Blackwelltown - African American Presence

Ebenezer Baptist Church and Blackwelltown School. (Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County)

Historic site Viewable from the road Properties are privately owned Location Ebenezer Baptist Church, 4487 Ebenezer Church Road, Midland, VA Contact information Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County (540) 253-7488

As a widow, Elizabeth Fox Blackwell controlled an estate of 830 acres. When she died in 1859, she emancipated 87 people from slavery. She also stipulated that the land be sold to help them settle in a new state. Since 1806, Virginia law required that manumitted individuals had to leave the state within one year. Ohio was a popular destination for freed Virginians, but friends of the family were investigating various alternatives until the Civil War started. Afterward, in 1866, the Freedmen initiated and won a chancery suit, and the land was divided among the families listed in Elizabeth Blackwell’s will.

As soon as the Freedmen gained title to their property, Henley Chapman initiated a meeting in the home of former owner Millie Blackwell and established Ebenezer Baptist Church. The community built Blackwelltown School the following year and probably held religious services there. In 1876 they erected a church, which continues to serve an active congregation. Ebenezer Community Cemetery and the Blackwelltown Community Cemetery lie nearby.

Resources

• Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County.