An invitation
In August 1930 the Clarke Courier printed an invitation from E. T. Johnson, principal of the Clarke County Training School and president of the Colored School Improvement League. The new brick school in Josephine City would be dedicated on Friday, September 5. The League thanked the public for making possible a modern six-teacher school for the county's Black children. It also reminded readers of a promise. Nearly eight years earlier, at the first parade, pageant and field meet at the Berryville fair grounds, T. C. Walker had told them that Julius Rosenwald was offering help if they raised a like sum. The League wrote that they had more than met that requirement.
On the day before the dedication, Johnson wrote again with the program. W. D. Gresham, the state's supervisor of Negro education, and Walker, now named as the Rosenwald agent, would speak at the morning session. At night Hoffman's band would play, and Dr. J. M. Gandy, president of Virginia State College for Negroes, would speak. White citizens had helped in many ways, Johnson wrote, and special seats had been reserved for white friends, as long as the seats lasted.
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
A notice in the Clarke Courier of August 14, 1930, contributed by E. T. Johnson, "president of the Colored School Improvement League," said that Friday, September 5 had been chosen for the dedication of the Clarke County Training School, "the building just recently erected in Josephine City for the colored." It said the League wished to thank the public "for making it possible that a modern six-teacher modified plan brick school has been erected in Josephine for the colored children of this county," and that Prof. W. D. Gresham, Supervisor of Negro Education of the State, would speak at one-thirty and present Dr. J. M. Gandy, president of Virginia State College for Negroes. It was signed by the Clarke County Colored Improvement League.
What the source supports
That the League announced the dedication for September 5, 1930, thanked the public for the building and named its speakers.
Uncertainty
An announcement; it does not report the day. The League appears in the same notice as the Colored School Improvement League, the Clarke County Improvement League and the Clarke County Colored Improvement League; it is treated as one League in the paper's usage, names as printed, and is not joined to the county School League record of the 1920s. E. T. Johnson is named as printed and is not joined to any person record.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The date, the building and the League's thanks.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., August 14, 1930, page 6: "Dedication Of Colored School September 5th"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-08-14 (publication)
Locator: Page 6, notice "Dedication Of Colored School September 5th", headline and opening paragraphs (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageFriday, September 5, has been chosen as the day for the dedication exercises to take place at the Clarke County Training School, the building just recently erected in Josephine City for the colored. E. T. Johnson, president of the Colored School Improvement League has contributed the following: First, the Clarke County Improvement League wishes to thank the public at large for making it possible that a modern six-teacher modified plan brick school has been erected in Josephine for the colored children of this county.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The speakers and the signature.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., August 14, 1930, page 6: "Dedication Of Colored School September 5th"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-08-14 (publication)
Locator: Page 6, same notice, continuation in the next column: the Rosenwald offer and the speakers, signed by the Clarke County Colored Improvement League (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageYou will probably recall that some nearly eight years ago, Prof. T. C. Walker came to us during our First Parade Pageant and Field Meet held at the Berryville Fair Grounds, and how he stressed the help that Mr. Rosenwald was offering, providing that we raise a like sum. We more than met that requirement. Prof. Walker will be present, Prof. W. D. Gresham, Supervisor of Negro Education of this State who has made several trips to this county in the interest of the school will speak at one-thirty, and also present Dr. J. M. Gandy, the president of Virginia State College for Negroes.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
A contributed report in the Clarke Courier of September 11, 1930 said that on the morning of April 17 the principal, E. T. Johnson, some of the school boys, some of the patrons and Superintendent A. F. Robertson had gathered to break ground, Robertson "spading out the first dirt"; that patrons from all over the county offered help and the women patrons furnished meals for the workmen; that a patron asked beforehand for rock had refused, "narry rock" was the reply, and that plenty of rock was then found in the path of the excavators and lay in a pile waiting for funds to crush it for the drive-in; and that digging out the foundation cost the patrons of the county $375, "paid for in full by cash and personal work."
What the source supports
How the school's patrons, in their own report, remembered the digging and what it cost.
Uncertainty
An unsigned contributed report in the patrons' voice. Its $375 differs from the "little over $300" of the principal's May 1930 contribution; both are printed and neither is reconciled with the other. E. T. Johnson is named as printed and is not joined to any person record.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The groundbreaking, the meals and the rock.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, report "Dedicate Negro Training School", first column: the groundbreaking and the rock (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageThe Principal E. T. Johnson, some of the school boys, some of the patrons and Superintendent A. F. Robertson gathered early on the morning of the 17th of April at which time ground was broken, Prof. A. F. Robertson spading out the first dirt. ... the woman patrons furnishing splendid meals for the workmen. Prior to teh commencing the foundation some patron had been asked for some rock who flatly refused "narry rock" was the reply
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The $375 cost.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, first column: the cost of the digging, the chairs and the contractor (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageDigging out the foundation cost the patrons of the county $375; paid for in full by cash and personal work. A few days before the date set for the dedication, we were informed that the county did not furnish chairs for the spacious auditoriums. So we took it upon ourselves to tackle that job, the result, $680 debt looks us in the face with a little over $100 in hand towards it.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
The same notice recalled that "some nearly eight years ago" Prof. T. C. Walker had come to the League's First Parade Pageant and Field Meet at the Berryville Fair Grounds and "stressed the help that Mr. Rosenwald was offering, providing that we raise a like sum," and said: "We more than met that requirement." It said Walker would be present at the dedication.
What the source supports
That the League itself tied Rosenwald help, offered on condition of a matching sum, to the new building.
Uncertainty
The League's recollection eight years on; the eight-year count and the claim to have more than met the requirement are its own, and no Rosenwald Fund record of the offer was read. "Mr. Rosenwald" is taken to be Julius Rosenwald. T. C. Walker is named as printed and is not identified with the "C. T. Walker" printed in 1938.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The recollection, in the League's words.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., August 14, 1930, page 6: "Dedication Of Colored School September 5th"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-08-14 (publication)
Locator: Page 6, same notice, continuation in the next column: the Rosenwald offer and the speakers, signed by the Clarke County Colored Improvement League (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageYou will probably recall that some nearly eight years ago, Prof. T. C. Walker came to us during our First Parade Pageant and Field Meet held at the Berryville Fair Grounds, and how he stressed the help that Mr. Rosenwald was offering, providing that we raise a like sum. We more than met that requirement. Prof. Walker will be present, Prof. W. D. Gresham, Supervisor of Negro Education of this State who has made several trips to this county in the interest of the school will speak at one-thirty, and also present Dr. J. M. Gandy, the president of Virginia State College for Negroes.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
A notice signed by E. T. Johnson in the Clarke Courier of September 4, 1930, the day before the dedication, said the white citizens had helped in many ways and that special seats were reserved "for all of our white friends so long as these seats last"; that the morning session's prime speakers would be Profs W. D. Gresham, Supervisor of Negro Education in the State, and T. C. Walker, "Rosenwald Agent"; and that at night there would be music by Hoffman's band (printed "Hoffman's bind") and Dr. J. M. Gandy, president of State College for Negroes, would be the speaker.
What the source supports
The program the principal announced for the dedication, and the seats reserved for white guests.
Uncertainty
An announcement of a program, not a report of it. "The program begins at 7:30" is not tied to a session and is not used. E. T. Johnson is named as printed and is not joined to any person record.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The seats, the speakers and the band.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 4, 1930, page 5: "Dedication Of Colored School Friday Evening"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-04 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, notice "Dedication Of Colored School Friday Evening", signed E. T. Johnson (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageSo, during our dedication we have reserved special seats for all of our white friends so long as these seats last. Program for the morning session will be spiced by local talent. Profs W. D. Gresham, Supervisor of Negro Education in the State, T. C. Walker, Rosenwald Agent prime speakers. At night music by Hoffman's bind. Dr. J. M. Gandy, president of State College for Negroes will be the speaker.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
August 1930: the dedication of the Clarke County Training School set for Friday, September 5, and the League's thanks for a modern six-teacher brick school. Clarke Courier, August 14, 1930, p. 6.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), August 14, 1930, page 6. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained JPEG image of 1602 by 499 pixels, scaled to 1200 by 374 and re-encoded as JPEG for the web. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., August 14, 1930, page 6: "Dedication Of Colored School September 5th" Open the full image
The notice recalls T. C. Walker's word, nearly eight years before, of the help Mr. Rosenwald was offering if a like sum was raised: "We more than met that requirement."
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), August 14, 1930, page 6. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: A detail of the retained region crop of the Library of Congress page image (810 by 2290 pixels): the rectangle from x 0 to 810 and y 0 to 1670, which leaves out the unrelated items around it, not scaled, and re-encoded as JPEG. The whole page is at the source link. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., August 14, 1930, page 6: "Dedication Of Colored School September 5th" Open the full image
The day before: seats reserved for white friends, Gresham and T. C. Walker, "Rosenwald Agent," in the morning, and Dr. J. M. Gandy at night. Signed E. T. Johnson. Clarke Courier, September 4, 1930, p. 5.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), September 4, 1930, page 5. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained file itself, shown at its own 823 by 1741 pixels: not scaled, not re-encoded. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 4, 1930, page 5: "Dedication Of Colored School Friday Evening" Open the full image
The dedication
A contributed account of the day ran in the Courier the next week, unsigned, and its writer began with the digging. On the morning of April 17 the principal, some of the school boys, some of the patrons and Superintendent A. F. Robertson had gathered to break ground, and Robertson dug the first dirt. Patrons came from all over the county to help, and the women fed the workmen. One patron, asked beforehand for some stone, had refused: "narry rock". Then the excavators found plenty of rock lying right in their path. It now sat in a pile, waiting for money to crush it for the drive. Digging the foundation had cost the patrons $375, paid in full in cash and in work.
The chairs came last. A few days before the dedication, the writer said, they had learned that the county did not furnish chairs for the auditorium. They took on the job themselves, and now faced a debt of $680, with a little over $100 in hand. The contractor, the report said, had pushed the work without a let-up so that they could move in.
On the day, the Rev. Mr. Butsler, a Methodist pastor, gave the invocation, and the state supervisor spoke first. The report prints his name as both Gresham and Graham. He praised the School Board and Superintendent Robertson, and the audience broke into loud applause when he said that the school would not have been possible without Johnson's untiring effort and leadership. Walker had come all the way from Gloucester. The report noted that he had built up a school for the boys and girls there and was a trustee of the Manassas Industrial School. He spoke in his usual joking way, and sometimes turned serious.
