1870

← 1869

This article is about the year 1870 Please help improve this article by conforming to date guidelines and by adding citations to reliable sources.

1871 →

• The population of Charlottesville was for the first time taken separately from that of the county in 1870, its numbers were 2,838.

Events

• Sidewalks made entirely of wooden boards were laid along the main streets of the city. Stepping-stones at street crossings connected the sidewalks to the road, keeping shoes clean and ladies’ skirts from dragging in the muck and manure of the dirt road.
• January 26: An act of Congress ends Reconstruction in Virginia, readmitting Virginia into the United States and restoring civilian rule.
• March: A new council was appointed. A. P. Abell was named chairman of the board, replacing T. W. Savage. N. H. Massie was named mayor by the councilmen who were Dr. James Thornley, J. W. Lipops, Dr. W. C. N. Randolph and T. F. Wingfield. Dr. Thornley previously served on the board under Mayor Savage.
• April 16: N. H. Massie resigned as mayor and was replaced with Fowler until the next election.
• May 26: In the election, William L Cochran defeated T. W. Savage with a vote of 271 to 215.
• July 4: In accordance with the General Assembly, the town of Charlottesville was divided into four voting wards.
• A Virginia law made it illegal for black and white children to attend the same schools. (In 1958 the Virginia legislature would vote to close any school that enrolled both black and white students.)

Births

April 20 – William Peter Dickerson (1870–1943), African-American physician and banker, was born in Keswick, Albemarle County.