Stephen Bates - Highway Marker Dedication - October 12, 2024

 Highway Marker dedication at Shirley Plantation for Stephen Bates, an African American slave born there, who later became the first African American elected as Sheriff in the United States in Vermont. The marker is located at John Tyler Memorial Highway and Shirley Plantation Road. 

 Sheriff Jason Crawley, Retired Sheriff B. A. Washington, Sr. and Bertha Greene, daughter of Sheriff James Bradby the first African American Sheriff elected in Virginia.