Near Kearneysville in Jefferson County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)

Johnsontown

Photographed by William Glahn, August 7, 2016

1. Johnsontown Marker

Inscription. Founded by free African Americans, George W. & Betty Johnson, in 1848 on 12 acres, it was the first free black community in the state. Johnsons and other families built number of homes and a log, one-room graded school, which also served as a meeting place and housed religious activities until Zion Baptist was erected in 1898. Many burials in the adjacent cemetery represent former families.

Erected 2000 by West Virginia Division of Culture and History.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Agriculture • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the West Virginia Archives and History series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1848.

Location. 39° 20.43′ N, 77° 53.444′ W. Marker is near Kearneysville, West Virginia, in Jefferson County. It is on Johnsontown Road just east of Hite Road, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2546 Johnsontown Rd, Kearneysville WV 25430, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area

and in the Eastern Panhandle.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Gap View Farm (approx. 1.9 miles away); Peter Burr House (approx. 2 miles away); Peter Burr / William Burr Houses (approx. 2 miles away); Hockensmith Apple Storage Building

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(approx. 2 miles away); Valley View / Tackley Farm (approx. 2.1 miles away); The Greenback Raid (approx. 2.1 miles away); “The Bower” (approx. 2.2 miles away); "Prato Rio" (approx. 2.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kearneysville.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 26, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 30, 2016, by William Glahn of Winchester, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,430 times since then and 106 times this year. Last updated on December 25, 2023, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photo 1. submitted on August 30, 2016, by William Glahn of Winchester, Virginia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.