Our Clarke
A two-story hall on East Main Street built by Siz Daingerfield, a Black barkeeper — 1881 by one account, 1884 by the other. Shops below, a meeting hall and theater above: the Legion recalls Post 41 meeting there from 1920 to 1938 and the National Guard renting the upstairs as an armory from 1922 to 1939. The Bank of Clarke County bought the building in 1957 and took it down in 1962 for its expansion and parking.
Winston Hall footprint labeled on Sanborn Fire Insurance sheet, Berryville, March 1921. Marked Gen'l S. in this survey.
What this image does and does not showThis shows only the fire-insurance surveyor's 1921 record of building footprint, construction, and recorded use. It is not a photograph, and it does not show what the building looked like or what took place in the hall.
Sanborn Map Company, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Berryville, Clark County, Virginia, March 1921, sheet 2. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, Sanborn Maps Collection. Rights Changes: A detail cut from the Library of Congress scan of the whole sheet, which is 6,450 by 7,650 pixels: the rectangle from x 2,205 to 3,860 and y 4,176 to 5,386, kept at those 1,655 by 1,210 pixels, not scaled, and re-encoded as JPEG. Nothing retouched, recolored or added.
Source: Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Berryville, Clark County, Virginia, Mar. 1921, sheet 2 of 5 (Library of Congress item) Open the full image
A two-story hall built on East Main Street by Siz Daingerfield, a Black barkeeper, in the early 1880s. Shops below, meeting hall and theater above; demolished for a bank in 1962.
An American Legion Post 41 history page states that Winston Hall stood on East Main Street where the Bank of Clarke County driveway is now, and that it was built in 1881 by Siz Daingerfield1. The Bank of Clarke County's own history dates the building to 1884 as a theater with a stage and dressing rooms, opened in 1885 with a performance by Jennie Winston, and remembers the building as where cotillions were danced and the Legion held bazaars2. Which date is right — 1881 or 1884 — the sources here do not settle. What both sources agree on is that a Black barkeeper built a Berryville assembly hall in the early 1880s and that it became a center of the town's public life for eighty years.
The upstairs was the largest meeting hall in town, used for entertainments and school graduations; the saloon downstairs was Daingerfield's. Post 41 met there from 1920 until 19381. Griffin Taylor operated the hall for years, with a clothing store below; later owners James W. Gaver and Fred Morris sold farm machinery and cigars2. The Virginia National Guard rented the upstairs from 1922 to 1939 as the armory of Headquarters Company, 91st Infantry Brigade3.
The end is documented from two directions and the accounts agree. The Bank of Clarke County bought the building in February 1957 and demolished it in 1962 for bank expansion and parking; the bank's own history dates the purchase to February 19571. Where the hall stood, driveway and parking now do.
Six claims that name the building's beginning, its uses, its keepers, and its end. Winston Hall carried Berryville's public gatherings through two world wars and its own demolition. The bank driveway is a hard piece of ground to see a stage on, but that is what stood there.
A history page maintained for American Legion Post 41 states that Winston Hall stood on East Main Street where the Bank of Clarke County driveway is now, that it was built in 1881 by Siz Daingerfield, whom it describes as a Black barkeeper, and that it was named for the singer Jenny Winston.
The Legion's account of the builder, the date and the name, and its description of the site.
An uncited retrospective. The bank's history gives 1884 as the building date, an 1885 opening, and spells the builder's name Dangerfield; the two accounts are not reconciled here. "Where the driveway is now" is the source's locator, not a parcel.
Evidence role: supports. The Legion page's opening sentences.
American Legion Post 41, Berryville (post-submitted history)
Locator: First paragraph
Relevant passageWinston Hall was on East Main Street where the Bank of Clarke County driveway is now located. Built in 1881 by Siz Daingerfield, a black barkeep, it was named for singer, Jenny Winston.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: legion-post-41-centennial. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: complicates. The bank history's different date and spelling.
Bank of Clarke County
Locator: Page 102, on the building's origin
Relevant passageIt was originally built in 1884 by a black man named Siz Dangerfield who operated a saloon for whites across the street. It was known as Winston Hall (named after Jennie Winston who gave a performance there the night the hall was opened in 1885)
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: bank-of-clarke-history. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
The bank's history says the hall was built as a theater with a stage and dressing rooms, opened in 1885 with a performance by Jennie Winston, and was where cotillions were danced, the Legion held bazaars and the county National Guard unit was housed.