In the afternoon a community group, mostly teachers, sang folk songs, among them "The Blind Man Stood on the Road and Cried" and "Roll, Jordan, Roll". The Training School's own singers led the night program with "America the Beautiful". Visitors from a distance lingered by their parked cars, waiting for Gandy. He urged the young people toward college, and toward the practical training the state college was stressing: agriculture, electric wiring, steamfitting and brick-laying. He also spoke at length about the compulsory school attendance law. Robertson and Gresham, who were there for every session, urged the use, and not the abuse, of the new building.
The June cornerstone ceremony, with its Odd Fellow regalia and lodges from across the Valley, had drawn the bigger crowd, the writer admitted. The dedication charged no gate fee, and the writer explained that their people liked to pay their way where they could. Still, the writer did not think it far wrong to say that never a more representative group of Black people had gathered for any occasion, and thanked the white public, the churches and their friends for helping them realize an eight-year dream.
One woman was hurt. The same issue of the Courier reported that Mrs. A. Moore, Jr., was in bed with injuries from slipping and falling from the platform at the dedication.
The report ended on money. The rock pile lay uncrushed, and the drive had to be rocked before the muddy weather came; "the chairs are unpaid for, and our bond must be met." A quartet chosen from among the boys was already traveling everywhere with the principal, singing the school's needs, and the report asked readers to give them a hearing.
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
A contributed report in the Clarke Courier of September 11, 1930 said that on the morning of April 17 the principal, E. T. Johnson, some of the school boys, some of the patrons and Superintendent A. F. Robertson had gathered to break ground, Robertson "spading out the first dirt"; that patrons from all over the county offered help and the women patrons furnished meals for the workmen; that a patron asked beforehand for rock had refused, "narry rock" was the reply, and that plenty of rock was then found in the path of the excavators and lay in a pile waiting for funds to crush it for the drive-in; and that digging out the foundation cost the patrons of the county $375, "paid for in full by cash and personal work."
What the source supports
How the school's patrons, in their own report, remembered the digging and what it cost.
Uncertainty
An unsigned contributed report in the patrons' voice. Its $375 differs from the "little over $300" of the principal's May 1930 contribution; both are printed and neither is reconciled with the other. E. T. Johnson is named as printed and is not joined to any person record.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The groundbreaking, the meals and the rock.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, report "Dedicate Negro Training School", first column: the groundbreaking and the rock (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageThe Principal E. T. Johnson, some of the school boys, some of the patrons and Superintendent A. F. Robertson gathered early on the morning of the 17th of April at which time ground was broken, Prof. A. F. Robertson spading out the first dirt. ... the woman patrons furnishing splendid meals for the workmen. Prior to teh commencing the foundation some patron had been asked for some rock who flatly refused "narry rock" was the reply
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The $375 cost.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, first column: the cost of the digging, the chairs and the contractor (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageDigging out the foundation cost the patrons of the county $375; paid for in full by cash and personal work. A few days before the date set for the dedication, we were informed that the county did not furnish chairs for the spacious auditoriums. So we took it upon ourselves to tackle that job, the result, $680 debt looks us in the face with a little over $100 in hand towards it.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
The same report said that a few days before the dedication the patrons were informed that the county did not furnish chairs for the auditorium, took the job on themselves, and faced a debt of $680 with a little over $100 in hand toward it; and that the contractor had pushed the work unceasingly "and without a let up," making it possible to enter the building.
What the source supports
That the patrons reported taking on the auditorium chairs and a $680 debt for them.
Uncertainty
The report's own figures; no account of the chair debt or its payment was read. The $680 is not added to any other figure.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The chairs, the debt and the contractor.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, first column: the cost of the digging, the chairs and the contractor (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageDigging out the foundation cost the patrons of the county $375; paid for in full by cash and personal work. A few days before the date set for the dedication, we were informed that the county did not furnish chairs for the spacious auditoriums. So we took it upon ourselves to tackle that job, the result, $680 debt looks us in the face with a little over $100 in hand towards it.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
The same report said that the first speaker, Prof. W. D. Graham (so printed), Supervisor of Negro Education, was introduced after the Rev. Mr. Butsler, pastor of a Methodist church, had given the invocation; that after lauding the School Board and praising Superintendent Robertson he met superlative applause when he said the school would not have been possible without the untiring effort and leadership of E. T. Johnson; and that Lawyer T. C. Walker had come all the way from Gloucester and spoke "in the same jovial and jocular vein," sometimes "bordering upon the serious," and had built up a school in his community for the boys and girls of Gloucester and was a trustee of Manassas Industrial School.
What the source supports
Who spoke at the dedication and how the patrons' report described them.
Uncertainty
The report prints the supervisor as Graham in this passage and as Gresham later in the same report and in the earlier notices; the spelling is not resolved. The machine text of this passage is garbled; the page image is clear except for the faint name of the church, which is not used. Butsler is named as printed and not identified further. E. T. Johnson is named as printed and is not joined to any person record.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The invocation, the supervisor's speech and Walker.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, second column: the speakers, Prof. W. D. Graham (so printed), Lawyer T. C. Walker, and the opening of school (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageLawyer T. C. Walker came all the way from Gloucester as he has done on several occasions to talk to members of our group, and spoke in the same jovial and jocular vein, entertaining and instructive; sometimes bordering upon the serious. Lawyer Walker has built up quite a school in his community for the boys and girls of Gloucester and, too, is a trustee of Manassas Industrial School.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
Under the heading "The Day Goes Over Big," the same report said that in the afternoon a community group, mostly teachers, sang folklore selections including "The Blind Man Stood on the Road and Cried" and "Roll, Jordan, Roll"; that the song service for the night program was in the hands of the Training School group, with selections such as "America the Beautiful"; that people from a distance lingered about with parked cars waiting for Dr. J. M. Gandy, president of Virginia State College for Negroes, who spoke at 7:30; that Gandy stressed the go-to-college spirit and training in things such as agriculture, electric wiring, steamfitting and brick-laying, which the State school was stressing, and dealt at some length with the compulsory school attendance law; and that Mr. Robertson and Mr. Gresham, in evidence during each program, emphasized the use and not the abuse of the facility.
What the source supports
The afternoon and evening programs of the dedication, as the patrons reported them.
Uncertainty
The report's own account and judgments. The song titles are as printed.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The songs, Gandy and the two officials.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, second column, section "The Day Goes Over Big": the songs, Dr. Gandy's address, Robertson and Gresham (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageIn the afternoon the community group, mostly teachers, furnished some very attractively rendered numbers, such folklore selections that our white guests enjoy; in short, we enjoy them ourselves: "The Blind Man Stood on the Road and Cried", "Roll, Jordan, Roll". ... Dr. Gandy dealt at some length on the compulsory school attendance law
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
The same report thanked the white public and the many churches and friends for helping to realize "our eight-year dream," and said that the cornerstone laying on June 6, amid an array of Odd Fellow regalia with lodges from well nigh all over the Valley, had drawn a concourse of people outnumbering that of the dedication "with its no-gate fee"; "Our people delight in paying their way so far as they are able." The writer did not think it far wrong to say that on Friday, September 5th, "never a more representative group of colored people ever gathered to do honor to any occasion."
What the source supports
How the patrons' report compared the dedication with the cornerstone day.
Uncertainty
The writer's own comparison and judgment; no attendance figures are given for either day. The writer is unsigned, and no gender or identity is assigned.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The thanks and the comparison.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, second column below an unrelated obituary: the thanks and the cornerstone compared (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageThe cornerstone was layed on the 6th of June amidst an imposing array of Odd Fellow regalia; lodges from well nigh all over the Valley, and an overwhelming concourse of people outnumbering that of the dedication with its no-gate fee. Our people delight in paying their way so far as they are able. But I don't believe we would be far wrong were we to say that on Friday, September 5th, never a more representative group of colored people ever gathered to do honor to any occasion.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
The Clarke Courier of September 11, 1930 reported that Mrs. A. Moore, Jr., was confined to her bed as a result of injuries received when she slipped and fell from the platform at the dedication exercises for the new colored school the week before.
What the source supports
That a woman was reported injured at the dedication.
Uncertainty
A one-sentence local item. Mrs. A. Moore, Jr., is named as printed and is not identified further.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The item.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 8: item on Mrs. A. Moore, Jr.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 8, local item on Mrs. A. Moore, Jr., below the horseshoe and Summit Point items
Relevant passageMrs. A. Moore, Jr., is confined to her bed as a result of injuries received when she slipped and fell from the platform at the dedication exercises for the new colored schiol last week.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
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Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
The same report said it suspected that when school opened "on the 12th" there would hardly be room to hold the entrants, and closed: "The pile of rock lies there uncrushed; the drive-in must be rocked before the miry weather sets in; the chairs are unpaid for, and our bond must be met." It said a quartet culled from among the boys was traveling with the principal everywhere, singing the school needs into the hearts of the people, and that readers "would do well to give us a hearing." The report's headline said the building was ready for opening tomorrow.
What the source supports
That in September 1930 the patrons reported the drive unfinished, the chairs unpaid and a bond to be met, and a quartet raising money.
Uncertainty
The opening is expected, not reported. The machine text reads "the 13th"; the page image reads "the 12th", which fits the headline's "tomorrow" (Friday, September 12). The report names no amount or holder for "our bond".
Source
Evidence role: supports. The expected opening on the 12th.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, second column: the speakers, Prof. W. D. Graham (so printed), Lawyer T. C. Walker, and the opening of school (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageLawyer T. C. Walker came all the way from Gloucester as he has done on several occasions to talk to members of our group, and spoke in the same jovial and jocular vein, entertaining and instructive; sometimes bordering upon the serious. Lawyer Walker has built up quite a school in his community for the boys and girls of Gloucester and, too, is a trustee of Manassas Industrial School.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The closing appeal and the quartet.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, closing paragraph: the rock pile, the chairs, the bond and the quartet (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageBut gentlemen: The pile of rock lies there uncrushed; the drive-in must be rocked before the miry weather sets in; the chairs are unpaid for, and our bond must be met. Culled out from among the boys who have from time to time come under our notice; we have organized a quartet, and that quartet is traveling with the principal everywhere, singing the school needs into the hearts of the people. You would do well to give us a hearing.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
The patrons' own report: the April 17 groundbreaking, "narry rock" and the rock pile, $375 for the digging and a $680 debt for chairs. Clarke Courier, September 11, 1930, p. 5.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), September 11, 1930, page 5. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained file itself, shown at its own 814 by 2769 pixels: not scaled, not re-encoded. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School" Open the full image
The report continued: the speakers, the songs and Dr. Gandy's address, and its closing appeal: "the chairs are unpaid for, and our bond must be met."
