Our Clarke
Clarke County community. Named in the People's Journal's rosters and in the Clarke Courier's 1925 teacher list as having a Black school, and in the People's Journal's 1927 League committee as having its own representative. The two papers name different teachers nine months apart and neither says why. Maral S. Kalbian's 1992 survey of Clarke County, which spells the name Lewisville, names the community among the Black communities that arose after the Civil War, recommends it for intensive survey alongside Josephine City, and lists a Lewisville School, number 21-307, in its table of earlier-surveyed schools. The two spellings are treated here as one community; each source is reported in the spelling it uses.
A Clarke County community named in the Clarke Courier's 9 July 1925 teacher list as having one of seven Black schools in Clarke County. The community shares its name with much larger places elsewhere; the Clarke Louisville is a small, unincorporated locality.
The Clarke Courier's teacher assignment list of 9 July 1925 names seven Black schools in Clarke County — Stone Bridge, Boyce, Millwood, White Post, Josephine, Louisville and Bristol — with thirteen named teachers between them1. Louisville is one of the seven, with a change of teacher personnel between the People's Journal and Clarke Courier accounts of the same year — the sort of small documentary difference that shows the two papers were reading their own sources, not each other.
Maral S. Kalbian's 1992 survey of Clarke County spells the name Lewisville. It names Lewisville among the Black communities that arose in the county after the Civil War1, lists a Lewisville School, number 21-307, in its table of earlier-surveyed schools2, and recommends intensive survey of the community alongside Josephine City3. The 1925 newspapers and the 1992 survey are treated here as naming one community, an editorial ruling that neither source states.
One claim establishes Louisville's inclusion in the 1925 Black-schools roster. The community's own founding history and its dedicated Black school (in the promotion queue) are the natural next targets.
The Clarke Courier's teacher assignment list of 9 July 1925 names seven Black schools in Clarke County -- Stone Bridge, Boyce, Millwood, White Post, Josephine, Louisville and Bristol -- with thirteen named teachers between them.
A county-wide list of Black schools operating in the 1925-26 school year, published by the white county paper, which extends the school map the People's Journal rosters of 1912 and 1924 provide and which names Millwood Colored as having a principal and two assistants.
The quoted passage is the tail of a longer county list, so it establishes which Black schools the list names and not that these were all of them. The Courier's 'Bristol colored' and the People's Journal's 'Bristow' are similar but their identity is NOT established here and no entity merges them. The Louisville teacher differs between the two papers -- Pattie Smith in October 1924, Emma E. Alexander in July 1925 -- which may be a change of teacher, a different school year, or incomplete reporting; nothing here decides. No coordinates, buildings, or races of individuals are inferred beyond the source's own 'colored' designations.
Evidence role: supports. The colored-schools portion of the 9 July 1925 teacher assignment list.
Clarke Courier · 1925-07-09 (publication)
Locator: Printed page 1, teacher assignment list, colored schools
Relevant passageStone Bridge colored -- Ella F. Carter. Boyce Colored -- Alma Layton and Matilda Herbert. Millwood Colored -- J. P Rier, Prin., Louise Bannister and Clarissa Layton. White Post Colored -- Estelle Mitchell and Margaretta Richarson. Josephine colored school -- E T. Johnson, Fannie Jenkins, Florine Johnson. Louisville colored -- Emma E. Alexander. Bristol colored -- George W. Carter.
Checked: Existing OCR reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5) · 2026-09-08. How this project checks its sources
Maral S. Kalbian's 1992 reconnaissance survey of Clarke County names Lewisville among the Black communities that it says arose in the county after the Civil War and had been addressed in the previous survey report, together with Balltwon, Claytonville, Browntown and Sugar Hill.
That the county's architectural survey work treated Lewisville as one of a group of Black communities formed after the Civil War.
A sentence in a later architectural survey that points back to a previous survey report, which was not read for this claim. It gives no founding date, founders, boundaries or population for Lewisville, and none is inferred. "Balltwon" is written as the report prints it. Lewisville is treated here as the same community as Louisville, which the 1925 newspapers spell that way, by an editorial ruling of September 21, 2026; nothing read in this report establishes whether the two names denote one place.
Evidence role: supports. The paragraph naming the post-Civil War Black communities.
