Josephine School Community Museum, 303 Josephine Street, Berryville, VA (2026)

08/28/2026

A great man once lived in the center of Millwood, and it would take a book to tell William “Bill” Layton’s story. Fortunately, he wrote one a decade before he died in 2007 at age 92. “Layton Looks at Life,” published in 1996, is available at the Josephine School Community Museum and the Clarke County Historical Association museum.

His Millwood home, “Rock Cliff,” was built on land his family owned since 1871. Though his career was in Washington, D.C., (beginning in 1965), the Laytons spent their summers in Millwood.

Bill Layton’s obituary in The Washington Post sums up his education, career, and community service while only hinting at his compassion and kindness. It does not mention his warmth and humor, nor does it mention the extraordinary family he and his wife Phoebe raised.

The Post wrote: “Mr. Layton was born [July 17, 1915] in Hanover, Va., and graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He received a master's degree in sociology from Fisk University in Nashville in the late 1930s and did further graduate study at Michigan State University.

“After working in the Nashville public schools, Mr. Layton began his professional career in 1942 with the Urban League in Columbus, Ohio. From 1951 to 1959, he was executive of the Urban League chapter in Muskegon, Mich. He then spent six years as director of education and community services for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission in Lansing, Mich., before moving to Washington.

“Mr. Layton lived in Washington since 1965, when he became director of contract compliance for the Department of Agriculture. In 1971, he became one of the first African American senior staff officials of the Federal Reserve Board, where he was director of affirmative action hiring throughout the Federal Reserve System. He retired in 1977, but continued as a consultant to the Federal Reserve Board until 1981.

“He collected documents associated with the Civil War and the abolitionist movement and often lectured about his collection. He was a member of many historical organizations, including the Columbia Historical Society, U.S. Capitol Historical Society, the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia and the McCormick Civil War Institute of Shenandoah University in Wi******er, Va.

“He was a founding member of the Fort Collier Civil War Center in Wi******er and served on the boards of the Grafton School in Berryville, Va., the Shenandoah Arts Council, the Clarke County chapter of the Red Cross and the Wayside Theater in Middletown, Va. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club; the Torch Club, a youth leadership group; and the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.”

Bill Layton’is wife of 67 years, Phoebe Anderson Layton, died at age 101 in 2018.

Their daughter Andrée Roaf, who died in 2009, was the first Black woman to serve on the Arkansas Supreme Court, and she is the mother of former NFL offensive lineman Willie Roaf.

Daughter Mary Layton is a public relations professional who served director of public relations for the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital and was Assistant U.S. Postmaster General in the 1980s.

Daughter Serena Davis, who worked in advertising, died in 1988.

A Washington Post article published before Mr. Layton’s death begins, “On March 4, 1933, William Wendell Layton came to Washington with his family to watch the inauguration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

“As a student of history, he recognized the importance of Roosevelt's presidency, which had arrived in the midst of the worst financial crisis of the century. And as an African American who had grown up near Richmond in a rigidly segregated society, the 17-year-old Layton saw hope in Roosevelt’s message of uniting all Americans.”

And the article includes this: “Wherever he went, Layton had a way of bringing people together from all backgrounds and races.”

The Stewart Bell Jr. Archives at Handley Regional Library in Wi******er contain “The Layton Family Collection” of news clippings, correspondence, and writings regarding African-American history and the Civil Rights Movement. Mr. Layton also donated some of his vast collection of historic documents to Shenandoah University.

He had documents signed by Abraham Lincoln and his Cabinet, plus items autographed by Jack Johnson, Marian Anderson, Langston Hughes, and Rosa Parks, who was Mr. Layton’s friend.

Links to The Washington Post articles mentioned in this post are in the “comments” section.

08/25/2026

By 1875, there were 10 African American communities in various stages of development in Clarke County, including Josephine City and Blackburn Town near Berryville and others across the county. In the 20th century Millwood came to be known as a Black community; however, from the late 1700s and throughout the 1800s, Millwood was a cluster of commercial buildings centered around the large stone gristmill – all owned by white families, some of whom owned many slaves.

