Latest News | Orange County African American Historical Society

OCAAHS LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES

OCAAHS

Jul 29
2 min

New OCAAHS Logo Unveiled

ORANGE COUNTY AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY UNVEILS NEW LOGO INSPIRED BY WINNING ENTRY IN OCPS STUDENT DESIGN CONTEST The tree...

OCAAHS

Jun 1
1 min

History Quest Meets Right the Record Interview with Mary T Freeman, Lois Goodall and Judy Peterson

These women plus Charlotte Cole who could not be present for the interview constitute the dynamic team putting together the LIVE 2022...

OCAAHS

Jun 1
1 min

Commemorative Park Taking Shape!

Super exciting to share the construction photos of the park underway.

OCAAHS

Jun 1
1 min

History Quest Meets Right the Record Zann Nelson Interview with Rev. James McIntosh and Bethany Sull

Jim McIntosh shares a portion of his personal and ancestral stories and discusses with Bethany Sullivan, director of the James Madison...

OCAAHS

May 25
0 min

Memories of Orange, Virginia with James Bruce Monroe III

OCAAHS

May 23
1 min

History Quest Meets Right the Record with Zann Nelson, What is OCAAHS?

History Quest Meets Right the Record with Zann Nelson What is OCAAHS? Interview with Rebecca Coleman, Darryle Crump and Bruce Monroe...

OCAAHS

Mar 30
4 min

1842 Orange County, VA: Four women on divergent paths

written by Zann Nelson Part One First was Lucy Quarles, born to freedom as a white woman in Louisa County and by 1836 had become a widow...

OCAAHS

Mar 25
1 min

Edna Lewis and the Lewis Family of Orange

In Honor of Women's History Month 2022, OCAAHS wanted to pay tribute to Edna Lewis and the Lewis family. Below is an amazing obit...

OCAAHS

Mar 18
2 min

Nannie Helen Burroughs: A Woman Far Ahead of her Time

Who knew that one of the very first nationally acclaimed advocates for the advancement of women’s rights and the improvement for all...

OCAAHS

Mar 1
4 min

Honoring the Memory of Captain Andrew Maples, Jr., Orange County’s Tuskegee Airman

Article adopted from February 2022 Orange County newsletter INSIGHT.” | Jayson Woods, Communications Specialist for County of Orange,...

OCAAHS

Feb 17
1 min

Groundbreaking Church Street Project February 14, 2022

Town of Orange breaks ground on new park WVIR, Isabel Cleary ORANGE, Va. (WVIR) - The Town of Orange is getting a new park. A crowd...

OCAAHS

Feb 14
1 min

THE 2022 OCAAHS ANNUAL MEETING

Rebecca Gilmore Coleman was named Director Emeritus of the Orange County African American Historical Society at its annual membership...

OCAAHS

Dec 13, 2021
7 min

OCAAH Society Newsletter Fall 2021

FOURTH ANNUAL OCAAHS ECLIPSE AWARDS By Ellen Wessel OCAAHS launched the Eclipse Award program four years ago to honor those who have...

OCAAHS

Oct 17, 2021
3 min

The Lewis Family of Freetown

My name is Ruth Lewis Smith and my grandfather was Chester Lewis. He was born into slavery around 1830 at Morton Plantation in Lahore....

OCAAHS

Oct 17, 2021
2 min

The Jackson Family of Jacksontown

My name is Madlynn Anglin and my great grandfather was Allan Jackson. Allan Jackson was born in 1838 to Mary Golden, a house slave at...

OCAAHS

Oct 17, 2021
2 min

The Monroe Family of Petersburg

My name is William R. Monroe and my father was James Harris Monroe, Sr and my mother and his family were from Madison County, Virginia....

OCAAHS

Oct 17, 2021
2 min

The Jones Family of Tibbstown

My name is Deacon Prince Jones and my grandfather was Gilliard Jones. My grandfather came up from North Carolina with his brother while...

