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    • Rockingham County Tour >
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Clarke/Warren Counties Tour Site 8

Josephine City

Area south of the intersection of South Church Street (Rt 616) and Josephine Street
Berryville, Virginia 22611

Last updated August 20, 2024
The Josephine City area includes three sites:
  • 8A: Zion Baptist Church at 10 Josephine Street
  • ​8B: Milton Valley Cemetery at 315 Josephine Street
  • 8C. Lucy Diggs Slowe Historical Marker at 315 Josephine Street
Directions from Clarke County Courthouse to Site 8:       
  • Continue along Josephine Stuntil you reach the cul-de-sac at the end 
  • Head south on Church St for 0.5 mile
  • Turn left onto Josephine St
  •  This begins Josephine City
An October 1870 article, “New Settlement,” in the Clarke Courier described Josephine City:
      “About 31 acres of land belonging to the estate of Major Edward McCormick, dec’d, adjoining the toll gate on the Millwood and Berryville turnpike, was put up for public sale a few weeks ago, and ‘knocked off’ to Robert Hall, (colored) at $100.01 per acre. Robert represents some thirty-three colored families, as he informs us…”
​
The Josephine City Historic District encompasses 40 acres of land on the southeastern edge of Berryville. Formerly enslaved African Americans built a community between the 1880s and 1960s that included single-family homes, a church, a parish hall, a cemetery, and three former school buildings. Josephine City was established in 1870 when a group of African Americans purchased 31 acres from the McCormick estate. The land was not within the Berryville Town limits, and the area was annexed into the town in 1989. Lots were formed, about one acre in size, on each side of Josephine Street, with 16 on the south side and 15 on the north side. A woman named Josephine Williams is recorded as owning Lots 1 and 2 on the north side of the street in 1870. It is generally assumed the community was named after her, although it is unclear why. Regardless, Josephine City is the only settlement in the county named after a woman. Today, the historic district incorporates 49 properties. Over the years, some dwellings were abandoned or demolished. Over its evolution of 140 years, Josephine City retains landmark integrity and is Clarke County’s most extensive collection of buildings relating to African American History. The Josephine City Historic District was added to the National Historic Register in 2015. 

The Zion Baptist Church was constructed in 1882 as the Benjamin Franklin Annex to serve as a church sanctuary and then converted to a parish hall. The church frame was constructed in 1908 and brick veneered in 1987. Zion Baptist Church remains the only 19th-century church in Josephine City and is still active in the community. 

The Milton Valley Cemetery was established in 1874 on three acres purchased by trustees from the E.G. Hebb family on land less than a mile from the Milton Valley estate. One of several African American cemeteries in Clarke County, Milton Valley, contains the remains of a Civil War soldier, soldiers who served in the Spanish-American War, and many who died enslaved and were buried without identification. The earliest burial is of Mary Slowe, dated 1874. Notable persons buried in the cemetery are Thomas Laws, an enslaved man who acted as a spy for Union General Sheridan, and Rev. Edward T. Johnson and Mr. Raymond Ratcliffe, former principals of Johnson-Williams High School. Other notable graves include: 
John Snowden: Civil War soldier; Andrew Young: Spanish War soldier; Edward  and Frances Cross: Buffalo Soldiers; Paul Jones: former principal of Cooley Elem. School; and George Lightfoot: first principal of Josephine City School.
​
​
Lucy Diggs Slowe was born on July 4, 1885 in Berryville. She is one of seven children. Slowe grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, with her siblings and aunt. Slowe was the first female graduate of the Baltimore Colored School in 1904. She received a sponsored scholarship to Howard University. Slowe. At Howard in 1908, Slowe co-founded the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first sorority for African American women. Slowe graduated Valedictorian from Howard and went on to become a teacher. In 1911, she attended graduate school at Columbia University. Slowe became the first African American woman to win a national title at the American Tennis Association national tournament and won 16 more titles playing tennis. In 1919, Slowe became the first Black Junior High School principal in Washington, DC. Slowe later became the Dean of Women at Howard University in 1922. Slowe advocated for African American women on campus str, strived to empower and serve the interest of women students, and sought equity for herself in the workspace. In 1935, Slowe helped organize the National Council of Negro Women and became its secretary. She helped found the National Association of College Women and became its first president. She also worked with the progressive Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom organization. Lucy Diggs Slowe passed in 1937. Lucy Diggs Slowe historical marker was erected in 2017. 

