Richard Eppes was born Richard Eppes Cocke on May 2, 1824, in Prince George County. His father, Benjamin Cocke, managed the family estates that his wife, Mary Eppes Cocke, had inherited at Eppes Island, in Charles City County; Bermuda Hundred, in Chesterfield County; and City Point (later Hopewell), in Prince George County. Benjamin Cocke did not prove a successful planter, however, and he made a living through a blacksmith shop and shad fishing. When he died in 1836, the estates returned to Mary Cocke’s control, and their only surviving child became the sole heir. In accordance with his mother’s wishes to keep the surname Eppes associated with her family estates, Cocke legally changed his name to Richard Eppes on October 26, 1840.
February 19, 2021
The “Stone of Hope: Black Experiences in the Fox Cities” webinar will be held virtually via Zoom on Thursday, Feb. 25 from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. The event, sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the History Museum at the Castle, aims to discuss the history of the Black community in the Fox Cities and highlight the necessity of diversity and inclusion within the Appleton region.
In the webinar, Sabrina Robins, Director of Operations at Manpower, Inc. and board member of African Heritage Inc., will be the webinar’s moderator. Other panelists include Nicholas Hoffman, Administrator of Museums and Historic Sites of Wisconsin Historical Society, and Donna Sack, Vice President and Chief Program Officer of the Naper Settlement Museum.
National Park Foundation President Will Shafroth (right) with U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner at the Jefferson Memorial on Monday, Dec. 7.
Monday, Dec. 7, at an outdoor and socially-distanced ceremony at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) was awarded the National Park Foundation’s Hero Award by Foundation President, Will Shafroth. The award commemorates Sen. Warner’s work in getting
“As a lifelong advocate of our national parks and public lands, I am honored to be an inaugural recipient of the National Park Foundation’s Hero Award. I am incredibly proud that Congress was able to come together and pass The Great American Outdoors Act this year, which included my bill – the Restore Our Parks Act – that will allocate up to $6.65 billion to the National Park Service to address critical maintenance needs at our beloved national parks,” said Sen. Warner. “This bipartisan legislation represents a truly once-in-a-generation investment in our national p