The bank's own description of what the hall was for and what happened in it.
A retelling with no citation, written for a bank anniversary. Its 1884 building date and 1885 opening differ from the Legion's 1881.
Evidence role: supports. The bank on the builder, the name and the 1885 opening.
Bank of Clarke County
Locator: Page 102, on the building's origin
Relevant passageIt was originally built in 1884 by a black man named Siz Dangerfield who operated a saloon for whites across the street. It was known as Winston Hall (named after Jennie Winston who gave a performance there the night the hall was opened in 1885)
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: bank-of-clarke-history. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The bank on the theater and its uses.
Bank of Clarke County
Locator: Page 102, on the hall's use and end
Relevant passageWinston Hall was built as a theater, complete with stage and dressing rooms. ... Winston Hall would be demolished in 1962 and made into a parking lot.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: bank-of-clarke-history. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
The Legion account describes the upstairs as the largest meeting hall in town, used for entertainments and school graduations, with a saloon downstairs, and says Post 41 met there from 1920 until 1938.
The hall's uses as the Legion remembers them, and the span of its own meetings there.
The bank's history places Daingerfield's saloon across the street rather than downstairs. The Legion's meeting dates are its own institutional memory.
Evidence role: supports. The Legion page on the hall's uses and its meetings.
American Legion Post 41, Berryville (post-submitted history)
Locator: First paragraph, continued
Relevant passageUpstairs was the largest meeting hall in the town and was used for entertainments and even school graduations; down stairs was the saloon. From 1920 until 1938, American Legion Post 41 used Winston Hall for its meetings.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: legion-post-41-centennial. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: complicates. The bank history on the saloon's location.
Bank of Clarke County
Locator: Page 102, on the building's origin
Relevant passageIt was originally built in 1884 by a black man named Siz Dangerfield who operated a saloon for whites across the street. It was known as Winston Hall (named after Jennie Winston who gave a performance there the night the hall was opened in 1885)
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: bank-of-clarke-history. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
The Legion account names Griffin Taylor as the hall's operator for years, with a clothing store below, and later owners James W. Gaver and Fred Morris, who sold farm machinery and cigars.
Named people who ran or owned the building, and what was sold there.
Operator and owner are the source's words; no deed or licence was inspected. Dates for these tenancies are not given. The bank later bought "the Morris building" from the heirs of F. H. Morris, which is consistent but not the same name.
Evidence role: supports. The Legion page's second paragraph.
American Legion Post 41, Berryville (post-submitted history)
Locator: Second paragraph
Relevant passageGriffin Taylor operated Winston Hall for years with a clothing store below. Later, owners James W. Gaver and Fred Morris sold farm machinery and cigars.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: legion-post-41-centennial. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
The Legion account states that the Virginia National Guard rented the upstairs from 1922 to 1939 as the armory of Headquarters Company, 91st Infantry Brigade.
The armory use and its span, as the Legion reports them.
The bank's history also says the county Guard unit was housed there but gives no dates.
Evidence role: supports. The Legion page on the armory rental.
American Legion Post 41, Berryville (post-submitted history)
Locator: Second paragraph, on the armory
Relevant passageFrom 1922 to 1939, the upstairs portion of the building was rented by the Virginia National Guard and served as the armory for Headquarters Company of the 91st Infantry Brigade.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: legion-post-41-centennial. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
Two accounts agree that the Bank of Clarke County bought the building in 1957 and demolished it in 1962 for bank expansion and parking; the bank's own history dates the purchase to February 1957, at $25,000, from the heirs of F. H. Morris.
The end of the building: purchase and demolition, with the bank recording its own transaction.
No deed or demolition permit was inspected. The Legion gives the purpose as expanding the bank building and parking lot; the bank says a drive-through and a parking lot.
Evidence role: supports. The Legion page on the 1957 purchase and 1962 demolition.
American Legion Post 41, Berryville (post-submitted history)
Locator: Second paragraph, last sentence
Relevant passageIn 1957, the building was purchased by the Bank of Clarke County and demolished in 1962 to expand the bank building and parking lot.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: legion-post-41-centennial. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The bank's record of its February 1957 purchase.
