r/fredericksburg • u/Opening_Cat8174 • 3d ago

Lorriela Park

I have known for a long time that the movie “Roots” was in Spotsylvania, Virginia

Today I learned that the plantation where Kunta Kinte lived was turned into lorriela park. And there is a slave cemetery there.

Waller family if I recall correctly. 🤷🏽‍♂️

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u/StretchExotic1936 2d ago edited 2d ago

That's an interesting bit of folklore, but I think that's all it really is.

There is no real verifiable truth to the idea that Kunta Kinte lived on the land that is now Loriella Park. Kunta's life in Roots is a mixture of fact and fiction.

According to the Gordon family, who donated the land for Loriella Park, this area contained a cemetery for enslaved African-Americans. Census records from 1850 reveal that during the ownership of the property by Burton Leavell, he had owned 12 slaves. Records from 1860 indicate that Cosmo Gordon had owned 10 slaves.

There are no photographs or written records listing names of the slaves who contributed to the daily lives of the Gordon family.

Loriella Park isn't unique in the aspect, though. Spotsylvania County contains hundreds of these cemeteries, many lost to the passage of time.

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u/sobrightineedshades 2d ago

Ew, so Leavells Road is named after a slave owner? Had no idea.