OCAAHS

Oct 17, 2021
2 min

The Mickey, White, and Long Families of Shady Grove

My name is George Long and my great grandfather was John Mickey. My great grandfather lived in a log cabin just on the other side of...

OCAAHS

Oct 17, 2021
2 min

The Thurston Family of Rhoadesville

My name is Joan Gaither Graves and my great, great grandfather was Ruben Brooks. From family history, Rhoadesville was their home and...

OCAAHS

Oct 17, 2021
3 min

The East Family of Orange

My name is Margaret East Ware and my grandfather was Thomas East. My grandfather lived in Gordonsville. I do not know very much about him...

OCAAHS

Oct 16, 2021
2 min

Eclipse Award Recipient 2021, Nia Robinson

Nia Robinson, Youth Eclipse Awardee 2021 Nia Robinson is the daughter of Christopher and Larissa Robinson and the sister of a younger...

OCAAHS

Oct 16, 2021
1 min

Eclipse Award Recipient 2021, Emily Winkey

Emily Winkey A lifelong resident of Orange County, Emily comes from a family with a long history in the Gordonsville area. She is a proud...

OCAAHS

Oct 16, 2021
2 min

Eclipse Award Recipient 2021, O’Brian Martin

O’Brian Martin O'Brian Martin DECA Inc. International High School Division Executive President DECA Executive Officer Team JUST Orange, ...

OCAAHS

Oct 16, 2021
2 min

Eclipse Award Recipient 2021, Pastor Frank D. Lewis, Sr.

Pastor Frank D. Lewis, Sr. Antioch Baptist Church Madison, VA Pastor Lewis was born in Uno, Madison County, Virginia and comes from a...

OCAAHS

Oct 16, 2021
2 min

Eclipse Award Recipient 2021, Barbara Anne Johnson

Barbara Johnson, 84, a native of Orange County, was born on August 6, 1937. She has lived in Orange County all her life with the...

OCAAHS

Oct 15, 2021
5 min

Union Baptist Church, Gordonsville, Virginia

History of Union Baptist Church Cobb Street Gordonsville, Virginia It might be said that the history of the Union Baptist Church dates...

OCAAHS

Oct 15, 2021
4 min

Shady Grove Baptist Church, Orange, Virginia

Shady Grove Baptist Church 21024 Piney Woods Road P.O. Box 707 Orange, Virginia 22060 The Reverend Joseph Moore, Pastor James Lewis,...

OCAAHS

Oct 15, 2021
4 min

History of Pilgrim Baptist Church, Locust Grove, Virginia

History of Pilgrim Baptist Church 4189 Pilgrim Church Road; P. O. Box 924 Locust Grove, Virginia A group of Black people were led by Rev....

OCAAHS

Oct 15, 2021
3 min

Orange Grove Baptist Church, Orange, Virginia

History of Orange Grove Baptist Church 27383 Orange Spring Road Orange, Virginia Orange Grove Baptist Church was founded in an area when...

OCAAHS

Oct 15, 2021
2 min

History of Nazareth Baptist Church, Orange, Virginia

History of Nazareth Baptist Church 115 East Church Street; P. O. Box 1043 Orange, Virginia This church had its beginning in 1861, while...

OCAAHS

Oct 15, 2021
3 min

History of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Locust Grove, Virginia

Before the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, the citizens of Gordon District, Orange County, Virginia, gathered to praise God through...

OCAAHS

Oct 15, 2021
1 min

Mt. Sinai [Baptist] Solid Rock Church of Christ, Rhoadesville, Virginia

History of Mt. Sinai [Baptist] Solid Rock Church of Christ 26389 Constitution Highway Rhoadesville, Virginia November 2011 Mt. Sinai...

OCAAHS

Oct 15, 2021
4 min

Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, Orange, Virginia

History of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church 21227 Lahore Road Orange, Virginia 22960 In the year 1868, the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church had...

