African American history
Slavery and freedom, Black schools, churches and towns, Reconstruction, and the civil rights movement. 129 places on the trail.
The young state, 1790-1860
- C-80ANDREW'S CHAPELEst. 1802 to serve all local Methodists. After 1864 mother church for the A.M.E. Zion faith, it became St. Peter’s, 1879...
- G-5BRIGHT LEAF TOBACCOIn 1850s on a farm in this area Abisha Slade perfected a process for curing yellow tobacco. His slave Stephen discovered...
- D-105DAVID WALKER ca. 1796-1830His Appeal, influential 1829 pamphlet, denounced slavery. A free black, he grew up in Wilmington; moved to Boston by 182...
- G-115ELIZABETH KECKLY 1818-1907Burwell family slave, bought freedom, 1855. Dressmaker & friend to Mary Todd Lincoln. Published her memoir, 1868. Lived ...
- H-108GEORGE MOSES HORTONSlave poet. His The Hope of Liberty (1829) was first book by a black author in South. Lived on farm 2 mi. SE.
- A-72HARRIET JACOBS c. 1813-1897Fugitive slave, writer, & abolitionist. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) depicts her early life. Lived in Ed...
- I-62HENRY EVANSFree black cobbler & minister. Built first Methodist church in Fayetteville. Died 1810. Buried 2 blocks north.
- H-13JOHN CHAVIS ca. 1762-1838African American teacher, preacher, & Revolutionary War veteran. Taught free black & prominent white students in school ...
- J-46LEVI COFFIN 1798-1877A Quaker abolitionist; guided slaves on paths to freedom as leader of Underground Railroad. Was born ca. 4 mi. N.
- I-88LEWIS LEARY 1835-1859Free black abolitionist & conspirator in 1859 with John Brown in attack on U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Killed in assa...
- H-125LUNSFORD LANE 1803-1879Enslaved. Bought freedom in 1835. An abolitionist, nationally known orator, and entrepreneur. Wrote his Narrative in 184...
- D-74MILLIE-CHRISTINE McKOYBlack conjoined twins born near here, 1851. Exhibited in U.S. and Europe. Died in 1912. Grave is five miles N.
- A-43MOUNT LEBANON CHURCHA.M.E. Zion. Organized about 1850 as mission to serve black Methodists. Since 1856 congregation has met 1 1/2 blocks N.
- I-89OMAR IBN SAID ca. 1770-1863Muslim slave & scholar. African-born, he penned autobiography in Arabic, 1831. Lived in Bladen County and worshipped wit...
- H-9PEACE COLLEGEFounded by Presbyterian elder Wm. Peace 1857 as school for women; opened 1872. Main building used as Confederate hospita...
- K-57RALF FREEMANFree black served as a Baptist pastor at Rocky River Church until law in 1831 barred blacks from public preaching. Burie...
- B-57SOMERSET PLACEAntebellum plantation of Josiah Collins III, who grew rice & corn. Home in 1860 to 328 slaves. Located six miles south.
- E-123STATE v. WILLLandmark N.C. Supreme Court case, 1834, gave protection to slaves who killed in self-defense. Will was a slave on the Ba...
- G-93THOMAS DAY ca. 1801-1861Free black cabinetmaker in Milton, 1824-1861. Home and shop located here in the old Union Tavern, 1848-1858.
Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877
- D-114ABRAHAM GALLOWAY 1837-1870Former slave. Freedom fighter; Union recruiter and spy; legislator. Led a delegation that met President Lincoln, 1864. L...
- B-74AFRICAN AMERICANS DEFEND WASHINGTONPrior to formation of 1st N.C. Colored Volunteers about 100 black men were armed to aid Union forces during the siege of...
- B-44ANDREW CARTWRIGHTAgent of the American Colonization Society in Liberia, founded the A.M.E. Zion churches in Albemarle area. His first chu...
- L-102BARBER-SCOTIA COLLEGEPresbyterian. Est. 1867 by Luke Dorland to educate Negro women, Scotia Seminary merged in 1930 with Barber Memorial Inst...
- D-27BATTLE OF FORKS ROADFought, Feb. 20-21, 1865, between U.S. Colored Troops and Confederates. Last engagement before the fall of Wilmington. E...
- E-105BENJAMIN S. TURNER 1825-1894U.S. Congressman, 1871-1873, representing Ala.; merchant and farmer in Selma, Ala. Born into slavery one mile south.
- C-84FIRST NORTH CAROLINA COLORED VOLUNTEERSState’s first regiment of black Union soldiers rallied here on July 24, 1863. In 1864, designated 35th U.S. Colored Troo...
