Berrytown

Text

Marker #1982 celebrates the history of the Berrytown community in Jefferson County.

What became known as Berrytown started when the formerly enslaved Alfred Berry purchased five acres in eastern Jefferson County from Samuel L. Nock in 1874. Nock was a member of Nock & Rawson, one of the largest tobacco and wholesale grocery concerns in Louisville prior to the Civil War and sold parcels of land to black Kentuckians, like Alfred Berry, who aimed to build homes of their own. Alfred, his wife Mildred, and their children, Mattie, Alfred Jr., Henrietta, and Louis, carved out lives for themselves in the new community. Men and women including William Butler, Sallie Carter and Kidd Williams soon joined Berry in what became a thriving community during the final decades of the nineteenth century.

During the twentith century, the area developed closer ties to Louisville proper as it was connected to the city via the railroad and the electric trolley’s of the Interurban Car System. These transportation systems allowed residents of Berrytown, and nearby communities like Griffytown, to commute to Louisville for work and entertainment, while living in and developing their own neighborhoods.

The marker reads:
This eastern Jefferson County community began with five acres purchased in 1874 by Alfred Berry, a freedman. Other Berrytown founders were Wm. Butler, Sallie Carter, and Kidd Williams, all of whom bought land from Samuel L. Nock, a wealthy businessman. Presented by Louisville and Jefferson County African American Heritage Committee, Inc.

(Reverse) Berrytown - In the 1870s, Berrytown and Griffytown were created by freed African Americans. In 1915 Anchorage PTA got a train carrying the Liberty Bell to stop at neighboring schools, including Berrytown and Griffytown. Until 1934, the Interurban Car System electric trolley transported residents into Louisville. Presented by Louisville and Jefferson County African American Heritage Committee, Inc.

The marker was dedicated in 1996.