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), September 11, 1930, page 5. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: A detail of the retained region crop of the Library of Congress page image (858 by 6995 pixels): the rectangle from x 0 to 858 and y 625 to 6995, which leaves out the unrelated items around it, scaled to 808 by 6000, and re-encoded as JPEG. The whole page is at the source link. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School" Open the full image
Mrs. A. Moore, Jr., hurt in a fall from the platform at the dedication. Clarke Courier, September 11, 1930, p. 8.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), September 11, 1930, page 8. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: A detail of the retained region crop of the Library of Congress page image (849 by 2512 pixels): the rectangle from x 0 to 849 and y 1780 to 2060, which leaves out the unrelated items around it, not scaled, and re-encoded as JPEG. The whole page is at the source link. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 8: item on Mrs. A. Moore, Jr. Open the full image
The first year
School was to open on Friday, September 12, and the report expected there would hardly be room for all the pupils. That month the Courier counted 350 Black pupils enrolled in all the county's schools. In December the Training School's attendance was 95.4 per cent.
In November fifty pupils of the Sumner High School for Black students in Martinsburg were to bring their operetta, "In India", to the new auditorium, with their orchestra, for the benefit of the school. Adults would pay 25 cents and children 15.
On the night of June 1, 1931, the new auditorium held its first commencement. Seven students graduated from the high school, and pupils from Berryville, Boyce, Louisville and Millwood received elementary certificates. Prof. Robert L. Custis of the state college at Petersburg gave the address, and the Rev. R. L. Rollins of the Zion Baptist Church the invocation. Johnson and members of the School Board called it a most successful session for the county's Black schools in attendance, scholarship and efficiency.
On June 11, 1931, the Courier printed the School Board's teachers for 1931–32. Of the thirteen in the county's Black schools, six made up the Training School's faculty: E. T. Johnson, Alma Layton, Sallie Lewis, Fannie Jenkins and Florine Johnson, with Morgan Edwards as agricultural instructor.
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
The same report said it suspected that when school opened "on the 12th" there would hardly be room to hold the entrants, and closed: "The pile of rock lies there uncrushed; the drive-in must be rocked before the miry weather sets in; the chairs are unpaid for, and our bond must be met." It said a quartet culled from among the boys was traveling with the principal everywhere, singing the school needs into the hearts of the people, and that readers "would do well to give us a hearing." The report's headline said the building was ready for opening tomorrow.
What the source supports
That in September 1930 the patrons reported the drive unfinished, the chairs unpaid and a bond to be met, and a quartet raising money.
Uncertainty
The opening is expected, not reported. The machine text reads "the 13th"; the page image reads "the 12th", which fits the headline's "tomorrow" (Friday, September 12). The report names no amount or holder for "our bond".
Source
Evidence role: supports. The expected opening on the 12th.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, second column: the speakers, Prof. W. D. Graham (so printed), Lawyer T. C. Walker, and the opening of school (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageLawyer T. C. Walker came all the way from Gloucester as he has done on several occasions to talk to members of our group, and spoke in the same jovial and jocular vein, entertaining and instructive; sometimes bordering upon the serious. Lawyer Walker has built up quite a school in his community for the boys and girls of Gloucester and, too, is a trustee of Manassas Industrial School.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The closing appeal and the quartet.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, closing paragraph: the rock pile, the chairs, the bond and the quartet (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageBut gentlemen: The pile of rock lies there uncrushed; the drive-in must be rocked before the miry weather sets in; the chairs are unpaid for, and our bond must be met. Culled out from among the boys who have from time to time come under our notice; we have organized a quartet, and that quartet is traveling with the principal everywhere, singing the school needs into the hearts of the people. You would do well to give us a hearing.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
The Clarke Courier of September 18, 1930, reporting the opening enrollments of the county's schools, said the enrollment of colored youths in all schools of the county totaled 350.
What the source supports
The paper's county-wide count of Black pupils enrolled at the opening of the 1930-31 session.
Uncertainty
A county-wide figure for all the Black schools, not the Training School alone.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The figure.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 18, 1930, page 1: report of opening enrollments in the county schools
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-18 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, report of opening enrollments, the passage following the Boyce figures
Relevant passagethe enroll- of colored youths in all schools of the county, totals 350.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1931
The Clarke Courier of January 15, 1931 reported that the total per cent attendance in the colored schools of the county for December was 93.8 per cent, and gave the Clarke County Training School 95.4 per cent.
What the source supports
The Training School's reported attendance for December 1930.
Uncertainty
Paraphrased; the issue's rights are not established. Percentages are as printed.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The attendance figures.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., January 15, 1931, page 1: report of December attendance in the colored schools
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1931-01-15 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, report of December attendance in the colored schools
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
The Clarke Courier of November 13, 1930 announced that on the next night, Friday, "In India," an operetta by fifty pupils of the Sumner High School for the colored of Martinsburg, would be presented in the auditorium of the new colored school building in Josephine City for the benefit of the local school, with the Sumner High School orchestra, at 25 cents for adults and 15 cents for children.
What the source supports
That a benefit operetta was announced for the new auditorium in November 1930.
Uncertainty
An announcement; no report of the performance was sought. Martinsburg as printed.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The announcement.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., November 13, 1930, page 4: "Operetta To Benefit New Colored School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-11-13 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, item "Operetta To Benefit New Colored School" (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageTomorrow night, Friday, at eight o'clock, "In India," an operetta by fifty pupils of the Sumner High School for the colored of Martinsburg, will be presented in the auditorium of the new colored school building in Josephine City, for the benefit of the local school. The Sumner High School orchestra will be on hand and preparations are being made for a record audience. Aumission will be, adults, 25 cents, and children 15 cents.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1931
The Clarke Courier of June 4, 1931 reported that commencement exercises of the Clarke County Training and Elementary Schools were held at the Training School Auditorium on Monday night, June 1st, with the address by Prof. Robert L. Custis, instructor in psychology at State College, Petersburg, and the invocation by the Rev. R. L. Rollins, pastor of the Zion Baptist Church; it listed seven high-school graduates and elementary certificates for pupils from Berryville, Boyce, Louisville and Millwood, and said the Rev. E. T. Johnson, principal, and members of the School Board reported a most successful session for the county's colored schools in attendance, scholarship and efficiency.
What the source supports
That the Training School held its 1931 commencement in the new auditorium, as the paper reported.
Uncertainty
The graduates are counted, not named, here. That it was the first commencement in the auditorium follows from the building's opening in September 1930; the report does not say so. E. T. Johnson is named as printed and is not joined to any person record.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The report.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., June 4, 1931, page 5: "Training School Finals Held Monday Night"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1931-06-04 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, report "Training School Finals Held Monday Night"
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier (Berryville), 1931
The Clarke Courier of June 11, 1931 reported that the School Board had named the teachers for the 1931-'32 session: the colored schools of the county had thirteen teachers, six of whom composed the faculty of the Clarke County Training School, listed as E. T. Johnson, Alma Layton, Sallie Lewis, Fannie Jenkins and Florine Johnson, with Morgan Edwards as Agricultural Instructor.
What the source supports
That the Courier printed the School Board's list for the 1931-'32 session naming six teachers for the Training School.
Uncertainty
An announcement of appointments for the coming session, not a record of who taught. Names as printed: the June 4, 1931 list prints "A. B. Layton" and "F. E. Johnson (part time", and neither is joined to these names or to any person record. The six is the paper's own count and includes the agricultural instructor, listed on a separate line. Read on region crops of the Library of Congress page image; the page's machine reading is unchanged.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The report: thirteen teachers in the colored schools, six of them the Training School's faculty.
Clarke Courier, 1931-06-11, page 1
Clarke Courier (Berryville) · 1931-06-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, "Teachers for 1931-'32 Chosen" (opening)
Checked: This passage was read on a digital reproduction of the page; no original has been handled. The source's other readings: existing OCR reviewed, original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier-loc. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The same list: the six names as printed.
Clarke Courier, 1931-06-11, page 1
Clarke Courier (Berryville) · 1931-06-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, "Teachers in the colored schools of the county"
Checked: This passage was read on a digital reproduction of the page; no original has been handled. The source's other readings: existing OCR reviewed, original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier-loc. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
September 1930: the enrollment of Black pupils in all the county's schools totals 350. Clarke Courier, September 18, 1930, p. 1.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), September 18, 1930, page 1. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained file itself, shown at its own 795 by 340 pixels: not scaled, not re-encoded. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 18, 1930, page 1: report of opening enrollments in the county schools Open the full image
December 1930 attendance: 93.8 per cent in the county's Black schools, 95.4 per cent at the Training School. Clarke Courier, January 15, 1931, p. 1.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), January 15, 1931, page 1. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained file itself, shown at its own 784 by 595 pixels: not scaled, not re-encoded. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., January 15, 1931, page 1: report of December attendance in the colored schools Open the full image
November 1930: pupils of Sumner High School, Martinsburg, to present "In India" in the new auditorium for the school's benefit. Clarke Courier, November 13, 1930, p. 4.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), November 13, 1930, page 4. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: A detail of the retained region crop of the Library of Congress page image (827 by 1876 pixels): the rectangle from x 0 to 827 and y 1120 to 1876, which leaves out the unrelated items around it, not scaled, and re-encoded as JPEG. The whole page is at the source link. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., November 13, 1930, page 4: "Operetta To Benefit New Colored School" Open the full image
June 1, 1931: the commencement in the Training School auditorium, and a most successful session. Clarke Courier, June 4, 1931, p. 5.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), June 4, 1931, page 5. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained file itself, shown at its own 830 by 2253 pixels: not scaled, not re-encoded. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., June 4, 1931, page 5: "Training School Finals Held Monday Night" Open the full image
June 11, 1931: "Teachers for 1931-'32 Chosen". The colored schools had thirteen teachers, six of them the Training School's faculty. Clarke Courier, June 11, 1931, p. 1.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), June 11, 1931, page 1. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained file itself, shown at its own 800 by 1215 pixels: not scaled, not re-encoded. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, 1931-06-11, page 1 Open the full image
The same list: the Clarke County Training School's E. T. Johnson, Alma Layton, Sallie Lewis, Fannie Jenkins and Florine Johnson, and Morgan Edwards, agricultural instructor. Clarke Courier, June 11, 1931, p. 1.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), June 11, 1931, page 1. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained file itself, shown at its own 815 by 585 pixels: not scaled, not re-encoded. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, 1931-06-11, page 1 Open the full image
Paying for it
The building debt was now the League's. In April 1931 the Courier urged its readers to support the Training School pageant on May 15. Its proceeds would go to reduce the building debt the School League had taken on. The League's own notice said its financial obligation called for more concerted effort than before, and it sent out five hundred My Dollar envelopes. The pageant that year was to be "The Conflict", performed in the open air by every Black school in the county. The notice was signed by Johnson as president, Alma Layton as secretary and Annie Banks as treasurer.
