Berryville (formerly Buckmarsh) Baptist Church is at 114 Academy Street. John Gerrard (Garrard, ca. 1720-87), in 1772, constituted the Buckmarsh church. James Ireland (ca. 1745-1806) served the Buckmarsh pastorate from 1786 until his death. Ireland’s remains lie in an unknown grave in the Buckmarsh cemetery. A historical plaque marks the site where Buckmarsh Baptist once stood. The plaque is only a few yards north of the VA 7 overpass on US 340 (southbound lane), just north of Berryville. In the 1840s the Buckmarsh congregation moved into Berryville and changed their name to Berryville Baptist. Note: The marker on US 340 gives 1778 as the year Ireland began his pastorate at Buckmarsh, but a James Ireland memorial cenotaph, at Berryville Baptist Church, has a bronze plaque, giving 1786 as the date. The year 1786 is accurate, since Gerrard was pastor until near the time of his death in 1787.
