The area near Gravel Hill Community Center, specifically to the southwest, was the location of the First Battle of Deep Bottom, which took place in July, 1864 as part of the Siege of Petersburg. Grant successfully used this battle to weaken Lee's defenses in Petersburg. The Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock and Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan marched along Long Bridge Road on July 27, 1864.
The history of Gravel Hill predates the Civil War and is described on the marker as follows:
Following a successful case before the Virginia Court of Appeals in 1777, the slaves of John Pleasants were allowed to follow the dictates of his 1771 will and were freed. His son, Robert Pleasants, then gave seventy-eight former slaves 350 acres of his plantation. A community developed known as "Gravelly Hill". Here in 1801, a Quaker school for blacks was established, and following the Civil War, the Gravel Hill Baptist Church was founded. Gravel Hill Community Center, C. 1930, once a public school, became a facility operated by Henrico County in 1970.