starr hill home | maps | toolkit | 2006 neighborhood plan | see-ville


Starr Hill is located in the center of Charlottesville between the University and Downtown. The well defined neighborhood is situated on a hill and bordered on three sides by commercial corridors: Preston Avenue, West Main Street and Ridge/McIntire. The Norfolk Southern railroad tracks form the western boundary of the neighborhood. Several churches are located in Starr Hill, including Ebenezer Baptist Church and First Baptist Church on Main Street.

Historic Jefferson School functions today as a school and community center. The school was built in 1927 and was the first African American high school in Charlottesville. The City Yard occupies most of the property between residential Brown Street and Preston Avenue. The City Yard property was once the site of the City Jail. The neighborhood has a history of owner occupied houses and homeownership was recently increased when two new houses were built and two others were rehabilitated.
Starr Hill was historically integrated and remains integrated today. In the early part of the 20th Century many African American professionals and their families lived in Starr Hill. During the first half of the 20th Century the Union Station property on West Main Street was the transportation hub of the Charlottesville community. Many railroad workers lived in the neighborhood. Starr Hill is located just to the west of the Vinegar Hill neighborhood. Vinegar Hill included West Main Street and the area between Starr Hill and Downtown. Vinegar Hill was home to many African American owned residences and businesses including Inge's Grocery Store, located at the corner of W. Main and 4th Street. The Vinegar Hill neighborhood was raised during Urban Renewal in the 1960's.