New from Arcadia Publishing and the local Jefferson County Black History Preservation Society is “African Americans of Jefferson County” in the popular Images of America series, featuring over 200 vintage images, many of Shepherdstown residents and places.

Jefferson County can proudly claim a large number of firsts when it comes to African Americans in national history. The raid to free slaves that served as a catalyst for the Civil War was led by abolitionist John Brown in Harpers Ferry. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Jefferson County native Martin Robison Delany as the first African American field officer of the Civil War. In 1906, the Niagara Movement, forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), held its first meeting on American soil on the Storer College campus.

All author royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to the nonprofit organization Jefferson County Black History Preservation Society, as well as other historical groups, including The Webb-Blessing House.

Highlights of African Americans of Jefferson County:

– Includes the first man wounded in the John Brown rebellion, Heyward Shepherd, a free African American and Jefferson County resident

– Features the first woman to become the coach of a men’s college basketball team, an African American from Jefferson County

– Explores the Colored Horse Show held in Charles Town, the first of its kind for African Americans

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and on-line retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888) 313-2665 or www.arcadiapublishing.com.

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.