Brownhelm was the first local government of any kind in the United States to elect a black man to public office; on April 2, 1855, John Mercer Langston, a black man from Virginia, became town clerk.
In 1855, Brownhelm made history by electing the first African American to hold public office; John Mercer Langston, a resident of Virginia, was chosen as town clerk on April 2 of that year.