Bank of Clarke County
Locator: Page 102, entry for 1957
Relevant passageIn February of 1957, Bank of Clarke County purchased the Morris building that adjoined the Bank on the east for $25,000 from the heirs of the late F. H. Morris for future bank expansion, primarily to give the bank a drive-through option.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: bank-of-clarke-history. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The bank on the 1962 demolition.
Bank of Clarke County
Locator: Page 102, on the hall's use and end
Relevant passageWinston Hall was built as a theater, complete with stage and dressing rooms. ... Winston Hall would be demolished in 1962 and made into a parking lot.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: bank-of-clarke-history. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
A history page maintained for American Legion Post 41 states that Winston Hall stood on East Main Street where the Bank of Clarke County driveway is now, that it was built in 1881 by Siz Daingerfield, whom it describes as a Black barkeeper, and that it was named for the singer Jenny Winston.
A history page maintained for American Legion Post 41 states that Winston Hall stood on East Main Street where the Bank of Clarke County driveway is now, that it was built in 1881 by Siz Daingerfield, whom it describes as a Black barkeeper, and that it was named for the singer Jenny Winston.
The Legion's account of the builder, the date and the name, and its description of the site.
An uncited retrospective. The bank's history gives 1884 as the building date, an 1885 opening, and spells the builder's name Dangerfield; the two accounts are not reconciled here. "Where the driveway is now" is the source's locator, not a parcel.
Evidence role: supports. The Legion page's opening sentences.
American Legion Post 41, Berryville (post-submitted history)
Locator: First paragraph
Relevant passageWinston Hall was on East Main Street where the Bank of Clarke County driveway is now located. Built in 1881 by Siz Daingerfield, a black barkeep, it was named for singer, Jenny Winston.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: legion-post-41-centennial. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: complicates. The bank history's different date and spelling.
Bank of Clarke County
Locator: Page 102, on the building's origin
Relevant passageIt was originally built in 1884 by a black man named Siz Dangerfield who operated a saloon for whites across the street. It was known as Winston Hall (named after Jennie Winston who gave a performance there the night the hall was opened in 1885)
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: bank-of-clarke-history. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
The Legion account describes the upstairs as the largest meeting hall in town, used for entertainments and school graduations, with a saloon downstairs, and says Post 41 met there from 1920 until 1938.
The Legion account describes the upstairs as the largest meeting hall in town, used for entertainments and school graduations, with a saloon downstairs, and says Post 41 met there from 1920 until 1938.
The hall's uses as the Legion remembers them, and the span of its own meetings there.
The bank's history places Daingerfield's saloon across the street rather than downstairs. The Legion's meeting dates are its own institutional memory.
Evidence role: supports. The Legion page on the hall's uses and its meetings.
American Legion Post 41, Berryville (post-submitted history)
Locator: First paragraph, continued
Relevant passageUpstairs was the largest meeting hall in the town and was used for entertainments and even school graduations; down stairs was the saloon. From 1920 until 1938, American Legion Post 41 used Winston Hall for its meetings.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: legion-post-41-centennial. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: complicates. The bank history on the saloon's location.
Bank of Clarke County
Locator: Page 102, on the building's origin
Relevant passageIt was originally built in 1884 by a black man named Siz Dangerfield who operated a saloon for whites across the street. It was known as Winston Hall (named after Jennie Winston who gave a performance there the night the hall was opened in 1885)
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: bank-of-clarke-history. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
The Legion account names Griffin Taylor as the hall's operator for years, with a clothing store below, and later owners James W. Gaver and Fred Morris, who sold farm machinery and cigars.
The Legion account names Griffin Taylor as the hall's operator for years, with a clothing store below, and later owners James W. Gaver and Fred Morris, who sold farm machinery and cigars.
Named people who ran or owned the building, and what was sold there.
Operator and owner are the source's words; no deed or licence was inspected. Dates for these tenancies are not given. The bank later bought "the Morris building" from the heirs of F. H. Morris, which is consistent but not the same name.
Evidence role: supports. The Legion page's second paragraph.
American Legion Post 41, Berryville (post-submitted history)
Locator: Second paragraph
Relevant passageGriffin Taylor operated Winston Hall for years with a clothing store below. Later, owners James W. Gaver and Fred Morris sold farm machinery and cigars.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: legion-post-41-centennial. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
The Legion account states that the Virginia National Guard rented the upstairs from 1922 to 1939 as the armory of Headquarters Company, 91st Infantry Brigade.
