Just Like Nothing (else) on Earth: Emancipation Grounds

By Tim Jon

I guess I’d been driving by this site for well over 20 years before making a mental note to stop and spend some quiet time here, capture a few images on the camera and plant something in the memory banks for an eventual writing session – hoping I could learn a bit, grow a little larger and maybe encourage the same in at least a few others. 

In fact, my trips past this local spot became almost a daily routine several years before I finally got around to an official visit; my five-day (sometimes six) mail route in Purcellville brings me within a couple of feet of the plot, reminding me that time moves on and I was approaching the moment for action. 

The historic marker for the Loudoun County Emancipation Association Grounds tells us more about what was than what is, regarding this expanse of land; apologies for the fancy wordplay, but the truth is: the 10 acres that formerly made up the Emancipation Grounds now fall under different ownership and use. 

The stark, black lettering on white background informs the visitor to this spot that the local group of African Americans had sold this land in the Year 1971 – after using the site for a yearly meeting and commemoration since purchasing the Grounds over six decades earlier, in 1910. 

The Virginia Department of Historic Resources erected the sign in the Year 2000 – in the familiar location on South 20th Street – near the turnoff for the Blue Ridge Bible Church. 

Another marker – a plaque on a stone column – lists a series of 11 Presidents who served the local Emancipation Association – dating from 1890 to the time of the sale of the plot of land in 1971. 

Even for someone like me, who grew up about a thousand miles from Northern Virginia, many of these names sound familiar: Thompson, Coates, McWashington, Rector, Clark, Rhodes, Pierce, Sinkfield, Dean, Parker and Hicks. They evidently offered strong, intelligent leadership for the group; the historic marker tells us that on an annual basis, over one thousand people attended the celebration here for Emancipation Day. This “Day of Freedom,” as the Department of Historic Resources goes on to say, extended for well over half a century – from the time of the land’s purchase in 1910 until 1967. 

We find even more history in the brief lettering stamped upon the sign: local African Americans (ostensibly forebears of many of our friends, neighbors, business associates, customers and acquaintances) formed this Association back in the Year 1890 (in the nearby Town of Hamilton) – in order to observe the historic Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 – a particularly turbulent year in our Nation’s timeline. 

The local Association extended their mission beyond mere commemoration of this Presidential Order: we go on to read that the group strove to, “Cultivate good fellowship, to work for the betterment of the race – educationally, morally and materially.” 

In addition, these 10 acres served as a religious, social, civic and recreational center. I found– after a bit further
reading – that, as popular as the annual Emancipation Day became (reportedly drawing thousands of attendees for a gathering of fellowship, celebration and various activities), the allure had worn off during another turbulent time in our country’s history – the decade of the 1960’s. 

But, I’m reminded that this “Day of Freedom” was celebrated across our nation – usually on September 22, to mark the date of the Proclamation – for many years, by countless individuals. The land that formerly made up the Emancipation Grounds in Purcellville still lies in the exact same place, marked by the sign from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources since the Year 2000. 

And, despite the continued turbulence experienced by our Nation, I see a continuation, and an extension, of the mission and the work laid out by the Loudoun County Emancipation Association – as well as its brother – and sister – groups across the land. 

And, how do I feel about all of this? Well, I’m just a local writer – I’m not often afforded the luxury of giving in to my emotions. 

Perhaps more importantly, how do you feel? 

As for me, I think my visit to this local spot has now officially become an annual thing. Sort of a commemoration – even a celebration.