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Canada, Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia geography stubsGeography of Charlottesville, VirginiaGhost towns in VirginiaUse mdy dates from July 2023

Canada was a small community of free African-Americans established near the University of Virginia in Charlottesville in the 19th century. Many residents of Canada were employed by the university. The community existed from the early 19th century until the early 20th century, by which time the increasingly valuable land had been purchased by white speculators. Researchers theorize that the community was named in homage to the country bordering the United States to the north, where slavery had been abolished under the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.It was located between what is now Jefferson Park Avenue and Venable Lane, and was rediscovered during the expansion of a university parking lot in May 1993. An architectural firm cataloging the finding believes that the cemetery that they've uncovered served the community; 32 graves have been discovered. The site of the home of one community member is being turned into a 1-acre (4,000 m2) public park.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Canada, Virginia (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Canada, Virginia
Jefferson Park Avenue,

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Latitude Longitude
N 38.031555555556 ° E -78.505166666667 °
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South Lawn Commons Building

Jefferson Park Avenue
22908
Virginia, United States
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The Lawn
The Lawn

The Lawn, a part of Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village, is a large, terraced grassy court at the historic center of Jefferson's academic community at the University of Virginia. The Lawn and its surrounding buildings, designed by Jefferson, demonstrate Jefferson's mastery of Palladian and Neoclassical architecture, and the site has been recognized as an architectural masterpiece in itself. The Lawn has been designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark District, and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the original buildings of the University of Virginia and Monticello, Jefferson's nearby residence; this designation is due to the site's architectural and cultural significance.Jefferson originally designed the Lawn to be the center of the university, and as such it is surrounded by housing for students and faculty. Its most famous building is The Rotunda, which sits at the north end of the site, opposite Old Cabell Hall. Framing the other two sides of the Lawn are ten Pavilions, where faculty reside in the upper two floors and teach on the first, as well as 54 Lawn rooms, where carefully selected undergraduates reside in their final year. Being selected as a Lawn Resident in a student's fourth year is considered one of the university's most prestigious honors. Opposite the Pavilions and Lawn rooms are ten gardens, and similar to the Pavilions, each garden is designed in a distinct way; no two gardens are the same. The outermost row of buildings on either side constitute the edge of the Academical Village; these are known as The Range and house graduate students.The Lawn has served as the University of Virginia's symbolic center since the university was founded in 1819. It annually serves as the site of the university's graduation ceremonies, as well as various events throughout the year.

Jefferson Hall

Jefferson Hall – more formally known as "Hotel C" – is a building on the West Range of the University of Virginia. It is the traditional home of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society; the term "Jefferson Hall" (or "Jeff Hall" or "The Hall") is sometimes used as a synonym for the organization. Jefferson Hall is one of six original "hotels" that Thomas Jefferson designed when laying out the plans for the University of Virginia. The hotels originally served as student dining facilities. When not boarding students, various student organizations made use of the building as meeting space. The Patrick Henry Society originally met in Hotel C until the group's dissolution in 1830. The Washington Literary Society and Debating Union met there from its founding in 1835 until 1837, at which point it moved to Pavilion VII on the Lawn and, from there, to hotels on the East Range (the current incarnation of the Washington Society now meets in Hotel C on Thursday evenings). In 1837, the university's Board of Visitors granted the Jefferson Society control of the largest room in the building and, in 1841, the BOV gave the group permission to remove the walls partitioning the main level of Hotel C, leaving that floor as one large room. The Confederate States of America used Jefferson Hall as a hospital during the American Civil War. Jefferson Hall underwent major restoration and renovation in summer 2006. Besides the Jefferson and Washington Societies, Jefferson Hall today is used by a wide range of student, faculty, and community groups, including the International Relations Organization.