Founded in 1742, Louisa County was a predominately agricultural county whose economy relied on slave labor. Slavery shaped every facet of life in the South from the time it was instituted to the time it was abolished. Economic arrangements, religious worship, social exchanges, and cultural expressions all bore the mark of this practice. The Sargeant Museum of Louisa County History aims to highlight and preserve the rich history of the numerous black families who live in Louisa, or trace their roots to Louisa County.
Upcoming Black History Month Events with The Sargeant Museum
- Uncovering Lineages: Tracing Descendants of UVA’s Enslaved Laborers in Louisa County, February 11, 2025, 6:00 – 7:00 pm
- Description: Join the Louisa County Historical Society for a virtual presentation by Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy, a genealogist for the University of Virginia’s Gibbons Project, as she shares her research on the descendants of enslaved individuals connected to UVA. Dr. Murphy will highlight Louisa County’s ties to this important history, exploring the lives of those who labored at UVA and tracing their families through generations. Learn about the challenges and breakthroughs in descendant research and how these efforts contribute to historical recognition and family reconnection.
- Virtual Genealogy Workshop – Linking the Past to the Present, February 18, 2025, 6:30 – 7:30 pm
- Description: Curious about your family’s history, but don’t know where to get started? Director Katelyn Coughlan will explore the ins and outs of genealogical research with a recent research project relating to the Johnson family in the Lake Anna area.
- African American Genealogy Workshop, February 21, 2025, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Description: Celebrate Black History Month at the Louisa County Historical Society! Join us for a workshop focused on tracing lineages back beyond the Civil War into slavery. We’ll highlight sources you can use to uncover individuals after emancipation and the best ways to bridge back to enslavement.
- Bus Trip to the R.R. Moton Museum, March 1, 2025, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
- Description: Hop on the bus to Farmville, Virginia, and visit the former Robert Russa Moton High School – now a National Historic Landmark and Museum. The site where 16 year-old Barbara Johns courageously led a student walkout in 1951, which helped lay the groundwork for Brown v. Board of Education decision.
Museum Exhibits
Visitors to Louisa can see exhibits at the Sargeant Museum about:
- Henry Brown, who was born and enslaved in Louisa County. Henry mailed himself to freedom in a shipping crate via rail in 1849.
- John Mercer Langston, also a Louisa native which was one of the first African Americans to hold elected office in the United States, was one of the first Black representatives to Congress, and was founding dean of Howard Law School.
- The Freedom of Choice integration plan for school system in Louisa in 1965.
Image: “Resurrection of Henry Box Brown”
Historical Places
Visitors can drive by the Shady Grove Rosenwald School, now preserved in Gum Spring, or stop by Bracketts Farm and tour the landscape of slavery in the brick outbuildings on the property. Bracketts Farm was owned by the Watson Family, and their records including their slave notebook, an account of transactions between Dr. Thomas Watson and his enslaved are preserved at the Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia.
