West Warm Springs is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Bath County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 2021, the

Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

dedicated a commemorative plaque recognizing West Warm Springs as a significant place in the history of African Americans in the Commonwealth of Virginia. According to the official press release from the commemoration ceremony, African Americans recently freed from slavery purchased parcels of land west of Warm Springs and founded the community in the antebellum period of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Residents gained employment at the Warm Springs Pools or the Homestead Resort, or they fashioned careers as tradespeople and entrepreneurs. West Warm Springs is an important example of an Appalachian freedmen's town. Community members of West Warm Springs gradually erected spaces for worship, education, and community life. Of note, the John Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church and Cemetery, founded in 1873, was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2013.

References

* Unincorporated communities in Bath County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia {{BathCountyVA-geo-stub