RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The JXN Project hosted the grand opening of a reconstructed cottage that was home to the earliest known Black homeowner in Richmond's Jackson Ward neighborhood on Sunday. On Sunday, April 19, as part of the JXN Project's Skipwith-Roper Homecoming weekend, the nonprofit celeb rated the grand opening of Skipwith-Roper Cottage, which was the home of the earliest known Black homeowner in Jackson Ward. The event honored Abraham Peyton Skipwith, who bought the land and, after the American Revolution, built a three-roofed cottage in 1793. The reconstructed home is located at 303 E. Bates Street. It is a part of efforts to reclaim the early Black history of Jackson Ward, which is one of the nation's first historically registered Black urban neighborhoods, according to a press release. (Photo: Jordan Vance/8News)(Photo: Jordan Vance/8News)(Photo: Jordan Vance/8News)(Photo: Jordan Vance/8News)(Photo: Jordan Vance/8News)(Photo: Jordan Vance/8News)(Photo: Jordan Vance/8News)(Photo: Jordan Vance/8News)(Photo: Jordan Vance/8News)(Photo: Jordan Vance/8News) “Jackson Ward is one of the most significant sites in the Black American story, yet so much of its history remains buried,” said Sesha Joi Moon, cofounder and executive director of The JXN Project. “Through the Skipwith-Roper Homecoming, we are reclaiming the story of a Black founding father whose legacy predates the neighborhood itself and reconnecting Richmonders with a deeper understanding of how this community helped build the nation.” The Skipwith-Ropper Cottage was able to be reconstructed due to a restorative land transfer to The JXN Project, in which the city of Richmond's Maggie Walker Community Land Trust and the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority transferred 11 parcels of land for $1. For more information, visit The JXN Project's website here. ...read more read less