Elijah Fletcher

Who was Elijah Fletcher?

Elijah Fletcher was a 19th century teacher, businessman, and served as mayor of Lynchburg, Virginia for two terms in the early 1830s. He was the publisher of The Virginian newspaper, and was a founding member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lynchburg.

By the mid-19th century, Fletcher had between 80 and 100 slaves at the plantation. After their emancipation in 1865, several continued to work for pay and live at Sweet Briar. On Elijah Fletcher's death, his daughter, Indiana Fletcher Williams, inherited the plantation. When she passed in 1900, she willed the land and much of her assets to starting the Sweet Briar College for women.