Learn More About Collections Law in Lackey, Virginia

Lackey (also known locally in its heyday as "the Reservation") was a small unincorporated community near Yorktown in York County, Virginia, United States. Lackey is now extinct. During World War I, the properties of many primarily African American landowners along the former Yorktown-Williamsburg Road were taken to create a military reservation now known as Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. Oral histories indicate that as many as 600 African-American families were displaced by the Navy, and many of these were said to own their land. Three churches also had to vacate the desired land. Assisted by self-educated farmer John Pack Roberts (born approximately 1860), many of the displaced residents of Lackey were able to obtain financial compensation for their property and many relocated to the community of Grove in nearby James City County. Others moved to Williamsburg, or Lee Hall. Many were unable to buy comparable areas with their compensation, and turned from farming to other trades. Another small community, also named Lackey, was later developed along the Yorktown Road a few miles away. However, the original Lackey is now considered one of the many lost towns of Virginia.