The Legion account states that the Virginia National Guard rented the upstairs from 1922 to 1939 as the armory of Headquarters Company, 91st Infantry Brigade.
The armory use and its span, as the Legion reports them.
The bank's history also says the county Guard unit was housed there but gives no dates.
Evidence role: supports. The Legion page on the armory rental.
American Legion Post 41, Berryville (post-submitted history)
Locator: Second paragraph, on the armory
Relevant passageFrom 1922 to 1939, the upstairs portion of the building was rented by the Virginia National Guard and served as the armory for Headquarters Company of the 91st Infantry Brigade.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: legion-post-41-centennial. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
Two accounts agree that the Bank of Clarke County bought the building in 1957 and demolished it in 1962 for bank expansion and parking; the bank's own history dates the purchase to February 1957, at $25,000, from the heirs of F. H. Morris.
Two accounts agree that the Bank of Clarke County bought the building in 1957 and demolished it in 1962 for bank expansion and parking; the bank's own history dates the purchase to February 1957, at $25,000, from the heirs of F. H. Morris.
The end of the building: purchase and demolition, with the bank recording its own transaction.
No deed or demolition permit was inspected. The Legion gives the purpose as expanding the bank building and parking lot; the bank says a drive-through and a parking lot.
Evidence role: supports. The Legion page on the 1957 purchase and 1962 demolition.
American Legion Post 41, Berryville (post-submitted history)
Locator: Second paragraph, last sentence
Relevant passageIn 1957, the building was purchased by the Bank of Clarke County and demolished in 1962 to expand the bank building and parking lot.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: legion-post-41-centennial. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The bank's record of its February 1957 purchase.
Bank of Clarke County
Locator: Page 102, entry for 1957
Relevant passageIn February of 1957, Bank of Clarke County purchased the Morris building that adjoined the Bank on the east for $25,000 from the heirs of the late F. H. Morris for future bank expansion, primarily to give the bank a drive-through option.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: bank-of-clarke-history. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The bank on the 1962 demolition.
Bank of Clarke County
Locator: Page 102, on the hall's use and end
Relevant passageWinston Hall was built as a theater, complete with stage and dressing rooms. ... Winston Hall would be demolished in 1962 and made into a parking lot.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: bank-of-clarke-history. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
The bank's history says the hall was built as a theater with a stage and dressing rooms, opened in 1885 with a performance by Jennie Winston, and was where cotillions were danced, the Legion held bazaars and the county National Guard unit was housed.
The bank's history says the hall was built as a theater with a stage and dressing rooms, opened in 1885 with a performance by Jennie Winston, and was where cotillions were danced, the Legion held bazaars and the county National Guard unit was housed.
The bank's own description of what the hall was for and what happened in it.
A retelling with no citation, written for a bank anniversary. Its 1884 building date and 1885 opening differ from the Legion's 1881.
Evidence role: supports. The bank on the builder, the name and the 1885 opening.
Bank of Clarke County
Locator: Page 102, on the building's origin
Relevant passageIt was originally built in 1884 by a black man named Siz Dangerfield who operated a saloon for whites across the street. It was known as Winston Hall (named after Jennie Winston who gave a performance there the night the hall was opened in 1885)
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: bank-of-clarke-history. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The bank on the theater and its uses.
Bank of Clarke County
Locator: Page 102, on the hall's use and end
Relevant passageWinston Hall was built as a theater, complete with stage and dressing rooms. ... Winston Hall would be demolished in 1962 and made into a parking lot.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: bank-of-clarke-history. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Fable 5.1) · 2026-09-10. How this project checks its sources
See a related record at the Clarke County Historical Association
Also indexed as: Winston's Hall; the Morris building.
Know something about this place or record? Help fill a gap. It stays private until it is reviewed.
Siz Daingerfield, a Black barkeeper, built a hall on East Main Street and named it for a singer. It hosted performances and community meetings; the Legion recalls the National Guard using its upstairs as an armory from 1922 to 1939. The bank bought the building in 1957 and demolished it in 1962.
What the evidence says Builder, uses and ending documented by two accounts. Building year disputed.