the Progress of the Colored Race in America Beginning in 1936, Michaux and his various corporations began purchasing land along the James River near Jamestown Island in James City County, Virginia. Michaux envisioned a grand memorial to be developed on this land which would include "an Administration Building, a commodious Auditorium, a Library Building and a Hall of Fame, where will be preserved for all times, paintings, busts and statuary of the leaders of the Race in every field of service and high endeavor. This recognition will be an inspiration to the generations to follow, to emulate the examples of their fathers, who, given their freedom became loyal citizens of the States and the Republic, with the dedication of their lives in Peace and War." Michaux invoked the history of African Enslavement, the historical significance of the founding of the colony at Jamestown and the landing of the first African slaves at Jamestown, and the historical evolution of the concept of human freedom as expressed by Washington, Jefferson, Madison and even Robert E. Lee in his description of the project. The Memorial site, which eventually grew to about 1,100 acres, is situated in Colonial National Historical Park adjacent to Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown—Virginia's "Historic Triangle", sometimes referred to as the "cradle of American democracy". It is possible that the earliest African slaves in Virginia and America worked on or near this land and that the land itself is the site of the first farm in Virginia owned by a former slave. Michaux worked to develop funding for the project. One of the more intriguing proposals was to develop a cooperative farm on the property, subdivided into 5 acre lots that could be farmed by individuals who would be given cows, mules, chickens, and seed and who would work together, communally, to show the progress of Africans in America. None of the funding schemes that Michaux pursued were successful enough to develop the actual plans for the site. However, a working farm, including a dairy, was developed and maintained for the church and the association, under the stewardship of Marion O. Smith, a congregant of Michaux's in Washington who was sent to the farm in 1947 and remained active in the farm well into the 21st century. Mr. Smith's descendants still work the farm to this day. An Historic Marker entitled "A Famous African-American Dream" was placed along the Colonial National