By the 1870 Census, nine out of 38 households in Millwood were headed by Blacks. The 1880 Land Tax Book lists 16 Black landowners in Millwood, though only seven properties had buildings. As more Blacks settled in and around Millwood, they – like many Black communities – built churches and schools to meet their needs.

Millwood’s Shiloh Baptist Church, however, was built in 1892 by a white congregation. When the congregation decided to move to Boyce in 1919, an African-American congregation purchased the church property for $1,500 in April 1921.

The church, originally a wood frame structure, was covered with stucco in 1932. A two-story frame building next to the church served as its parsonage and, later, for recreational activities.

In 1910, the Burch family conveyed a parcel of land adjacent to Shiloh Church to be used as a source of water for the residents of Millwood. The public town well was – and still is – next to the parsonage. (Public water and sewer came to Millwood in the late 20th century.)

Shiloh Baptist Church is much more than a church. Because it sits near the center of the village, it has long served as a community meeting spot. In recent years, FISH of Clarke County sets up its monthly free food distribution truck there, too.

In 2002, local architectural historian and preservation consultant Maral Kalbian co-authored an in-depth study of the African-American population in Clarke County. Her co-author was research historian Leila Boyer of Harrisonburg.

The study makes clear how slavery shaped the development of the county, and it became a springboard for new research on Black communities in the region. Read the 2002 report, “African-American Historic Context, Clarke County, Va.” at https://fliphtml5.com/lifzz/asqj/Final_Report_-_African-American_Context%2C_Clarke_County%2C_Virginia%28HD%29/

08/21/2026

More examples of how white-owned newspapers – particularly in the South – enforced the color line in the Jim Crow era... During World War I, the Clarke Courier newspaper, like many local newspapers across the country, listed the young men who were heading off to serve in the United States Armed Forces. White men were not identified as “white,” as that was understood; however, Black men were named in separate lists and identified as “Colored.”

08/18/2026

Does anyone have information – or a photo – to add to the story of Malverine Rebecca Garner Artis? A community park on Josephine Street is named in her memory. What did she do to be so honored?

With help from the Clarke County Historical Association archivist, we have learned a little about Malverine’s life. And, with every discovery, more questions arise.

Malverine’s obituary, published Dec. 29, 1960, in the Clarke Courier newspaper, reads:

“Mrs. Malvriene [sic] Artis, wife of Nathanial Artis of Berryville, died December 20 in the Wi******er Memorial Hospital. She was 50 years old. Mrs. Artis was born August 12, 1910, a daughter of Harrison Garner and the late Lucy N. Alexander Garner. Besides her husband and father, she is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Arthur Reynolds, at home, and the following brothers and sisters: Miss Virginia Garner, Miss Lucy N. Garner, Mrs. Lelia DePriest, Richard Garner, all of Berryville, Jack Garner of Easton, Pa., Nathaniel Garner of Charles Town, and an aunt, Mrs. Emily Taylor of Ranson. Funeral services were conducted Friday from the Zion Baptist Church, by the Rev. Paul Brown of Washington. Pallbearers were William H. Paige, John Lampkins, Phillips Paige, Stanley Clay, Beverley Williams and James Moss.”

Malverine Garner married Nathaniel Artis on Dec. 16, 1937, at St. Luke Baptist Church in Berryville, and their certificate of marriage notes they both live in Berryville and both are “colored.” The marriage certificate names Nathaniel as “Nathan” and lists his occupation as “farm laborer.”

Their marriage certificate gives her age as 22 and his as 20; however, Nathaniel was born in 1905, making him 31 on his wedding day, and Malverine was born in 1910, making her 27.

Nathaniel’s 1942 draft registration card refers to his wife Malverine as “Marie Artis.” Perhaps a clerical error, or perhaps her nickname.

In print Mr. Artis is identified as Nathanial (with an ‘al’), Nathaniel (with an ‘el’), and Nathan.

In January 1938, the “Baltimore Afro-American” newspaper published a marriage announcement – dateline Berryville – for Miss Malverine Garner and Nicholas Ott. Is Nicholas Ott just a really bad misspelling of Nathaniel Artis?

Remember that in the many decades when newspaper type was set by hand – letter by letter – typos abound. And, if information was taken over the telephone or via telegraphs (perhaps the case with “Baltimore Afro-American") the potential for misspellings increases.