That October the League advertised its Fall Festival for the Training School Building Debt Fund. It had promised the School Board $500 a year toward the upkeep of the school, and raised it through two big events, the Fall Festival and a spring pageant. A festival ticket with supper had cost a dollar. That year, because of what the League called the "depression cry", it would cost fifty cents.
The pledge kept coming due. In April 1934 Johnson announced the annual pageant for May 25 as the Black community's yearly effort to raise its $500 pledge toward the support of the Training School. In September 1935 the League was meeting every month to plan the payment of debts on the school building and the school bus. By June 1936 the bus was paid for, as "A dollar a year" tells; no such report was found for the building. In May 1939 the League was still collecting a dollar a year from its bond subscribers, for the $500 bond allotment it paid about the first of June.
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1931
A paragraph in the Clarke Courier of April 30, 1931 urged readers to boost the Berryville Training School pageant of May 15th, gave the school's supporters credit for the modern building and equipment, and said the proceeds of the pageant were devoted to curtailment of the building debt assumed by the School League.
What the source supports
That in 1931 the paper described the building debt as assumed by the School League, with the pageant's proceeds going to reduce it.
Uncertainty
Paraphrased; the issue's rights are not established. An unsigned paragraph; it gives no amount for the debt.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The paragraph.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., April 30, 1931, page 4: paragraph urging support for the Training School pageant
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1931-04-30 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, paragraph beginning "Boost the Berryville Training School Pageant, May 15th"
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1931
An announcement in the Clarke Courier of April 23, 1931 said the Berryville Training School's seventh annual pageant would be held on the school grounds on Friday, May 15, 1931; that the six-teacher brick building was really the outcome of such events; that the financial obligation assumed by the Clarke County School League called for more concerted efforts than heretofore; that the public was invited to an open-air production, "The Conflict," in which all the county's colored schools took part; and that five hundred "My Dollar" envelopes had been issued. It was signed by the committee: E. T. Johnson, President; Alma Layton, Secretary; Annie Banks, Treasurer.
What the source supports
That the League's committee described its financial obligation for the building and its 1931 fund-raising.
Uncertainty
Paraphrased apart from printed titles and names; the issue's rights are not established. An announcement; it does not report the pageant. Names as printed and not joined to person records.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The announcement and signatures.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., April 23, 1931, page 4: "Training School To Hold Seventh Annual Page'nt"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1931-04-23 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, announcement "Training School To Hold Seventh Annual Page'nt", signed by the committee
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1931
An announcement in the Clarke Courier of October 8, 1931, headed as an annual fall event for the benefit of the Training School Building Debt Fund and signed by E. T. Johnson, President, and Alma Layton, Secretary, for the County School League, said that to keep the pledge made to the School Board, to contribute $500.00 annually toward the upkeep of the Training School, the League had organized two big functions, the Fall Festival and a Spring Pageant; that it had been charging $1.00 a ticket for the festival, including admission and supper, "but owing to the 'depression cry'" the ticket that year would be 50 cents including supper; and that the festival would be held in the school auditorium on Friday night, October 23, 1931.
What the source supports
That in 1931 the League described a $500 annual pledge to the School Board, raised by two events, under a Building Debt Fund heading.
Uncertainty
The heading names a Building Debt Fund while the text calls the $500.00 an upkeep pledge; both are recorded as printed and not reconciled. An announcement; the festival's result was not read. Names as printed.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The pledge, the two events and the ticket price.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., October 8, 1931, page 5: "Fall Festival October 23rd"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1931-10-08 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, announcement "Fall Festival October 23rd", its closing paragraph and signatures
Relevant passagebut owing to the "depression cry", this year, the charge per ticket will be 50 cents including supper.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1934
The Clarke Courier of April 26, 1934 reported that E. T. Johnson, principal, had announced the Clarke County Training School's annual pageant for May 25 on the school grounds, and said the pageant was a yearly event of the colored people to raise their $500 pledge toward the support of the Training School.
What the source supports
That in 1934 the pageant was still described as raising the $500 pledge.
Uncertainty
Paraphrased; the issue's rights are not established. The page image reads $500 where the held machine text reads $540. An announcement. E. T. Johnson is named as printed and is not joined to any person record.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The announcement and the pledge.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., April 26, 1934, page 1: "Training School To Give Pageant May 25"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1934-04-26 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, announcement "Training School To Give Pageant May 25", first paragraph
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1935
The Clarke Courier of September 12, 1935 announced a meeting of the Clarke County Improvement League of the Clarke County Training School for Monday night, September 16, and said monthly meetings were held to map plans for the payment of debts on the school building and school bus.
What the source supports
That in 1935 the League still reported debts on the school building and the bus.
Uncertainty
Paraphrased; the issue's rights are not established. A notice; it gives no amounts.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The notice.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 12, 1935, page 1: "Clarke Improvement League To Hold Session"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1935-09-12 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, notice "Clarke Improvement League To Hold Session"
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1936
The Clarke Courier of June 18, 1936 announced the annual meeting of the School Improvement League of the Clarke County Training School for Monday night, June 22, in the school auditorium, where the annual report would account for all monies received and where they came from; it asked those who had pledged envelopes and not yet reported to attend, and said the bus had been paid for.
What the source supports
That the League said in June 1936 that its bus had been paid for.
Uncertainty
A notice of a meeting to come, carrying the League's statement. The annual report was not found or read, and the bus's cost and seller are not given. The School Improvement League is kept apart from the County Improvement League named in 1937 and from the county league of the 1920s.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The notice and the statement about the bus.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., June 18, 1936, page 8: "School Improvement League Meets Monday"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1936-06-18 (publication)
Locator: Page 8, notice "School Improvement League Meets Monday"
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1939
The Clarke Courier of May 11, 1939 printed a note to the Training School's bond subscribers, signed by E. T. Johnson as president of the League. It said that in the previous school year nearly every Black resident of Clarke County had signed a pledge card subscribing $1 a year toward the annual bond pledge; that the League usually paid its bond allotment of $500 on or about the first of June; that this year the big annual rally would be held on June 1, with a booth in the school auditorium where subscribers could pay their dollar and get a receipt; and that it was through organization that the patrons had a roomy school building with good facilities, and bus transportation for their children.
What the source supports
What the League told its bond subscribers in May 1939 about their dollar pledges, its annual $500 payment and the June 1 rally.
Uncertainty
The League's own statements in an appeal; "nearly every" is its wording, not a count. It announces the rally and the booth and does not report that the rally collected anything or that the 1939 allotment was paid. No report of how it went was found in the machine-read text of the issues of June 8 to 15, 1939, a search that can miss an item. The League is not identified with the county league of the 1920s. E. T. Johnson is named as printed and is not joined to any person record.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The appeal, its figures and its signature.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., May 11, 1939, page 2: "Colored School Bond Holders Asked To Pay"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1939-05-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 2, appeal "Colored School Bond Holders Asked To Pay", signed by E. T. Johnson, President of League
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
April 1931: the pageant's proceeds go to curtailment of the building debt assumed by the School League. Clarke Courier, April 30, 1931, p. 4.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), April 30, 1931, page 4. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: A detail of the retained region crop of the Library of Congress page image (839 by 2527 pixels): the rectangle from x 0 to 839 and y 930 to 1420, which leaves out the unrelated items around it, not scaled, and re-encoded as JPEG. The whole page is at the source link. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., April 30, 1931, page 4: paragraph urging support for the Training School pageant Open the full image
April 1931: "The Conflict," five hundred "My Dollar" envelopes, and the League's financial obligation. Signed E. T. Johnson, Alma Layton and Annie Banks. Clarke Courier, April 23, 1931, p. 4.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), April 23, 1931, page 4. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained file itself, shown at its own 824 by 1891 pixels: not scaled, not re-encoded. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., April 23, 1931, page 4: "Training School To Hold Seventh Annual Page'nt" Open the full image
October 1931: the $500.00 a year pledged to the School Board, and a festival ticket cut to 50 cents "owing to the 'depression cry'." Clarke Courier, October 8, 1931, p. 5.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), October 8, 1931, page 5. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained file itself, shown at its own 799 by 3194 pixels: not scaled, not re-encoded. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., October 8, 1931, page 5: "Fall Festival October 23rd" Open the full image
April 1934: the pageant as the yearly event to raise the $500 pledge toward the support of the Training School. Clarke Courier, April 26, 1934, p. 1.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), April 26, 1934, page 1. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained file itself, shown at its own 819 by 1313 pixels: not scaled, not re-encoded. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., April 26, 1934, page 1: "Training School To Give Pageant May 25" Open the full image
September 1935: monthly meetings to plan the payment of debts on the school building and school bus. Clarke Courier, September 12, 1935, p. 1.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), September 12, 1935, page 1. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: A detail of the retained region crop of the Library of Congress page image (852 by 1779 pixels): the rectangle from x 0 to 852 and y 0 to 640, which leaves out the unrelated items around it, not scaled, and re-encoded as JPEG. The whole page is at the source link. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 12, 1935, page 1: "Clarke Improvement League To Hold Session" Open the full image
A new name
In April 1941 the Courier reported the death, on March 26, of Dr. W. T. B. Williams, vice-president of Tuskegee Institute. He had been born at Stone Bridge in 1869 and grew up in Millwood as Taylor Williams. He was a graduate of Hampton Institute, Phillips Academy at Andover, and Harvard. The paper's tribute, initialled W. A. B., said few people in the county recognized the man in the Associated Press notice as the boy from Millwood. He had come back every year for a visit, and still owned the modest house where he had spent his youth. About ten years earlier he had written the report on Negro education in Virginia for a commission of the state legislature.