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    • Frederick County Tour >
      • Mt. Zion Cemetery
      • Senseney Avenue
      • Belle Grove Plantation
      • Stephens City's Rosenwald School
      • Locust Grove Cemetery
      • Orrick Chapel
      • Crossroads/Freetown
      • Tokes Inn
      • Dr. Sarah Brown House
      • Winchester
    • Clarke/Warren Counties Tour >
      • Lewisville Community
      • Clifton Farm Slave Quarters
      • Bristow Community
      • Webbtown Community
      • Clermont Farm
      • Blackburn Town
      • Clarke County Courthouse
      • Josephine City
      • Josephine School Community Museum
      • Annefield Farm
      • Old Chapel
      • Little Chapel (Claytonville)
      • Browntown
      • Millwood
      • Enslaved Burials at Blandy Farm
      • White Post
      • Sugar Hill
      • Stone Bridge
      • Smoketown
      • Happy Creek Loop
      • Good Hope Cemetery
      • Ressie Jeffries Elementary
      • Front Royal Colored School
      • Warren County High School
      • Prospect Hill Cemetery
      • Freetown/Southtown
      • Mount Vernon Baptist Church
      • Williams Chapel
      • Warren Heritage Society
      • Henrico Baltimore Family Cemetery
    • Shenandoah/Page Counties Tour >
      • Mt. Zion Baptist Church and Naked Creek Colored School
      • Catherine Furnace
      • Stony Man
      • Pass Run
      • Hamburg African American Regular School
      • St. John's Baptist Church
      • Rockingham County Bronze Turkey Statue
      • French’s Fence line Burials
      • Steptoe Barber Shop
      • Jessie Rupert Schoolhouse
      • Zion Baptist Church and School
      • Durrett’s Cleaners
      • Asbury Memorial Methodist Church
      • Corhaven Graveyard
      • Calvary Methodist Church and School
      • First Baptist Church
      • Mount Jackson Colored Cemetery
      • Cemetery at Lantz Mill
      • Columbia Furnace
      • Liberty Furnace
      • Wolf Gap
      • Riverview Cemetery
      • Creekside Elementary School
      • Mt. Zion Methodist Church
      • Woodstock “Colored School” (1867-1937)
      • Spengler Home
      • Esbie Baptist Church
      • Sunset Hill School
    • Town of Luray >
      • Ulysses Simpson Grant Fry Restaurant
      • Tutt's Tavern and Home
      • Bethel Baptist Church
      • Bethany Veney Historical Marker
      • West Luray School
      • Butler's Store and Home
      • Jackson Store and Home
      • St. John Baptist Church
      • Jackie's Beauty Salon
      • Historic Andrew Jackson School Museum
      • Thomas Dougans Taxi Cab Co.
      • Tutt's Auto
      • Tutt's Upholstery and Slaughterhouse
      • Wright's Restaurant
      • Midway Inn
      • King's Restaurant
      • Earl Harris Barber Shop
      • Little Angels Daycare
      • Emmett Arthur Dougans Bridge
      • Hillside Cemetery
    • City of Harrisonburg Tour >
      • Jail Hill
      • William Strother House
      • Jeremiah Gibson Properties
      • Hite Family Home
      • Peters' Family Properties
      • The Blue Circle 30 Club
      • First Baptist Church
      • Doc Dickerson's House
      • Ida Mae Francis Tourist Home
      • Blakey's Barbershop and Upholstery
      • The Colonnade
      • Mary Awkard-Fairfax' Home
      • Effinger Street School
      • Roberta Webb's Home
      • Historic Broad Street Mennonite Church
      • Dallard-Newman House
      • Bethel AME Church
      • Miss Lena's Grocery Store
      • First Baptist Church (Present Day)
      • Johnson Street Community Center
      • Lucy F. Simms' Home
      • Lucy F. Simms School
      • Ralph Sampson Park
      • Mr. Martin’s Store
      • Harris Pool
      • Newtown Cemetery
      • John Wesley United Methodist Church
      • Edgar Amos Love Historical Marker
      • Exchange Club Park
      • Ott Dependency
      • 150 Franklin Street Gallery
      • Hardesty-Higgins House Visitor Center
      • Harry Lee's Shoe Shine Parlor
      • Rockingham County Courthouse
      • Charlotte Harris Historical Marker
      • Elon Rhodes Barbershop
      • World War I Memorial
      • Furious Flower Poetry Center
      • Harriet Tubman Cultural Center