It appears Clarke County native Malverine and Nathaniel, who was born in in Isle of Wight County, Va., lived in Berryville their entire married life and raised Malverine’s daughter.

Lucy Ann Garner was born in 1927; her 1947 marriage certificate names her parents as Strother French and Malverine Garner. A note on the certificate says “Parents of bride not married.” It also notes “Consent of mother given in person.”

The 1940 U.S. Census United States for the Town of Berryville lists the Artis family: Nathan, 35; Malverine, 28 (she was 30); “step child” Lucie Garner, 14; and “step child” Harrison Garner, 12. Harrison was actually Malverine’s brother. Who knows why Nathaniel and Malverine were made Harrison’s guardians? Harrison Garner Sr. was living. (He died in 1964, and is buried in Milton Valley Cemetery.)

Malverine died Dec. 20, 1960, in Wi******er. Her death certificate says her occupation was “domestic.” Nathaniel died July 25, 1975, at Shenandoah Memorial Hospital in Woodstock, Va.; his death certificate lists his occupation as “laborer.”

Nathaniel and Malverine Artis are buried in Milton Valley Cemetery at the end of Josephine Street – right across the road from the Malverine Artis memorial community park. Their grave markers are long gone.

Why does the park on Josephine Street honor Malverine?

The 1/2-acre park is land deeded by H.F. Byrd, Inc. to the Josephine Improvement Association, Inc. on Feb.8, 1967 “in consideration of the sum of Ten Dollars…”

The deed conveys “lot or parcel of land lying in and being in settlement known as Josephine City, adjacent to the the Town of Berryville, Clarke County, Virginia, beginning at a point in the middle of Main Street of Josephine City…” The deed was signed by Richard E. Byrd, president of Harry F. Byrd, Inc., as well as Harry F. Byrd Jr., the secretary of Harry F. Byrd, Inc.

Did Malverine Artis work for the Byrd family? Is that the connection?

08/14/2026

In January, this page shared the story of Benjamin Lippkin, a Black man who shot and killed another Black man in Berryville in July 1904. After being found guilty of murder in court, Mr. Lippkin was hanged in January 1905. He was the first and last person sentenced to death by hanging in Clarke County, Va.

On Aug. 14, 1936, Rainey Bethea – a Black man who was convicted of ra**ng and killing a 70-year-old woman – was hanged on the banks of the Ohio River in front of about 20,000 people, creating a media circus.

Newspapers across the country gave it sensational monikers like a “picnic hanging” and a “hangman’s holiday.” However, news stories written by Black newspapers focused on the systemic racism at play in the justice system.

All other states had banned public hangings by the 1930s, although hanging remained a means of ex*****on. The unprecedented nationwide coverage of Rainey Bethea’s ex*****on caused the United States to phase out public ex*****ons.

And, in the decades following Mr. Bethea’s ex*****on, states began eliminating hanging as means of ex*****on altogether.

For Mr. Lippkin’s ex*****on on Jan. 27, 1905, scaffolding was erected under a huge tent on the Clarke County courthouse grounds, and invitations to the ex*****on were sent to no more than 150 people; however, less than 100 attended, according to the Clarke Courier newspaper, which also noted a large crowd of curious onlookers gathered outside the tent.

“Hanging” is a legal method of capital punishment. “Lynching” is an unlawful act carried out by a mob for a perceived wrongdoing.

DeathPenaltyUSA – https://deathpenaltyusa.org – details all known ex*****ons by state from 1607 through 2014. DeathPenaltyUSA also identifies hundreds of slaves who were hanged prior to and during the Civil War. After the war, the terminology changes to “freedman” and “black.”

08/11/2026

The Josephine School Community Museum is a proud co-sponsor of “Researching Resistance: A Workshop on Self-Emancipation and Freedom-Seeking at Belle Grove.” This FREE public event begins at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Northeast Neighborhood Association Community Center located at 491 Broad St. in Harrisonburg, Va.

This workshop is part of a series of programs on African American resistance co-sponsored by the Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County VA., Belle Grove Plantation, Josephine School Community Museum, Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project, and the Institute for Historical Biology (IHB) at William & Mary.