By November the school had taken his name. The new shop building of what was now the W. T. B. Williams Training School was to be dedicated on Sunday, November 16, 1941, to "National Defense". On the program were Samuel A. Madden, adviser on Negro WPA education, Clay B. Carr, chairman of the county board, and Superintendent Archie F. Robertson. Friends of the school, white and Black, were invited. The school, the notice said, had grown from almost nothing to a value of $45,000.
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1941
The Clarke Courier of April 3, 1941 reported, from an Associated Press dispatch, that Dr. W. T. B. Williams, vice-president of Tuskegee Institute, had died at his home there on March 26, and that he was a native of Stone Bridge in Clarke County, born July 3, 1869, and a graduate of Hampton Institute, Phillips Academy at Andover and Harvard University. A local tribute initialled W. A. B. said that few in the county recognized him as Taylor Williams, who grew to manhood in Millwood; that he returned to Millwood every year for a brief visit and at his death held title to the modest residence where he spent his youth; and that ten years earlier, when the Virginia Legislature appointed a commission to survey the state's educational and economic conditions, its chairman drafted Dr. Williams to prepare the report on Negro education in Virginia.
What the source supports
The paper's account of Dr. Williams's death, his Clarke County origins and his report for the legislature's commission.
Uncertainty
Paraphrased; the issue's rights are not established. The tribute's recollections are its writer's; the commission's report itself was not read. "W. A. B." is recorded as printed and is not identified with the W. A. Bradford who signed a letter in 1945, or with any person record. The paper prints the name as W. T. B. Williams here and as W. B. T. Williams in 1945, and a 1945 letter gives William Taylor Burwell Williams; these are the paper's usages for one man.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The report and the first column of the tribute.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., April 3, 1941, page 4: "Dr. W. T. B. Williams Succumbs March 26"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1941-04-03 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, report "Dr. W. T. B. Williams Succumbs March 26", headline, subhead and first column of the tribute
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The house, the commission report and the initials.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., April 3, 1941, page 4: "Dr. W. T. B. Williams Succumbs March 26"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1941-04-03 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, same tribute, continued in the next column, initialled W. A. B.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1941
The Clarke Courier of November 13, 1941 announced that the new shop building of the Clarke County Training School would be dedicated on Sunday, November 16, and that the Rev. E. T. Johnson, principal, said it would be dedicated to "National Defense"; that the program would include Samuel A. Madden, adviser of Negro WPA education, Clay B. Carr, chairman of the Clarke County Board, and Archie F. Robertson, superintendent of schools; that friends of the school, both white and colored, were invited; that the school's name had been changed to the W. T. B. Williams Training School in honor of Dr. Williams; and that the school had grown from almost nothing to a value of $45,000.
What the source supports
That by November 1941 the paper reported the school renamed for Dr. Williams, with a new shop to be dedicated.
Uncertainty
An announcement of the shop dedication, not a report of it. The renaming is reported as done but not dated. Which county board Carr chaired is not stated. The $45,000 is the notice's own figure and is not added to any other. E. T. Johnson is named as printed and is not joined to any person record.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The announcement, the renaming and the value.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., November 13, 1941, page 11: "Training School To Dedicate New Shop"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1941-11-13 (publication)
Locator: Page 11, announcement "Training School To Dedicate New Shop"
Relevant passageThe shop, Rev. E. T. Johnson, principal of the school, said would be dedicated to "National Defense."
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
April 1941: Dr. W. T. B. Williams, vice-president of Tuskegee, a native of Stone Bridge, known at home as Taylor Williams of Millwood. Clarke Courier, April 3, 1941, p. 4.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), April 3, 1941, page 4. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: A detail of the retained region crop of the Library of Congress page image (841 by 2320 pixels): the rectangle from x 0 to 841 and y 0 to 2270, which leaves out the unrelated items around it, not scaled, and re-encoded as JPEG. The whole page is at the source link. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., April 3, 1941, page 4: "Dr. W. T. B. Williams Succumbs March 26" Open the full image
The tribute continues: the house he still owned, Hampton and Tuskegee, and his report on Negro education in Virginia. Initialled W. A. B.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), April 3, 1941, page 4. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained file itself, shown at its own 824 by 2453 pixels: not scaled, not re-encoded. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., April 3, 1941, page 4: "Dr. W. T. B. Williams Succumbs March 26" Open the full image
November 1941: the shop to be dedicated to "National Defense," and the school renamed the W. T. B. Williams Training School. Clarke Courier, November 13, 1941, p. 11.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), November 13, 1941, page 11. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained file itself, shown at its own 1138 by 2018 pixels: not scaled, not re-encoded. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., November 13, 1941, page 11: "Training School To Dedicate New Shop" Open the full image
The last pageant
In May 1944 the county's Black schools announced their usual pageants for May 31, in the Williams school's auditorium. Each school, and possibly each room, had its own piece: the Training School rooms gave "The Passing of the Philosophers and Sages", the elementary grades "Following the Flag", the seventh grade "Victory Garden", home economics "Crowning the Queen of Production", Millwood "The Negro in the Navy" and White Post "How We Can Serve".
Johnson wrote that for twenty years pageants and field days had been how they did their part, in money, for the county's education facilities. He invited friends to come and say farewell to "the last sacrificial effort through pageants". In June he would leave the school system as principal and teacher, and pass the gavel to younger hands. He thanked them personally for having sacrificed with him in building up the plant.
The Rev. Edward Thomas Johnson died at his home on Liberty Street on Friday, November 16, 1945, at seventy-two. He had been pastor of St. Luke's Baptist Church for nearly twenty-five years. He was born in Brunswick County in 1873, graduated from the Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute, and was credited with founding the first Negro training school in Virginia, at Nottoway. At his death he was writing a history of Virginia's Negro training schools, to be his second book, "On My Way Up". He was buried in the Milton Valley Cemetery in Josephine City.
In December W. A. Bradford wrote to the Courier. The paper's notice, the letter said, had listed Johnson's positions without saying whether his influence had been worth anything. Anyone who went to the public occasions at his training school could see that influence in the pupils' behavior and progress. The letter placed Johnson in the footsteps of Booker T. Washington and of William Taylor Burwell Williams, called him "a guide and counsellor to his people", and said the community owed a debt to his memory.
In the pages searched, no notice was found that the League's bond had been paid off. For more than a decade, the Courier printed the paying.
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1944
The Clarke Courier of May 25, 1944 announced that the colored schools of Clarke County would stage their usual pageants on Wednesday night, May 31, in the auditorium of the W. T. B. Williams Training School, and printed a statement by the Rev. E. T. Johnson, principal: for the past 20 years they had staged some type of pageantry or a field day, through which they had done their bit in a financial way for education facilities in the county; that year each school, and possibly each room, offered a separate presentation, the Training School rooms "The Passing of the Philosophers and Sages," the elementary "Following the Flag," the seventh grade "Victory Garden," Home Economics "Crowning the Queen of Production," Millwood "The Negro in the Navy" and White Post "How We Can Serve"; friends were invited to say farewell to "the last sacrificial effort through pageants"; in June he would walk out of the school system as principal and teacher and pass the gavel to younger hands; and he thanked them for having sacrificed with him in building up the plant.
What the source supports
That in 1944 the principal described twenty years of pageants as the Black schools' financial effort and announced his retirement.
Uncertainty
An announcement; the pageants' result was not read. "Last" is the principal's word for the pageants; the statement does not say that the League's bond or any other obligation had ended. E. T. Johnson is named as printed and is not joined to any person record.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The announcement and statement.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., May 25, 1944, page 4: "Colored Schools To Stage Pageants"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1944-05-25 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, announcement "Colored Schools To Stage Pageants", with the principal's statement
Relevant passageat least to say farewell to the last sacrificial effort through pageants.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1945
The Clarke Courier of November 22, 1945 reported the death at 72 of the Rev. Edward Thomas Johnson, pastor of St. Luke's Baptist Church for nearly 25 years; it said he founded the W. B. T. Williams Training School in Josephine City and was its principal, that he was writing a history of Virginia's Black training schools for a second book to be called "On My Way Up," and that he was buried in Milton Valley Cemetery.
What the source supports
The Courier's account of Johnson's pastorate, school role, unfinished book and burial at the cemetery.
Uncertainty
Paraphrased; the issue's rights are not established. The account of his career is the obituary's; the school's own records were not read for it, and the book was not seen. The school's history belongs to a separate account.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The obituary, read on the page image across two regions.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., November 22, 1945, page 10: "Funeral Services Held Tuesday For Rev. E. T. Johnson"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1945-11-22 (publication)
Locator: Page 10, obituary "Funeral Services Held Tuesday For Rev. E. T. Johnson", headline, first paragraphs and continuation
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1945
The same Clarke Courier obituary of November 22, 1945 said the Rev. Edward Thomas Johnson died on the Friday afternoon at his home on Liberty Street, seventy-two years old; that after graduating from the Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute, now Virginia State College, he began his career as a teacher and minister and was credited with founding the first Negro training school in Virginia, at Nottoway; and that he was born in Brunswick County, Va., on August 19, 1873.
What the source supports
The obituary's account of Johnson's death, birth and early career.
