Free People Of Color At Thoroughfare
Families of African-American, Native American, and mixed ancestry migrated here from Fauquier, Culpeper, Rappahannock and Warren Counties after the Civil War. The Allen, Berry, Fletcher, Nickens, and Peyton families, along with former slaves from this area acquired parts of former plantations, built homes, and established the farming community of Thoroughfare which prospered through the 1940s. Many of the “Free People of Color” who settled here were illiterate but their families were not accepted into the schools and churches of their white neighbors. In 1885, the North Fork School was built by local labor with county funding on land donated by the Primas family. In 1899, community growth compelled the families to construct a second floor room and hire an additional teacher at their own expense. Also, in 1909 members of the community built Oakrum Baptist Church, on donated land and selected their own ministers.
Marker is on John Marshall Highway (Virginia Route 55) west of Thoroughfare Road, on the left when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