On Aug. 29, IHB researchers will discuss their ongoing exploration of resistance and self-emancipation at Belle Grove. Utilizing “runaway ads” from newspapers of the time, IHB is learning more about enslaved peoples’ lives and the ways they resisted against enslavement.

For more information contact [email protected] or go to www.wm.edu/as/programs/ihb/

08/06/2026

These three panels at the Josephine School Community Museum & Clarke County African-American Cultural Center name known slave owners in the county and the known number of Blacks they enslaved.

The 1860 Slave Census reported 3,375 slaves registered to 346 owners in Clarke County. That year, enslaved African Americans accounted for 48 percent of the county’s total population.

Clarke was created in March 1836, when the state Senate officially divided Frederick County to form the new county. So, it is difficult to know how many people were enslaved in the area before it became known as Clarke.

The first U.S. Census in 1790 recorded 4,200 slaves in Frederick County. By 1810, there were 6,417 slaves in Frederick County, an increase of 50 percent from 20 years earlier. By 1830, Frederick County had 7,430 slaves and 1,265 free Blacks.

It is known that African Americans were among the earliest settlers of the region. Beginning in the mid-1700s, slaves were marched 200 miles from the James River to what is now Clarke County.

The earliest record of those African Americans is in account books from the 1740s, describing slaves being brought from Tidewater plantations to work along the Shenandoah River. They, or their ancestors, had been kidnapped into slavery from western Africa, brought by way of the West Indies, and sold off slave ships at the piers along the James River to wealthy plantation owners.

While many settlers west of the Opequon Creek owned slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries, the number of slaves held per landowner there was significantly smaller than in the area east of the Opequon, which later became Clarke County.

Four years after Clarke County was separated from Frederick County, the 1840 Census counted 3,325 slaves in Clarke and 2,302 slaves in Frederick.

On the eve of the Civil War, there were more than 3,350 enslaved individuals and less than 70 free Blacks in Clarke County.

Read more in “African American Historical Context” a Certified Local Government (CLG) project prepared for Clarke County in 2002: https://fliphtml5.com/lifzz/asqj/Final_Report_-_African-American_Context%2C_Clarke_County%2C_Virginia%28HD%29/

07/31/2026

An article about Marcellus Harper published after his death in 2005 noted that he did not seek the spotlight or awards, and he did not like to pose for photos. However, he gave so much of his time, energy, and talents to the community, he deserved all the recognition.

In 1993, when Mr. Harper was named Clarke County’s “Citizen of the Year,” those who nominated him spoke of his response to a Ku Klux Klan rally in Berryville in July 1991. Mr. Harper approached the mayor and town planner to discuss the K*K, the community’s response to it, race relations, and youth hanging out on the streets with nothing to do. The “Community Relations Steering Committee” was formed from that meeting with Mr. Harper serving as its president. Shortly after the committee was formed, Mr. Harper led the creation of the Open Gym Program at Johnson-Williams Middle School so youngsters and teens had a place to go.

That was Mr. Harper. See someone or something that needs help, step up, and help.

Over the years, he volunteered for the American Red Cross, the NAACP of Wi******er-Frederick-Clarke, and FISH of Clarke County. At his church, Zion Baptist, he initiated an Usher Board and worked with the Young Ushers Committee. He served on the Berryville Planning Commission from 1991 to 1998.

He was the first president of the Josephine Improvement Association (and served as president in later years), helping with all its projects, fundraising efforts, and establishing a Neighborhood Watch program.

After retiring from his 30-year career at the J.C. Penney store in Wi******er, Mr. Harper had more time to help more people. He began driving the Clarke County Senior Center van, and used his own vehicle to drive those who needed rides to doctor or hospital appointments.

Josephine Street resident Raymond Ratcliffe had the idea to turn the circa 1882 Josephine City School into a Black history museum. After his death in 1986, a handful of his neighbors – led by Marcellus Harper and Rosetta Clay – picked up the idea and, in the 1990s, started a grassroots effort to restore the two-room schoolhouse and preserve Clarke County’s Black history.

Thanks to Mr. Harper, Mrs. Clay, and many others, the Josephine School Community Museum & Clarke County African-American Cultural Center opened in July 2003.

