J.F. Bell Funeral Home - Historical Site

John Ferris Bell (January 14, 1890 - October 10, 1959) was born and educated in Petersburg, Virginia. Following his graduation from Hampton Institute, he taught tailoring for four years at Lincoln Institute in Jefferson City, Missouri. He then trained as a funeral director and mortician in Chicago, Illinois. In the 1920s, Bell moved to Charlottesville to organize the J.F. Bell Funeral Home which continues today as the oldest family run funeral home in central Virginia and the area's oldest existing business owned by people of color.