OCAAHS

Oct 15, 2021
2 min

Mt. Olive Baptist Church, Rhoadesville, Virginia

Mt. Olive Baptist Church 11251 Tower Road Rhoadesville, Virginia Mt. Olive Baptist Church traces its roots back to Antioch Baptist...

OCAAHS

Oct 15, 2021
2 min

Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Orange, Virginia

History of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church Nasons 11229 Kendall Road Orange, Virginia After the Emancipation of Orange County, the Negro had...

OCAAHS

Oct 13, 2021
2 min

Mt. Holy Baptist Church, Unionville, Virginia

History of Mt. Holy Baptist Church 24035 Church Hill Road Unionville, Virginia July 2011 Being led by God, in 1866 the Rev. J. J....

OCAAHS

Oct 13, 2021
3 min

Little Zion Baptist Church, Orange, Virginia

Little Zion Baptist Church Rev. John E. Reid, Sr. Pastor 15116 Tomahawk Creek Road Orange, Virginia 22960 February 2012 Prior to the year...

OCAAHS

Oct 13, 2021
3 min

The Hopewell Baptist Church, Orange, Virginia

THE HISTORY OF THE HOPEWELL BAPTIST CHURCH 8566 Clifton Road Orange, Virginia The Past After the Emancipation Proclamation when the...

OCAAHS

Oct 13, 2021
3 min

Emanuel Baptist Church, Orange, Virginia

History of Emanuel Baptist Church 100 East Church Street Orange, Virginia On January 8, 1908, 38 persons were given letters of dismissal...

OCAAHS

Oct 13, 2021
4 min

City of Refuge Baptist Church, True Blue, Virginia

History of City of Refuge Baptist Church 4433 True Blue Road True Blue, Virginia The City of Refuge was established on May 18, 2002 under...

OCAAHS

Oct 13, 2021
4 min

Chestnut Grove Baptist Church, Barboursville, Virginia

History of Chestnut Grove Baptist Church 3510 Spotswood Trail Barboursville, Virginia 1888-2011 These are the words of the late Sister...

OCAAHS

Oct 13, 2021
2 min

Calvary S.D.A. Church, Gordonsville, Virginia

Church History of the Calvary S.D.A. Church 200 Charles Street; P. O. Box 534 Gordonsville, Virginia 22942 Organized 1950 In September of...

OCAAHS

Oct 13, 2021
4 min

Blue Run Baptist Church, Gordonsville, Virginia

History of Blue Run Baptist Church 6435 Constitution Highway Gordonsville, Virginia 22942 November 2011 Blue Run Baptist Church is the...

OCAAHS

Oct 13, 2021
4 min

Bethel Baptist Church, Unionville, Virginia

History of Bethel Baptist Church 12108 Marquis Road Unionville, Virginia As we pause to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Bethel...

OCAAHS

Oct 13, 2021
3 min

Bethel Baptist Church, Madison Mills, Virginia

History of Bethel Baptist Church Madison Mills, Virginia (1898-2011) Nestled off of Route 15 sits Bethel Baptist Church, one of the many...

OCAAHS

Sep 14, 2021
4 min

Bethel Baptist Church, Unionville, Virginia

History of Bethel Baptist Church 12108 Marquis Road, Unionville, Virginia As we pause to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of...

OCAAHS

Aug 16, 2021
1 min

Downtown Orange adding new park to honor the historic Black Commercial District

OCAAHS is in the news regarding our work on the new park that is being established in downtown Orange featuring information on the...

OCAAHS

May 15, 2021
1 min

First African-American portrait displayed in Orange County Courthouse

The Orange County Courthouse displayed its first-ever African-American portrait on Saturday. The portrait features Captain Andrew Maples,...

OCAAHS

Mar 2, 2021
1 min

Walking Tour of the Historic Commercial District, Town of Orange, Virginia

Check out the new video from the James Madison Museum of the Historic District of the Town of Orange including the African American...