Marcellus M. Harper Sr. was born on May 30, 1923, in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Maryland. He married Clarke County native Mazie Paige and, after Mr. Harper finished his military service, the couple moved to Josephine Street where they raised four children. They were married 62 years until Mrs. Harper’s death in 2004. Mr. Harper died at age 82 on Nov. 5, 2005. He is buried in Milton Valley Cemetery at the east end of Josephine Street, not far from the home where he and his family lived.

The Clarke Courier “Citizen of the Year” article quotes Mr. Harper’s daughter Marcella Harper Roberts as saying, “He answers the phone ‘Merry Christmas’ all year long, because he thinks people should be happy all year long.”

Mr. Harper was so busy in the community, it appears he rarely stopped to pose for photos. If you have a photo of Mr. Harper, please share it in the comment section below this post.

07/29/2026

“The Colored Patriot: The Story of Thomas Laws” is presented Aug. 28, 29 and 30 at the Shenandoah Valley Civil War Museum (20 N. Loudoun St., Wi******er) by the Selah Theatre Project, Inc. with support from the Josephine School Community Museum, the Shenandoah Valley Civil War Museum, and the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Shenandoah Valley.

“The Colored Patriot” is a staged reading of a play by theatre director Bleu Do’zia. Set in a contemporary courtroom, the play imagines a case in which Thomas Laws, who was enslaved in Clarke County, is represented by journalist and truth-seeker Ida B. Wells, who demands accountability for his erasure from the historical record.

Performances are at:
• 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28
• 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29
• 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30

Performances are FREE; however, TICKETS ARE REQUIRED. Go to www.onthestage.tickets/show/selah-theatre-project1/6a69082a5b52d099c0f0122d Contact the Selah Theatre Project at 540-684-5464 or [email protected].

07/27/2026

The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District recently installed a new marker in front of the Clarke County Historical Association museum at 32 E. Main St. in Berryville. It tells the story of an enslaved man in Clarke County who helped capture a Confederate leader during the Civil War.

In 2022, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation received a $74,000 grant from the National Park Service to support the foundation’s “Long Road to Freedom Project” – a Shenandoah Valley-wide trail that tells the story of African Americans and their long journey from the Civil War era to the Civil Rights movement.

The centerpiece of the project is “The Long Road to Freedom” trail that connects historic sites and stories with wayside interpretive markers, state historical markers, orientation panels, a trail-wide visitor guide, and website.

The new marker in Berryville reads:

“In addition to the roughly 200,000 African Americans who served in the U.S. Army and Navy during the Civil Way, including nearly 100 from Clarke County, Va., countless African American civilians also contributed significantly to the Union war effort. Among them was Sam, an enslaved man from Clarke County.

“In early April 1863, Sam came to Berryville to buy coffee and sugar from the ‘post Sutler.’ When Lieutenant David Powell, Twelfth West Virginia Infantry, who served as the Union provost marshal in Berryville, asked Sam for whom he was buying the items, Sam told Powell that he had been sent by his enslaver, who lived east of Berryville near the Shenandoah River, to purchase the items for Captain Andrew Leopold, a Confederate partisan leader, and seven of his men. Throughout March and early April of that year, Leopold had launched numerous attacks against Unionist civilians in the area.

“When Union General Robert H. Milroy, who commanded Union troops in the northern Shenandoah Valley during the first half of 1863, learned about Sam from Lieutenant Powell, he offered Sam a $50 reward for any information that could lead to Leopold’s capture. When Milroy discovered that Sam could directly guide Union troops to Leopold, he increased the reward to $80.

“On the night of April 21, 1863, Sam helped guide Union troops to Leopold’s hideout near the Shenandoah River east of Berryville. After being captured, Leopold was sent to Fort McHenry in Baltimore, tried for murder, found guilty, and subsequently executed in May 1864.

“While Sam played a significant role in Leopold’s capture, his involvement cost him his life. When Leopold’s partisans discovered Sam’s role, the found him and killed him.

“Sam’s contributions to the Union war effort and his sacrifice highlight the vital roles that countless African American civilians in the Shenandoah Valley played in the fight for the Union and emancipation.”

Read more at https://www.shenandoahatwar.org/long-road-to-freedom

Josephine School Community Museum

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