until his death.

###