Uncertainty
Paraphrased; the issue's rights are not established. The account of his career is the obituary's own; the Nottoway claim was not checked in any other record. The survivors it names are not used. The Friday is November 16, 1945; the issue is Thursday, November 22.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The headline and first paragraphs: his death at home on the Friday.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., November 22, 1945, page 10: "Funeral Services Held Tuesday For Rev. E. T. Johnson"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1945-11-22 (publication)
Locator: Page 10, obituary "Funeral Services Held Tuesday For Rev. E. T. Johnson", headline, first paragraphs and continuation
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. His home, his age, his education, Nottoway and his birth, read on the full-item crop.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., November 22, 1945, page 10: "Funeral Services Held Tuesday For Rev. E. T. Johnson"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1945-11-22 (publication)
Locator: Page 10, obituary "Funeral Services Held Tuesday For Rev. E. T. Johnson", paragraphs on his death at home, his education and career, and his parents and birth
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1945
A letter in the Clarke Courier of December 13, 1945, signed W. A. Bradford, said the paper's notice of the Rev. E. T. Johnson's death had given a complete review of his positions but reached no conclusion on whether his influence was worthy; that it was obvious to anyone who attended the public occasions at his training school that his influence was reflected in the good behavior of his pupils and their advancement; that he followed in the footsteps of Booker T. Washington and William Taylor Burwell Williams; and that the community owed a debt to the memory of a man who was "a guide and counsellor to his people."
What the source supports
How one correspondent judged Johnson's influence after his death.
Uncertainty
A letter of opinion and tribute; its judgments are the writer's. Its remarks ranking Johnson below Washington and Williams, and "never an agitator," are not used. W. A. Bradford is named as printed and is not identified with the "W. A. B." of 1941 or with the W. A. Bradford person record.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The notice reviewed and the footsteps.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., December 13, 1945, page 8: letter to the editor on the Rev. E. T. Johnson, signed W. A. Bradford
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1945-12-13 (publication)
Locator: Page 8, letter to the editor on the Rev. E. T. Johnson, first column
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The pupils, the debt to his memory and the signature.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., December 13, 1945, page 8: letter to the editor on the Rev. E. T. Johnson, signed W. A. Bradford
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1945-12-13 (publication)
Locator: Page 8, same letter, second column, signed W. A. Bradford
Relevant passagea guide and counsellor to his people
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930, and four more
In the Courier items read for this account, from September 1930 to May 1944, the League's building debt or bond is described as still to be met or paid toward; none of them reports that it was paid off, refinanced or taken over by the county.
What the source supports
That the searched record leaves the League's bond open.
Uncertainty
Not found in searched material. A search of the held machine-read text of the Courier, 1930 to 1948, for school or League passages with money terms (debt, bond, pledge, $500, paid off, mortgage, refinance and others) returned 91 hits, all read; after 1935 they are county, war-bond, legal-notice or other-school items, apart from the 1936 and 1939 League items and the 1945 letter. Machine text can miss an item. The county School Board's minutes, the League's accounts and the bond itself were not read.
Source
Evidence role: contextualizes. "Our bond must be met", September 1930.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, closing paragraph: the rock pile, the chairs, the bond and the quartet (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageBut gentlemen: The pile of rock lies there uncrushed; the drive-in must be rocked before the miry weather sets in; the chairs are unpaid for, and our bond must be met. Culled out from among the boys who have from time to time come under our notice; we have organized a quartet, and that quartet is traveling with the principal everywhere, singing the school needs into the hearts of the people. You would do well to give us a hearing.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. The building debt assumed by the School League, 1931.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., April 30, 1931, page 4: paragraph urging support for the Training School pageant
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1931-04-30 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, paragraph beginning "Boost the Berryville Training School Pageant, May 15th"
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. Debts on the building, 1935.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 12, 1935, page 1: "Clarke Improvement League To Hold Session"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1935-09-12 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, notice "Clarke Improvement League To Hold Session"
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. The $500 bond allotment still paid in 1939.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., May 11, 1939, page 2: "Colored School Bond Holders Asked To Pay"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1939-05-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 2, appeal "Colored School Bond Holders Asked To Pay", signed by E. T. Johnson, President of League
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. The last pageant, 1944, with no word of the bond.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., May 25, 1944, page 4: "Colored Schools To Stage Pageants"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1944-05-25 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, announcement "Colored Schools To Stage Pageants", with the principal's statement
Relevant passageat least to say farewell to the last sacrificial effort through pageants.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
May 1944: six pageants, and farewell to "the last sacrificial effort through pageants." Clarke Courier, May 25, 1944, p. 4.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), May 25, 1944, page 4. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: A detail of the retained region crop of the Library of Congress page image (1004 by 3628 pixels): the rectangle from x 0 to 1004 and y 0 to 2700, which leaves out the unrelated items around it, not scaled, and re-encoded as JPEG. The whole page is at the source link. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., May 25, 1944, page 4: "Colored Schools To Stage Pageants" Open the full image
The obituary's paragraph on his birth in Brunswick County, Va., on August 19, 1873. Clarke Courier, November 22, 1945, p. 10.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), November 22, 1945, page 10. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: A detail of the retained region crop of the Library of Congress page image (1020 by 4041 pixels): the rectangle from x 0 to 1020 and y 2820 to 3330, which leaves out the unrelated items around it, not scaled, and re-encoded as JPEG. The whole page is at the source link. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., November 22, 1945, page 10: "Funeral Services Held Tuesday For Rev. E. T. Johnson" Open the full image
December 1945: a letter to the editor on Johnson's influence, set beside Booker T. Washington and William Taylor Burwell Williams. Clarke Courier, December 13, 1945, p. 8.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), December 13, 1945, page 8. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: The retained file itself, shown at its own 1028 by 1931 pixels: not scaled, not re-encoded. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., December 13, 1945, page 8: letter to the editor on the Rev. E. T. Johnson, signed W. A. Bradford Open the full image
The letter continues: his influence seen at the school's public occasions, and "a guide and counsellor to his people." Signed W. A. Bradford.
Clarke Courier (Berryville, Va.), December 13, 1945, page 8. Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Rights Changes: A detail of the retained region crop of the Library of Congress page image (994 by 2454 pixels): the rectangle from x 0 to 994 and y 0 to 2300, which leaves out the unrelated items around it, not scaled, and re-encoded as JPEG. The whole page is at the source link. Nothing retouched or added.
Source: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., December 13, 1945, page 8: letter to the editor on the Rev. E. T. Johnson, signed W. A. Bradford Open the full image
About the accountsWhat the evidence says
Clarke Courier notices and reports from August 1930 to December 1945, each read on a Library of Congress page image, document the dedication and its program, the patrons' costs and debts, the school's first year, the League's pledge and payments through 1939, the school's renaming, the principal's last pageant, his obituary and a letter in his memory. None of them reports the League's bond paid off.
The dedication report is an unsigned contributed account in the patrons' own voice, and most later items are announcements or the League's own appeals rather than reports of results. The $375, $680, $500 a year and $45,000 are different measures and are never added together. The Rosenwald card probably, not certainly, describes this building, and the bond's retirement stays an open question.
- An account exists✓ Supported by a source
The same report said it suspected that when school opened "on the 12th" there would hardly be room to hold the entrants, and closed: "The pile of rock lies there uncrushed; the drive-in must be rocked before the miry weather sets in; the chairs are unpaid for, and our bond must be met." It said a quartet culled from among the boys was traveling with the principal everywhere, singing the school needs into the hearts of the people, and that readers "would do well to give us a hearing." The report's headline said the building was ready for opening tomorrow.
See the evidence
✓ Supported by a sourceAn account existsThe same report said it suspected that when school opened "on the 12th" there would hardly be room to hold the entrants, and closed: "The pile of rock lies there uncrushed; the drive-in must be rocked before the miry weather sets in; the chairs are unpaid for, and our bond must be met." It said a quartet culled from among the boys was traveling with the principal everywhere, singing the school needs into the hearts of the people, and that readers "would do well to give us a hearing." The report's headline said the building was ready for opening tomorrow.
What the source supports
That in September 1930 the patrons reported the drive unfinished, the chairs unpaid and a bond to be met, and a quartet raising money.
Uncertainty
The opening is expected, not reported. The machine text reads "the 13th"; the page image reads "the 12th", which fits the headline's "tomorrow" (Friday, September 12). The report names no amount or holder for "our bond".
Source
Reporting Evidence role: supports. The expected opening on the 12th.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, second column: the speakers, Prof. W. D. Graham (so printed), Lawyer T. C. Walker, and the opening of school (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageLawyer T. C. Walker came all the way from Gloucester as he has done on several occasions to talk to members of our group, and spoke in the same jovial and jocular vein, entertaining and instructive; sometimes bordering upon the serious. Lawyer Walker has built up quite a school in his community for the boys and girls of Gloucester and, too, is a trustee of Manassas Industrial School.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Reporting Evidence role: supports. The closing appeal and the quartet.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, closing paragraph: the rock pile, the chairs, the bond and the quartet (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageBut gentlemen: The pile of rock lies there uncrushed; the drive-in must be rocked before the miry weather sets in; the chairs are unpaid for, and our bond must be met. Culled out from among the boys who have from time to time come under our notice; we have organized a quartet, and that quartet is traveling with the principal everywhere, singing the school needs into the hearts of the people. You would do well to give us a hearing.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
- An account exists✓ Supported by a source
An announcement in the Clarke Courier of October 8, 1931, headed as an annual fall event for the benefit of the Training School Building Debt Fund and signed by E. T. Johnson, President, and Alma Layton, Secretary, for the County School League, said that to keep the pledge made to the School Board, to contribute $500.00 annually toward the upkeep of the Training School, the League had organized two big functions, the Fall Festival and a Spring Pageant; that it had been charging $1.00 a ticket for the festival, including admission and supper, "but owing to the 'depression cry'" the ticket that year would be 50 cents including supper; and that the festival would be held in the school auditorium on Friday night, October 23, 1931.
See the evidence
✓ Supported by a sourceAn account existsAn announcement in the Clarke Courier of October 8, 1931, headed as an annual fall event for the benefit of the Training School Building Debt Fund and signed by E. T. Johnson, President, and Alma Layton, Secretary, for the County School League, said that to keep the pledge made to the School Board, to contribute $500.00 annually toward the upkeep of the Training School, the League had organized two big functions, the Fall Festival and a Spring Pageant; that it had been charging $1.00 a ticket for the festival, including admission and supper, "but owing to the 'depression cry'" the ticket that year would be 50 cents including supper; and that the festival would be held in the school auditorium on Friday night, October 23, 1931.
What the source supports
That in 1931 the League described a $500 annual pledge to the School Board, raised by two events, under a Building Debt Fund heading.