      • Harrisonburg-Rockingham County NAACP
    • Rockingham County Tour >
      • Valley Pike
      • Smithland Historic Home
      • Long's Chapel and Cemetery
      • Wilson and Fortune Cemetery
      • Residents of Zenda
      • Pickering’s Farmland Enslaved Burials
      • Tenth Legion Churches
      • Tunker Monument
      • Moore Family Burial Ground
      • Linville Creek Church of the Brethren Cemetery
      • Issac Riddle Farm African American Cemetery
      • Bergton Fairgrounds
      • Lincoln Homestead and Family Cemetery
      • Mannheim Plantation
      • Oak Grove Church and Cemetery
      • Daniel Harrison House (Fort Harrison)
      • Rocktown History
      • Spring Creek Negro Cemetery
      • North River Baptist Church
      • Greenwood Cemetery
      • Roscoe Burgess Sr. Riverwalk
      • Mt. Crawford Community Cemetery
      • Mt. Moriah United Methodist Church and Cemetery
      • Marshall Jones House
      • Bogota Farm
      • Dungeon's Chapel and Cemetery
      • Jonathan Peale House
      • Riverbank Plantation
      • Blakey Farm
      • New Hope Church and Cemetery
      • McGaheyville's Rosenwald School
      • Mt. Sinai Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Bible Way Church of God in Christ and Cemetery
      • St. Hebron Baptist Church Cemetery and Greenwood Family Cemetery
      • St. Hebron Baptist Church
      • Mt. Paran Church Lot
      • Newtown School of East Elkton
      • St. Paul United Methodist Church and Cemetery
      • Elk Run Cemetery
      • Rockingham County Bronze Turkey Statue
    • Augusta County Tour >
      • Mount Sydney Schoolhouse No.27
      • Spring Hill Negro Cemetery
      • Fairview Cemetery
      • Kenneth L. Jones Funeral Home
      • Pannell’s Inn
      • Richmond Beneficial Company
      • Franklin T. Jones Tourist Home
      • D. Webster Davis School
      • Abbot’s Beauty School
      • Mount Zion Baptist Church
      • The Snack Shop
      • Ebenezer Baptist Church
      • Effie Ann Johnson Nursery School
      • Staunton Tribune
      • Augusta Street United Methodist Church
      • Charles L. Johnson’s Restaurant
      • Cabell Log House
      • Kier’s Tailoring and Alteration Service
      • Dr. C.J. Waller and Oscar W. Marshall
      • Colored Masonic Mount Zion Lodge No. 18
      • John Chiles Dental Office
      • The Peoples Dime Savings Bank
      • Crawford’s Barbershop
      • J. H. Gibson Grocery Store
      • Free School for Colored Children No. 2
      • James M Morris, Attorney-at-Law
      • Green Street
      • Vickers Way
      • Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church
      • Queen Miller Orphanage
      • Central Augusta High School
      • Community United Methodist Church
      • Cedar Green Negro Cemeteries
      • Augusta County Training School
      • Hunter Cemetery at Shady Oak Station
      • Smokey Row Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Montgomery Hall Park
      • T.C. Edmunds School
      • Booker T. Washington High School
      • Uniontown
      • Beverly Manor Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Mt. Marine Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Oak Grove Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Oak Grove Elementary School
      • New Hope Churches and Schoolhouse
      • Crimora School
      • Morning Star Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • North Park Pool
      • Fairview Cemetery (Waynesboro)
      • Waynesboro’s Rosenwald School
      • Dr. Philip A. Hilton & Dr. Chavis Home and Office
      • Pleasant View United Methodist Church
      • McCutcheon’s Funeral Home
      • Abraham Hall
      • Shiloh Baptist Church
      • Elks Lodge
      • Tarry’s Hotel
      • Union Baptist Church
      • Steadfast Church of God in Christ and Cemetery
      • Beulah Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Hatton Pond Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Greenville Cemetery
      • Fannie Thompson House
      • Oak Hill Baptist Church and Cemetery
      • Staunton NAACP & Waynesboro NAACP
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