Here Are 15 Freedom Towns That Kept Black People Alive After Slavery

This month in the year 1864, The Senate passed the 13th Amendment to abolish Human slavery in the United States. The House would follow suit the next year, setting the ground work for the emancipation of millions of Black people.  As a result, “Freedmen’s Towns” built by and for formerly enslaved people began emerging all over the country. These all-Black communities, known alternatively as “Freedom Towns” or “All-Black Towns” have slowly been lost to history.

But here’s a list of some Freedom Towns you should know about!

Sugarland, MD.

Sugarland, MD., is a community in Montgomery County that was founded shortly after the Civil War by three freedmen — William Taylor, Patrick Hebron and John Diggs. Although, much of the community landmarks like the church and cemetery fell into disrepair, it remains an important Black landmark.

Africatown, Ala.

Africatown, Ala. has a fascinating history. It was founded by descendants of enslaved people who were aboard the “Clotilda,” the last known U.S. slave ship to bring captives from Africa to the United States.

Hobson City, Ala.

Hobson City, Ala. was founded in 1899 and was originally called the Mooree Quarters. It is the first incorporated Black city in the Alabama, and remains a thriving community roughly 65 miles east of Birmingham.

Freedmen’s Town, Houston

Freedmen’s Town was built as a settlement by formerly enslaved Black Americans shortly after the Civil War in what is now Houston’s fourth ward. It remains a historic landmark.

Weeksville, N.Y.

Weeksville, NY., was founded by a formerly enslaved man named James Week in Brooklyn prior to the Civil War. It’s now modern day Crown Heights/ Bedford Stuyvesant.

Nicodemus, KS

Nicodemus, KS was built by a group of formerly enslaved Black Americans in 1877. It’s one of the oldest and only remaining Black settlements west of the Mississippi River.

Mound Bayou, Miss.

Mound Bayou was founded in 1887 as an all-Black town by a group of formerly enslaved people led by Isaiah Montgomery.

Snowden, S.C.

Snowden is a historic Black community in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. According to the African American Settlement Historic Commission, it was founded after the Civil War by formerly enslaved people who left surrounding plantations.

Freedman’s Village

Freedmen’s Village sits on what is now the Arlington National Cemetery. The village was established by the federal government for formerly enslaved people, according to the Arlington National Cemetery.

Phillips Community

The Phillips Community is another Mt. Pleasant Freedmen’s Town. It was founded in 1875 by formerly enslaved people from the Phillips and other surrounding plantations.

Fort Mose, Fla.

Fort Mose, Fla. was actually the first “Black town” in the United States. It was formed by Francisco Menendez, a Black military commander in the Spanish army in 1738. He was previously enslaved in South Carolina but escaped and became the leader of a free Black town of “fugitive slaves” in Florida.

Mitchelville Freedom Park

Mitchelville Freedom Park was the first freedmen community established during the Civil War on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. While it’s no longer an independent community, it’s still a historic landmark.

Rentiesville, Okla.

Rentiesville, Okla. was founded in 1903 by William Rentie as an all-Black town. It’s one of thirteen all-Black towns that are still standing in Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society. 

Scanlonville, S.C.

Scanlonville is another Mt. Pleasant, S.C. freedom town, formed around the 1870s by Robert Scanlan, who is believed to have been a freedman carpenter. The land sits on what used to be a plantation.

Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor

The Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor is a region along the southeastern coast of the United States. The Gullah Geechee are descendants of formerly enslaved Africans from that region of the country. They speak a unique creole language and have heavily preserved their rich West African heritage.