Uncertainty
The heading names a Building Debt Fund while the text calls the $500.00 an upkeep pledge; both are recorded as printed and not reconciled. An announcement; the festival's result was not read. Names as printed.
Source
Reporting Evidence role: supports. The pledge, the two events and the ticket price.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., October 8, 1931, page 5: "Fall Festival October 23rd"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1931-10-08 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, announcement "Fall Festival October 23rd", its closing paragraph and signatures
Relevant passagebut owing to the "depression cry", this year, the charge per ticket will be 50 cents including supper.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
- That it was so? Unconfirmed
The League's August 1930 notice ties Rosenwald help, offered on condition of a like sum raised locally, to the new building, and the principal's program named T. C. Walker as Rosenwald Agent at its dedication. Together with the Julius Rosenwald Fund's card for a six-teacher "Berryville School" in Clarke County, built under the 1930-31 budget, this makes it probable, but not certain, that the card describes the Clarke County Training School building.
See the evidence
? UnconfirmedThat it was soThe League's August 1930 notice ties Rosenwald help, offered on condition of a like sum raised locally, to the new building, and the principal's program named T. C. Walker as Rosenwald Agent at its dedication. Together with the Julius Rosenwald Fund's card for a six-teacher "Berryville School" in Clarke County, built under the 1930-31 budget, this makes it probable, but not certain, that the card describes the Clarke County Training School building.
What the source supports
That the identification of the Rosenwald card with the Training School is strengthened but stays probable.
Uncertainty
The card names only a "Berryville School" and no Training School. An Internet Archive full-text search for Berryville, Rosenwald and training school found no relevant hit; HathiTrust showed a security check and was not used. The card's figures are not added to any Courier figure.
Source
Reporting Evidence role: supports. The League's own Rosenwald link.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., August 14, 1930, page 6: "Dedication Of Colored School September 5th"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-08-14 (publication)
Locator: Page 6, same notice, continuation in the next column: the Rosenwald offer and the speakers, signed by the Clarke County Colored Improvement League (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageYou will probably recall that some nearly eight years ago, Prof. T. C. Walker came to us during our First Parade Pageant and Field Meet held at the Berryville Fair Grounds, and how he stressed the help that Mr. Rosenwald was offering, providing that we raise a like sum. We more than met that requirement. Prof. Walker will be present, Prof. W. D. Gresham, Supervisor of Negro Education of this State who has made several trips to this county in the interest of the school will speak at one-thirty, and also present Dr. J. M. Gandy, the president of Virginia State College for Negroes.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Reporting Evidence role: supports. Walker named as Rosenwald Agent.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 4, 1930, page 5: "Dedication Of Colored School Friday Evening"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-04 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, notice "Dedication Of Colored School Friday Evening", signed E. T. Johnson (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageSo, during our dedication we have reserved special seats for all of our white friends so long as these seats last. Program for the morning session will be spiced by local talent. Profs W. D. Gresham, Supervisor of Negro Education in the State, T. C. Walker, Rosenwald Agent prime speakers. At night music by Hoffman's bind. Dr. J. M. Gandy, president of State College for Negroes will be the speaker.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Contemporary document Evidence role: contextualizes. The card's typed entries.
Julius Rosenwald Fund school card no. 3876: "Berryville School," Clarke County, Va.
Julius Rosenwald Fund
Locator: Card no. 3876: the typed entries: name, county, land, type, budget year, application, total cost, its four sources and insurance
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: rosenwald-fund-records. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
- That it was so? Unconfirmed
In the Courier items read for this account, from September 1930 to May 1944, the League's building debt or bond is described as still to be met or paid toward; none of them reports that it was paid off, refinanced or taken over by the county.
See the evidence
? UnconfirmedThat it was soIn the Courier items read for this account, from September 1930 to May 1944, the League's building debt or bond is described as still to be met or paid toward; none of them reports that it was paid off, refinanced or taken over by the county.
What the source supports
That the searched record leaves the League's bond open.
Uncertainty
Not found in searched material. A search of the held machine-read text of the Courier, 1930 to 1948, for school or League passages with money terms (debt, bond, pledge, $500, paid off, mortgage, refinance and others) returned 91 hits, all read; after 1935 they are county, war-bond, legal-notice or other-school items, apart from the 1936 and 1939 League items and the 1945 letter. Machine text can miss an item. The county School Board's minutes, the League's accounts and the bond itself were not read.
Source
Reporting Evidence role: contextualizes. "Our bond must be met", September 1930.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, closing paragraph: the rock pile, the chairs, the bond and the quartet (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageBut gentlemen: The pile of rock lies there uncrushed; the drive-in must be rocked before the miry weather sets in; the chairs are unpaid for, and our bond must be met. Culled out from among the boys who have from time to time come under our notice; we have organized a quartet, and that quartet is traveling with the principal everywhere, singing the school needs into the hearts of the people. You would do well to give us a hearing.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Reporting Evidence role: contextualizes. The building debt assumed by the School League, 1931.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., April 30, 1931, page 4: paragraph urging support for the Training School pageant
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1931-04-30 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, paragraph beginning "Boost the Berryville Training School Pageant, May 15th"
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Reporting Evidence role: contextualizes. Debts on the building, 1935.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 12, 1935, page 1: "Clarke Improvement League To Hold Session"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1935-09-12 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, notice "Clarke Improvement League To Hold Session"
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Reporting Evidence role: contextualizes. The $500 bond allotment still paid in 1939.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., May 11, 1939, page 2: "Colored School Bond Holders Asked To Pay"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1939-05-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 2, appeal "Colored School Bond Holders Asked To Pay", signed by E. T. Johnson, President of League
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Reporting Evidence role: contextualizes. The last pageant, 1944, with no word of the bond.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., May 25, 1944, page 4: "Colored Schools To Stage Pageants"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1944-05-25 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, announcement "Colored Schools To Stage Pageants", with the principal's statement
Relevant passageat least to say farewell to the last sacrificial effort through pageants.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Each statement above is assessed on its own evidence. Nothing here is averaged, scored or voted on, and a well-attributed account can be documented while what it describes stays unconfirmed.
Source note
The account rests on the Clarke Courier, 1930–1945, read on the Library of Congress's page images. The May 1939 bond note and the June 1936 bus report come from "A dollar a year", where their images are shown, and the 1945 obituary is also used in the Milton Valley story.
The cornerstone was laid on June 6, 1930, with a parade, a pageant and a gate fee. The dedication on September 5 was a separate, free occasion with invited speakers.
The League's August 1930 notice says Rosenwald help had been offered if the patrons raised a like sum, and that they met the requirement, and the Rosenwald agent spoke at the dedication. That strengthens the match with the Julius Rosenwald Fund's card for a "Berryville School", shown with "A dollar a year". The card itself still names no Training School, so the identification stays probable.
The figures are given as printed, and none of them is added to another or reconciled: $375 for digging the foundation, in September 1930, where the May 1930 report had said a little over $300; $680 owed for chairs, with a little over $100 in hand; the $500 a year, described as for upkeep in 1931, for support in 1934 and as a bond allotment in 1939; and $45,000, the school's value in 1941.
No report was found that the League's bond or building debt was paid off, refinanced or taken over by the county, in a search of the Courier's machine-read text from 1930 to 1948, which can miss an item. The question that remains is narrow: what do the Clarke County School Board's minutes, 1930 to 1945, record of the League's bond and its $500 annual payments?
Names are given as printed. The state supervisor appears as W. D. Gresham and as W. D. Graham. Walker appears as Prof. T. C. Walker, as the Rosenwald agent and as a lawyer from Gloucester; he is not identified with the "C. T. Walker" printed in 1938. Dr. Williams appears as W. T. B. Williams in 1941 and as W. B. T. Williams in 1945. The 1941 tribute's "W. A. B." and the 1945 letter's W. A. Bradford are not identified as the same writer, and Mrs. A. Moore, Jr., is not identified further.
Not read for this account: the county School Board's minutes, the League's own accounts and the bond itself, and Johnson's first book, which the obituary does not name. Every source item used here is shown from its page image, with a link to the original.
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
The Clarke Courier of May 15, 1930 reported that the digging of the foundation had been completed, and under a photograph captioned as Superintendent A. F. Robertson breaking the ground on April 17 it printed a contribution from E. T. Johnson, principal of the school. He wrote that Robertson had lined up the trench for the new building, with Johnson, the vocation teacher Morgan Edwards and some of the pupils beginning the excavation; that, as his verse had said, "Impatient dirt must fly"; and that the foundation had been dug by the patrons at a cost of a little over $300, with many white friends giving aid, some in cash and some in truck service moving dirt.
What the source supports
Who broke ground for the building, that the patrons dug its foundation, and what the digging cost, as the Courier and the principal reported them.
Uncertainty
Largely the principal's own account. The photograph was not examined and is not reproduced; the date comes from its caption. Morgan Edwards is not identified with the M. J. Edwards of 1936 or anyone else. The principal's history in the same piece, of Training School privileges granted seven years before and ground first broken at the May 1929 pageant, is not used.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The digging completed.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., May 15, 1930, page 4: report on the colored school building and a contribution from its principal, E. T. Johnson
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-05-15 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, opening paragraphs: the contract restated and the digging completed
Relevant passageA few weeks ago the School Board of Clarke county awarded the contract for the erection of the colored school building to Kelley and Kelley, Bluemont, Va. contractors, at the price of $17,350.00 ... The digging of the foundation has been completed
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The groundbreaking and who was there, and the quoted verse.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., May 15, 1930, page 4: report on the colored school building and a contribution from its principal, E. T. Johnson
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-05-15 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, same page, the photograph caption and the principal's account of the groundbreaking
Relevant passagePictured above is Superintendent A. F. Robertson breaking the ground on April 17 ... in the above cut you see him in company with E. T. Johnson, the vocation teacher, Morgan Edwards and some of the pupils beginning the excavation. ... "Impatient dirt must fly"
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The cost and the help.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., May 15, 1930, page 4: report on the colored school building and a contribution from its principal, E. T. Johnson
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-05-15 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, same contribution, the cost of the digging and the help received
Relevant passageThe foundation has been dug by the patrons at a cost of a little over $300. Many of our white friends have contributed aid, some in cash, some in truck service in moving dirt
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
The Clarke Courier of June 5, 1930 reported an announcement by E. T. Johnston, principal of the Clarke County Training School, that the cornerstone of the new school building then being erected in Josephine City would be laid the next day, Friday, June 6, when the patrons would also hold their sixth annual pageant and "Rally Day Drive," toward "the first $500, which they have pledged to raise annually toward the new building."