Maral S. Kalbian · 1992 (publication)
Locator: PDF page 37 (report page 31), the paragraph on the communities that arose after the Civil War
Relevant passageSeveral black communities arose in Clarke County following the Civil War. These have been addressed in the previous survey report and include the communities of Lewisville, Balltwon, Claytonville, Browntown, and Sugar Hill.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: dhr-surveys-kalbian. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5) · 2026-09-14. How this project checks its sources
Maral S. Kalbian's 1992 reconnaissance survey of Clarke County lists a Lewisville School, number 21-307, in its table of schools from past rural surveys.
That earlier county survey work recorded a schoolhouse bearing the community's name.
A name and a number in a table. The survey does not say where the school stood, who taught there or when it was built, and none is inferred. The table sits in the report's account of education from 1865 to 1914, whose narrative describes the group of schoolhouses, not this one.
Evidence role: supports. The Lewisville School row of the table.
Maral S. Kalbian · 1992 (publication)
Locator: PDF page 64 (report page 56), table "Schools from Past Rural Surveys": the Lewisville School row
Relevant passageSCHOOLS FROM PAST RURAL SURVEYS. SITE NAME, NUMBER: ... Lewisville School 21-307 ...
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: dhr-surveys-kalbian. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. The narrative introducing the two school tables.
Maral S. Kalbian · 1992 (publication)
Locator: PDF pages 63-64 (report pages 55-56), chapter VIII, education, section D, 1865-1914: the sentences introducing the two school tables
Relevant passageThe majority of the schoolhouses built during this period were small one-room buildings. Twelve of these were documented in past surveys, and an additional four during this project. The majority of these have been converted into residences.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: dhr-surveys-kalbian. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5) · 2026-09-14. How this project checks its sources
Maral S. Kalbian's 1992 reconnaissance survey of Clarke County recommended a comprehensive study of the county's African-American population, including intensive survey work in Black communities, and named Josephine City and Lewisville as examples.
That in 1992 the county survey singled out Lewisville, with Josephine City, as a Black community needing intensive survey.
A recommendation, not a finding about either community's history. The report prints the name "Lewisviile", read here as Lewisville. Whether any such study followed is not established by this report.
Evidence role: supports. The recommendation naming Josephine City and Lewisville.
Maral S. Kalbian · 1992 (publication)
Locator: PDF page 79 (report page 69), the survey's recommendations
Relevant passageA comprehensive study of the African-American population in Clarke County should be conducted including intensive survey work in black communities like Josephine City and Lewisviile [Lewisville].
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: dhr-surveys-kalbian. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5) · 2026-09-14. How this project checks its sources
The Clarke Courier's teacher assignment list of 9 July 1925 names seven Black schools in Clarke County -- Stone Bridge, Boyce, Millwood, White Post, Josephine, Louisville and Bristol -- with thirteen named teachers between them.
The Clarke Courier's teacher assignment list of 9 July 1925 names seven Black schools in Clarke County -- Stone Bridge, Boyce, Millwood, White Post, Josephine, Louisville and Bristol -- with thirteen named teachers between them.
A county-wide list of Black schools operating in the 1925-26 school year, published by the white county paper, which extends the school map the People's Journal rosters of 1912 and 1924 provide and which names Millwood Colored as having a principal and two assistants.
The quoted passage is the tail of a longer county list, so it establishes which Black schools the list names and not that these were all of them. The Courier's 'Bristol colored' and the People's Journal's 'Bristow' are similar but their identity is NOT established here and no entity merges them. The Louisville teacher differs between the two papers -- Pattie Smith in October 1924, Emma E. Alexander in July 1925 -- which may be a change of teacher, a different school year, or incomplete reporting; nothing here decides. No coordinates, buildings, or races of individuals are inferred beyond the source's own 'colored' designations.
Evidence role: supports. The colored-schools portion of the 9 July 1925 teacher assignment list.
Clarke Courier · 1925-07-09 (publication)
Locator: Printed page 1, teacher assignment list, colored schools
Relevant passageStone Bridge colored -- Ella F. Carter. Boyce Colored -- Alma Layton and Matilda Herbert. Millwood Colored -- J. P Rier, Prin., Louise Bannister and Clarissa Layton. White Post Colored -- Estelle Mitchell and Margaretta Richarson. Josephine colored school -- E T. Johnson, Fannie Jenkins, Florine Johnson. Louisville colored -- Emma E. Alexander. Bristol colored -- George W. Carter.
