Proffit is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Albemarle County Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city and enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Charl ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. There is no commercial activity, with only houses lining the road and a bridge under which

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...

's Piedmont Division, Washington District line runs. It is recognized as a Virginia Landmark and the

Proffit Historic District The Proffit Historic District is a national historic district located at Proffit, Albemarle County, Virginia. It encompasses 26 contributing buildings and 3 contributing sites in the historic center of Proffit. Notable buildings and sites inc ...

was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1999. Shortly after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

the village was populated entirely by

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s, when it was known as Egypt, and then as Bethel. It became known as Proffit when the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line went through, named for the man who bought the right of way for the line. As it became a minor commercial hub, the population gradually became more

caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

. By the late 1920s there were only 15-20 African American families remaining in Proffit. In 1974, the

Charlottesville-Albemarle Tribune The ''Charlottesville-Albemarle Tribune'' was a weekly newspaper in Charlottesville, Virginia published by and for African-American residents of the city. While the title suggests that the paper covered Charlottesville and Albemarle County, the ...

covered the Proffit Area News. The paper notes Evergreen Baptist Church as part of the community, with Rev. Blakely presiding. Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Earlysville was also noted as hosting the Thanksgiving Union Worship Service with Rev. L.S. Ward, pastor of Chatman Grove Baptist Church, Eastham delivering the sermon. Other congregations joining this service were Evergreen at Proffit and Free Union of Stony Point. The Union Christmas service was planned to be at Evergreen Baptist that year. The historian,

Claude Hall Claude Hall (September 4, 1932 – July 7, 2017) was an American journalist and a writer for and longtime radio-TV editor of ''Billboard''. In 1965, Hall coined the term "easy listening" to describe the sound of WPIX-FM, a radio station then ...

, author of ''

Abel Parker Upshur Abel Parker Upshur (June 17, 1790 – February 28, 1844) was a lawyer, planter, slaveowner, judge and politician from the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Active in Virginia state politics for decades, with a brother and a nephew who became distinguis ...

'', was born in Proffit, and procured three degrees from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

References

Further reading