IRVINGTON—In honor of Black History Month, the Steamboat Era Museum recently received a $5,000 grant from The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation to develop a new exhibit, “Hansford Bayton: The Courage and Determination of a Black Steamboat Captain.”
The exhibition will tell the story of one black family’s experience during the late 19th and early 20th century heyday of the steamship in the Northern Neck, said executive director Barbara Brecher. While blacks were employed as crew, deck hands or stevedores on steamboats, few, if any, rose to prominence or prosperity.
However, with the 2016 book Against the Tide: The Turbulent Times of a Black Entrepreneur, by Dr. J. H. Sullivan, a fascinating and compelling story has emerged.
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