A Celebration on the James

Festivities for the Whole Family at Historic Belmead in Powhatan, VA
Saturday, September 8, 2012 - 10:00am til 5:00pm - FREE Admission - Directions

Stained glass in St. Francis de Sales Historic Belmead mansion tower Historic Belmead grave yard Historic Belmead grounds St. Francis de Sales tower Stained glass in St. Francis de Sales Altar glass in St. Francis de Sales Altar glass in St. Francis de Sales Entrance to St. Francis de Sales St. Francis de Sales tower Etrance to St. Francis de Sales Old newspaper article on St. Emma Military excersizes at St. Emma Old picture of Belmead mansion Military excersizes at St. Emma Cafeteria of St Francis high school The granery at Belmead The granery at Belmead The James River viewed from Belmead The James River viewed from Belmead The grounds viewed from Belmead The rear view of Belmead The rear view of Belmead The rear view of Belmead A peaceful waterfall at Belmead Winter wonderland at Belmead The band at St Emma High School The Exodus Bible verse plaque

Discover Historic Belmead

Situated atop a hill overlooking hundreds of acres of rolling pastures, wooded knolls and the winding James River, sits the majestic Belmead mansion. Constructed in the 1850's as the manor house for the plantations owned by Philip St. George Cocke, it is a architectural masterpiece whose asthetic beauty is matched by the history that surrounds the mansion and its accompanying estate.

Belmead was purchased in 1893 by Colonel Edward and Louise Drexel Morrell of Philadelphia who established St. Emma's Industrial and Agricultural School, a high school for young African American men. The school transitioned to a military academy and graduated over 10,000 men in its 77 years of operation. The adjacent property, Mount Pleasant was purchased by Drexel's sister, St Katharine Drexel, who founded St. Francis de Sales in 1899, a complimentary high school for African American women. The school became accredited with the Commonwealth of Virginia by 1925 and remained open until 1972.

Since the closing of the two schools, Belmead was home to Blessed Sacrement High School, a Catholic school which has since merged with another local school to become Blessed Sacrement Huguenot in Powhatan. Now the grounds serve as a grand backdrop to horse riding while the majestic Belmead and St Francis/Emma buildings await for the next chapter in a long and storied history.

St Katherine Drexel

Katharine Drexel, a Roman Catholic Saint, established the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament to help the oppressed African American and Native American population. She financed over 60 missions and schools for minorities, and on October 1, 2000 she was canonized by Pope John Paul II.

Looking Ahead

FrancisEmma, Inc is now in the process of enacting a plan to reuse both sites in a manner consistent with the values of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The primary goals are to establish outreach ministries and provide needed services to the surrounding community.

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