Johnsontown, Jefferson County, West Virginia
| Johnsontown | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
  Johnsontown Location within the state of West Virginia | |
| Coordinates: 39°20′20″N 77°53′13″W / 39.33889°N 77.88694°WCoordinates: 39°20′20″N 77°53′13″W / 39.33889°N 77.88694°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Jefferson |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1549762[1] |
Johnsontown is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It lies between the communities of Browns Corner and Bardane on Wiltshire Road at its junction with County Route 14.
Johnsontown was founded by free African Americans, George W. and Betty Johnson in 1848 on 12 acres. It was the first free black community in the state. The Johnsons and other families built a number of homes and a log one-room graded school which also served as a meeting place and housed religious activities until Zion Baptist Church was erected in Charles Town in 1898. Most of the buildings are gone, but the church and cemetery remain. The burials in the cemetery represent the former families of Johnsontown. It is commemorated by a highway marker placed by the Jefferson County Black History Preservation Society.
