← Back to the 365 Library
Contribution #320 of 365
James “Gentleman Jim” Robinson
Farmer, Landowner and Manassas Entrepreneur
1840–1875
The contribution
How this work helped shape America
Born free in Prince William County, Virginia, James “Gentleman Jim” Robinson purchased approximately 170 acres near Manassas in 1840. He farmed, operated a drover's tavern and conducted business connected with the Warrenton–Alexandria toll road. By 1875 his holdings had expanded to roughly 1,500 acres, making his enterprise a significant example of antebellum and Reconstruction-era Black land accumulation.