Berryville in Clarke County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Josephine City

Photographed by Linda Walcroft, July 12, 2015

1. Josephine City Marker

Inscription.
Early in the 1870's African Americans established Josephine City, a community originally composed of 31 one-acre lots lining a 16-foot-wide street. Twenty-four former slaves and free blacks purchased the lots at $100 an acre from Ellen McCormick, owner of Clermont Farm. The street and the community were probably named after a former slave at Clermont, Josephine Williams, purchaser of two lots. By 1900, Josephine City had become an oasis for the county’s African Americans and was a self-sufficient community with a school, grocery store, gas station, boarding house, restaurant, cemetery, churches, and numerous residents.

Erected 2014 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number J-19.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • Women. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1900.

Location. 39° 8.68′ N, 77° 59.113′ W. Marker is in Berryville, Virginia, in Clarke County. It is on Josephine Street east

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of South Church Street (Virginia Route 616), on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Berryville VA 22611, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area

and in Northern Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

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,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Berryville (approx. ¼ mile away); The Schools of Josephine City (approx. 0.3 miles away); Milton Valley Cemetery (approx. 0.4 miles away); Lucy Diggs Slowe (approx. 0.4 miles away); Patsy Cline (approx. 0.4 miles away); Benjamin Berry (approx. half a mile away); Clarke County (approx. half a mile away); Josephine School Community Museum & The African-American Experience

Photographed by Linda Walcroft, July 12, 2015

2. Josephine City Marker

(approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Berryville.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Josephine City (was a few steps from this marker but has been reported to have been replaced with another marker now near it).

More about this marker. This replaces a 1999 marker which began "To improve the lives of former slaves, Ellen McCormick, widow of Edward McCormick of Clermont, established this African American community of 31 one-acre lots early in the 1870s."

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. To better understand the relationship, study each marker in the order shown.

Also see . . . Clermont Farm Foundation. Foundation website homepage (Submitted on July 22, 2015, by Linda Walcroft of Woodstock, Virginia.)

Credits. This page was last revised on November 2, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 22, 2015, by Linda Walcroft of Woodstock, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,656 times since then and 72 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 22, 2015, by Linda Walcroft of Woodstock, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.