History Thursday: 205 Prince Edward Street
The house that still stands here was built in 1872 for the African American Nicholas family.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
Email Name
In 1872, Andrew Nicholas bought a subdivided lot on Prince Edward Street and built a house which still stands today.
Nicholas was 52 when he built the house, according to research conducted on the property in 1996 by Donna McDermott for the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation’s marker program.
The Nicholas family were Black, according to the census of 1870. Andrew Nicholas’s occupation was given as “laborer” and his wife Rose “kept house.” They were both marked as being unable to read or write.
Mary Nicholas, age 18, also lived in the house, according to the census, and she is marked as having “attended school within the year.”
The house was owned by Nicholas or his estate through 1913. During that time, according to city land tax records, the value of the land went from $250 to $100 and the value of the building from $350 to $200.
In 1914, Ellis Grymes or Grimes, bought the house.
According to McDermott, there is a legend that “the property served as a distribution center (hooch house) for illegal liquor” during prohibition.
“Local historian, Ruth Coder Fitzgerald, says it was not uncommon to have such houses, especially in the Black community, but cannot confirm that 205 Prince Edward Street served as such a house,” according to McDermott.
In 1930, according to a Free Lance-Star article, an Ellis Grimes, “colored, alleged bootlegger,” was jailed for 30 days and fined after “dry agents” found a half gallon of whiskey in an outhouse near his residence. This residence was not 205 Prince Edward Street, but was in Spotsylvania, “near the Massaponax gravel pit,” according to the article.
Ellis Grimes also appeared in a 1939 Free Lance-Star article headlined “Negro Playground Interest Growing,” in which he is described as the leader of the Lions, a team in a new “colored softball league.” He also owned a taxicab.
In 1945, the Grimes family reported the loss of five No. 4 ration books and asked for them to be returned to 205 Prince Edward.
Ellis Grimes died in 1963 and ownership of the house passed to his wife, Sally Rebecca Grimes.
The Free Lance-Star published several articles in the 1950s about Rebecca Grimes. Her son, Henry Burnette, was reported missing in Korea in December of 1950.
“No additional evidence, since the first missing report, has been found in [his] case, his mother, Mrs. Rebecca Grimes, of 205 Prince Edward Street, said,” according to an October 1952 article.
It was not until February of 1954 that Rebecca Grimes received news from the Army, via recently released prisoners of war, that her son had been killed in action on December 1, 1950.
Burnette had attended Walker-Grant High School, enlisted in the Army at age 16, and was 19 when he was killed.
In 1970, Rebecca Grimes died. Rev. Lawrence Davies, who was later elected Mayor of Fredericksburg, officiated at her funeral, according to her obituary. Ownership of 205 Prince Edward passed to her heirs, including her sons John and Matthew, daughter Marie Brown, and grandchildren.
Matthew and another of her daughters, Ethel, ran the following “In Memoriam” notice in the Free Lance Star on the one-year anniversary of her death: “Dear Mother, we miss you so; but in our hearts you will always be. Sleep on dear mother / And take thy rest / God knows we loved you / But He loved you best. Until we meet again.”
In 1990, according to a Free Lance-Star article, Fredericksburg police moved to seize 205 Prince Edward, “long known as a drug market,” under federal drug forfeiture laws. Four people were arrested in September of that year for selling drugs from the porch, according to the article.
The property was sold to the federal government, with John and Matthew Grimes and Marie Brown together receiving half of the net proceeds, according to chain of title research conducted by McDermott.
Since 1993, 205 Prince Edward Street been owned by several different families.
Support the Advance with an Annual Subscription or Make a One-time Donation
The Advance has developed a reputation for fearless journalism. Our team delivers well-researched local stories, detailed analysis of the events that are shaping our region, and a forum for robust, informed discussion about current issues.
We need your help to do this work, and there are two ways you can support this work.
Sign up for annual, renewable subscription.
Make a one-time donation of any amount.
Local Obituaries
To view local obituaries or to send a note to family and loved ones, please visit the link that follows.
This article is published under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. It can be distributed for noncommercial purposes and must include the following: “Published with permission by FXBG Advance.”