Checked: Existing OCR reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5) · 2026-09-08. How this project checks its sources
Maral S. Kalbian's 1992 reconnaissance survey of Clarke County names Lewisville among the Black communities that it says arose in the county after the Civil War and had been addressed in the previous survey report, together with Balltwon, Claytonville, Browntown and Sugar Hill.
Maral S. Kalbian's 1992 reconnaissance survey of Clarke County names Lewisville among the Black communities that it says arose in the county after the Civil War and had been addressed in the previous survey report, together with Balltwon, Claytonville, Browntown and Sugar Hill.
That the county's architectural survey work treated Lewisville as one of a group of Black communities formed after the Civil War.
A sentence in a later architectural survey that points back to a previous survey report, which was not read for this claim. It gives no founding date, founders, boundaries or population for Lewisville, and none is inferred. "Balltwon" is written as the report prints it. Lewisville is treated here as the same community as Louisville, which the 1925 newspapers spell that way, by an editorial ruling of September 21, 2026; nothing read in this report establishes whether the two names denote one place.
Evidence role: supports. The paragraph naming the post-Civil War Black communities.
Maral S. Kalbian · 1992 (publication)
Locator: PDF page 37 (report page 31), the paragraph on the communities that arose after the Civil War
Relevant passageSeveral black communities arose in Clarke County following the Civil War. These have been addressed in the previous survey report and include the communities of Lewisville, Balltwon, Claytonville, Browntown, and Sugar Hill.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: dhr-surveys-kalbian. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5) · 2026-09-14. How this project checks its sources
Maral S. Kalbian's 1992 reconnaissance survey of Clarke County lists a Lewisville School, number 21-307, in its table of schools from past rural surveys.
Maral S. Kalbian's 1992 reconnaissance survey of Clarke County lists a Lewisville School, number 21-307, in its table of schools from past rural surveys.
That earlier county survey work recorded a schoolhouse bearing the community's name.
A name and a number in a table. The survey does not say where the school stood, who taught there or when it was built, and none is inferred. The table sits in the report's account of education from 1865 to 1914, whose narrative describes the group of schoolhouses, not this one.
Evidence role: supports. The Lewisville School row of the table.
Maral S. Kalbian · 1992 (publication)
Locator: PDF page 64 (report page 56), table "Schools from Past Rural Surveys": the Lewisville School row
Relevant passageSCHOOLS FROM PAST RURAL SURVEYS. SITE NAME, NUMBER: ... Lewisville School 21-307 ...
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: dhr-surveys-kalbian. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. The narrative introducing the two school tables.
Maral S. Kalbian · 1992 (publication)
Locator: PDF pages 63-64 (report pages 55-56), chapter VIII, education, section D, 1865-1914: the sentences introducing the two school tables
Relevant passageThe majority of the schoolhouses built during this period were small one-room buildings. Twelve of these were documented in past surveys, and an additional four during this project. The majority of these have been converted into residences.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: dhr-surveys-kalbian. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5) · 2026-09-14. How this project checks its sources
Maral S. Kalbian's 1992 reconnaissance survey of Clarke County recommended a comprehensive study of the county's African-American population, including intensive survey work in Black communities, and named Josephine City and Lewisville as examples.
Maral S. Kalbian's 1992 reconnaissance survey of Clarke County recommended a comprehensive study of the county's African-American population, including intensive survey work in Black communities, and named Josephine City and Lewisville as examples.
That in 1992 the county survey singled out Lewisville, with Josephine City, as a Black community needing intensive survey.
A recommendation, not a finding about either community's history. The report prints the name "Lewisviile", read here as Lewisville. Whether any such study followed is not established by this report.
Evidence role: supports. The recommendation naming Josephine City and Lewisville.
Maral S. Kalbian · 1992 (publication)
Locator: PDF page 79 (report page 69), the survey's recommendations
Relevant passageA comprehensive study of the African-American population in Clarke County should be conducted including intensive survey work in black communities like Josephine City and Lewisviile [Lewisville].
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: dhr-surveys-kalbian. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5) · 2026-09-14. How this project checks its sources
Also indexed as: Lewisville.
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The Clarke Courier called it the County League of Negro schools. The People's Journal called it the Clarke County School League. It had $28 when it started and $1,265.95 eleven months later.
What the evidence says Two independent newspapers. Four identifications, each marked as ours.