What the source supports
Where and when the cornerstone was to be laid, and that the day's drive was toward the first of the annual $500 payments.
Uncertainty
An announcement; the report of June 12, 1930 describes the day. The principal is printed Johnston here and Johnson in the paper's other reports; both forms are kept as printed and not reconciled further.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The announcement and the drive.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., June 5, 1930, page 7: "Cornerstone of New School For Colored To Be Laid Tomorrow"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-06-05 (publication)
Locator: Page 7, announcement of the cornerstone laying and the Rally Day Drive
Relevant passagetomorrow (Friday June 6) is the day for the laying of the cornerstone to the new school building which is now being erected in Josephine City. This same day they will hold their sixth annual pageant and "Rally Day Drive," the purpose of the latter to help in the first $500, which they have pledged to raise annually toward the new building.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
The Clarke Courier of June 12, 1930 printed E. T. Johnson's account of the cornerstone day. It rained. The parade started ahead of time, led by the Charles Town band and the Odd Fellows of Millwood, with the schools and communities following alphabetically, Berryville, Boyce, Bristoe, Louisville, Millwood, Stone Bridge and White Post. It moved down Liberty Street to Railroad Street, up Main into Church, and out Church into Josephine; the speeches were made between showers; and after three attempts the stone was placed in the north east corner of the Clarke County Training School.
What the source supports
That the cornerstone of the Training School was laid, with a parade through Berryville to Josephine City.
Uncertainty
The principal's own account, printed as his contribution; it also refers to "The Rev. Johnston". It does not give the date, which the June 5 announcement set for Friday, June 6. The lodge and the band are named only as printed.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The parade, the route and the setting of the stone.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., June 12, 1930, page 4: "Cornerstone of School For The Colored Is Laid"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-06-12 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, the principal's account, the parade, its route and the setting of the stone
Relevant passageIt has been said that our people are never on time, but the parade started ahead of expected time with Charles Town band ... After three attempts the stone was placed in the north east corner of the Clarke County Training School.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. The announced date.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., June 5, 1930, page 7: "Cornerstone of New School For Colored To Be Laid Tomorrow"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-06-05 (publication)
Locator: Page 7, announcement of the cornerstone laying and the Rally Day Drive
Relevant passagetomorrow (Friday June 6) is the day for the laying of the cornerstone to the new school building which is now being erected in Josephine City. This same day they will hold their sixth annual pageant and "Rally Day Drive," the purpose of the latter to help in the first $500, which they have pledged to raise annually toward the new building.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930
The same report thanked the white public and the many churches and friends for helping to realize "our eight-year dream," and said that the cornerstone laying on June 6, amid an array of Odd Fellow regalia with lodges from well nigh all over the Valley, had drawn a concourse of people outnumbering that of the dedication "with its no-gate fee"; "Our people delight in paying their way so far as they are able." The writer did not think it far wrong to say that on Friday, September 5th, "never a more representative group of colored people ever gathered to do honor to any occasion."
What the source supports
How the patrons' report compared the dedication with the cornerstone day.
Uncertainty
The writer's own comparison and judgment; no attendance figures are given for either day. The writer is unsigned, and no gender or identity is assigned.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The thanks and the comparison.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, second column below an unrelated obituary: the thanks and the cornerstone compared (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageThe cornerstone was layed on the 6th of June amidst an imposing array of Odd Fellow regalia; lodges from well nigh all over the Valley, and an overwhelming concourse of people outnumbering that of the dedication with its no-gate fee. Our people delight in paying their way so far as they are able. But I don't believe we would be far wrong were we to say that on Friday, September 5th, never a more representative group of colored people ever gathered to do honor to any occasion.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930, and one more
The League's August 1930 notice ties Rosenwald help, offered on condition of a like sum raised locally, to the new building, and the principal's program named T. C. Walker as Rosenwald Agent at its dedication. Together with the Julius Rosenwald Fund's card for a six-teacher "Berryville School" in Clarke County, built under the 1930-31 budget, this makes it probable, but not certain, that the card describes the Clarke County Training School building.
What the source supports
That the identification of the Rosenwald card with the Training School is strengthened but stays probable.
Uncertainty
The card names only a "Berryville School" and no Training School. An Internet Archive full-text search for Berryville, Rosenwald and training school found no relevant hit; HathiTrust showed a security check and was not used. The card's figures are not added to any Courier figure.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The League's own Rosenwald link.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., August 14, 1930, page 6: "Dedication Of Colored School September 5th"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-08-14 (publication)
Locator: Page 6, same notice, continuation in the next column: the Rosenwald offer and the speakers, signed by the Clarke County Colored Improvement League (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageYou will probably recall that some nearly eight years ago, Prof. T. C. Walker came to us during our First Parade Pageant and Field Meet held at the Berryville Fair Grounds, and how he stressed the help that Mr. Rosenwald was offering, providing that we raise a like sum. We more than met that requirement. Prof. Walker will be present, Prof. W. D. Gresham, Supervisor of Negro Education of this State who has made several trips to this county in the interest of the school will speak at one-thirty, and also present Dr. J. M. Gandy, the president of Virginia State College for Negroes.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. Walker named as Rosenwald Agent.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 4, 1930, page 5: "Dedication Of Colored School Friday Evening"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-04 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, notice "Dedication Of Colored School Friday Evening", signed E. T. Johnson (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageSo, during our dedication we have reserved special seats for all of our white friends so long as these seats last. Program for the morning session will be spiced by local talent. Profs W. D. Gresham, Supervisor of Negro Education in the State, T. C. Walker, Rosenwald Agent prime speakers. At night music by Hoffman's bind. Dr. J. M. Gandy, president of State College for Negroes will be the speaker.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. The card's typed entries.
Julius Rosenwald Fund school card no. 3876: "Berryville School," Clarke County, Va.
Julius Rosenwald Fund
Locator: Card no. 3876: the typed entries: name, county, land, type, budget year, application, total cost, its four sources and insurance
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: rosenwald-fund-records. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Julius Rosenwald Fund
A Julius Rosenwald Fund card, no. 3876, for a "Berryville School" in Clarke County, Va., records five acres of land and a six-teacher type building, built under the 1930-31 budget on application no. 10-J, at a total cost of $20,900: $1,700 from Black contributors (printed "Negroes"), none from whites, $15,300 public and $3,900 from the Rosenwald Fund, with insurance of $10,000.
What the source supports
That the Rosenwald Fund recorded a six-teacher Berryville school built under its 1930-31 budget, and what it recorded of the money.
Uncertainty
The card names a "Berryville School", not the Clarke County Training School. Its identification with the Training School building is probable, not certain: it rests on the six-teacher plan the principal described in 1930, the matching dates and the $1,700 the Courier reported raised in 1928. The total is the project's cost as the fund recorded it, not the 1930 contract price, and it is not reconciled with, or added to, the contract, the $8,000 in bonds or the yearly $500. The card's handwritten red marginal note is not transcribed.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The card's typed entries.
Julius Rosenwald Fund school card no. 3876: "Berryville School," Clarke County, Va.
Julius Rosenwald Fund
Locator: Card no. 3876: the typed entries: name, county, land, type, budget year, application, total cost, its four sources and insurance
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: rosenwald-fund-records. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., 1930, and four more
In the Courier items read for this account, from September 1930 to May 1944, the League's building debt or bond is described as still to be met or paid toward; none of them reports that it was paid off, refinanced or taken over by the county.
What the source supports
That the searched record leaves the League's bond open.
Uncertainty
Not found in searched material. A search of the held machine-read text of the Courier, 1930 to 1948, for school or League passages with money terms (debt, bond, pledge, $500, paid off, mortgage, refinance and others) returned 91 hits, all read; after 1935 they are county, war-bond, legal-notice or other-school items, apart from the 1936 and 1939 League items and the 1945 letter. Machine text can miss an item. The county School Board's minutes, the League's accounts and the bond itself were not read.
Source
Evidence role: contextualizes. "Our bond must be met", September 1930.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 11, 1930, page 5: "Dedicate Negro Training School"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1930-09-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 5, same report, closing paragraph: the rock pile, the chairs, the bond and the quartet (line-end hyphens joined)
Relevant passageBut gentlemen: The pile of rock lies there uncrushed; the drive-in must be rocked before the miry weather sets in; the chairs are unpaid for, and our bond must be met. Culled out from among the boys who have from time to time come under our notice; we have organized a quartet, and that quartet is traveling with the principal everywhere, singing the school needs into the hearts of the people. You would do well to give us a hearing.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. The building debt assumed by the School League, 1931.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., April 30, 1931, page 4: paragraph urging support for the Training School pageant
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1931-04-30 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, paragraph beginning "Boost the Berryville Training School Pageant, May 15th"
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. Debts on the building, 1935.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., September 12, 1935, page 1: "Clarke Improvement League To Hold Session"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1935-09-12 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, notice "Clarke Improvement League To Hold Session"
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. The $500 bond allotment still paid in 1939.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., May 11, 1939, page 2: "Colored School Bond Holders Asked To Pay"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1939-05-11 (publication)
Locator: Page 2, appeal "Colored School Bond Holders Asked To Pay", signed by E. T. Johnson, President of League
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. The last pageant, 1944, with no word of the bond.
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va., May 25, 1944, page 4: "Colored Schools To Stage Pageants"
Clarke Courier, Berryville, Va. · 1944-05-25 (publication)
Locator: Page 4, announcement "Colored Schools To Stage Pageants", with the principal's statement
Relevant passageat least to say farewell to the last sacrificial effort through pageants.
Checked: Original inspected. A digital reproduction was inspected; no original has been handled.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-courier. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5.5) · 2026-09-26. How this project checks its sources
What do the Clarke County School Board's minutes, 1930 to 1945, record of the League's bond and its $500 annual payments?
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Go deeper: every source under this story Follow another threadClarke County Training School: a dollar a year
The earlier account, drawn from the same newspaper: the Courier's reports of the Training School's contract, digging, cornerstone, bus and pledge, 1930 to 1940. This account begins with the September 1930 dedication and follows the League's payments to 1945.