Montgomery Hall Park, a municipal park for
African Americans during the segregation era,
opened on 4 July 1947. The Rev. T. J. Jemison
of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, an African
American community leader, persuaded Staunton
City Council to purchase about 150 acres for
the project. The land had been part of John
Howe Peyton's Montgomery Hall plantation,
established early in the 19th century. A committee
of African American citizens appointed by City
Council managed the park, which featured a
swimming pool, bowling alley, and picnic facilities
and drew crowds from throughout central
Virginia. Staunton's park system was desegregated
late in the 1960s.
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