- B-71FREEDMEN'S COLONYThe first refugee slave community in N.C. Est. in 1863 by Union troops. It operated until 1867 on land nearby, extending...
- H-109FREEDMEN'S CONVENTIONDelegates resolved to seek equal rights for state's freed blacks. Met, Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 1865, one block north.
- E-97FREEDOM HILLCommunity established here by freed blacks in 1865. Incorporated as Princeville in 1885.
- F-62GENERAL BAPTIST STATE CONVENTIONStatewide association of black Baptists organized, Oct. 18, 1867, at First African Baptist Church, then located 2/10 mi....
- M-33HINTON R. HELPERAuthor of The Impending Crisis, a bitterly controversial book which denounced slavery; U.S. Consul at Buenos Aires, 1861...
- I-86HIRAM R. REVELS 1822-1901First African American to serve in Congress, he represented Mississippi in Senate, 1870-1871. Born in Fayetteville.
- O-12HIRAM R. REVELS 1822-1901First black to serve in Congress. Native of N.C. Mississippi senator, 1870-1871. Operated own barbershop here, 1840s.
- C-64JAMES CITYCommunity was founded here in 1863 as resettlement camp for formerly enslaved people. It was named for Horace James, U.S...
- H-86JAMES H. HARRIS 1832-1891Black legislator & orator; member 1868 convention; a founder of Republican Party & Union League in N.C. Home was 1 block...
- C-33JAMES WALKER HOODAsst. Superintendent Public Instruction, 1868-70; a founder Livingstone College, 1885; Bishop A.M.E. Zion Church; founde...
- L-101JOHNSON C. SMITH UNIVERSITYEst. in 1867 as Biddle Memorial Institute for freedmen. Became a university, 1877. Present name adopted in 1923.
- C-81KING SOLOMON LODGEFirst African American Masonic lodge in N.C.; est. 1865. Erected in 1870, the building was moved here in 1920s.
- A-81LEMUEL W. BOONE 1827-1878Baptist leader. In 1866 he organized first black Baptist association in N.C.; trustee, Shaw University. Grave 2 mi. SE.
- D-112PARKER ROBBINS 1834-1917Civil War cavalryman. Among highest ranking North Carolinians in the United States Colored Troops. Legislator, 1868-70. ...
- H-96ST. AUGUSTINE'S COLLEGEFounded in 1867 by the Episcopal Church as a normal school for freedmen. Since 1928 a four-year college. 4 blocks N.
- D-78ST. MARK'SConsecrated in 1875 as first Episcopal church for colored people in North Carolina. Served by Bishop Atkinson. Is locate...
- D-77ST. STEPHEN A.M.E. CHURCHCongregation formed in 1865. Present church constructed 1880 on land donated by Geo. Peabody. Located 2 blocks east.
- H-56THE GOVERNOR MOREHEAD SCHOOLOpened in 1869, it was first state-supported school in U.S. for African American blind & deaf students. Located on this ...
- D-111UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPSBlack soldiers & white officers in Union army, 1863-1865. About 500 involved in Wilmington campaign buried here.
- J-107WADSWORTH CHURCHCongregational. Founded 1870 by former slave Rev. Madison Lindsay. Restored 1885 building is 80 yards southwest.
- A-93WILD'S RAIDFirst major campaign in N.C. conducted by the U.S. Colored Troops, Dec. 1863. Freed thousands of enslaved in the area.
- D-120WILLIAM B. GOULD 1837-1923Was enslaved Bellamy plasterer. Escaped 1862 and joined Union navy. Kept detailed war diary. Lived 2 blocks north.
The New South, 1878-1929
- D-103ALEX MANLY 1866-1944Edited black-owned Daily Record four blocks east. Mob burned his office, Nov. 10, 1898, leading to "race riot" & restric...
- G-138ALGONQUIN TENNIS CLUBEst. in 1922 by African Americans. Hosted many American Tennis Assoc. tournaments. Durham Committee on Negro Affairs org...
- E-117ANNA EASTER BROWN 1879-1957A founder in 1908 of Alpha Kappa Alpha, nation’s oldest sorority for African Americans; history teacher. Her grave is ¼ ...
- H-119ANNA J. COOPER 1858-1964Educator, orator, & early black feminist. Graduate, St. Augustine's. Author, A Voice from the South (1892). Grave 2 1/2 ...
- H-77BERRY O'KELLY SCHOOLBegun 1910. Early Negro teacher training school. Named for benefactor. Later used as elementary school. Closed in 1966.
- G-116BLACK WALL STREETIn the early decades of the 1900s, Durham acquired national reputation for entrepreneurship. Businesses owned by African...
- E-90BRICK SCHOOLEst. for blacks in 1895 through philanthropy of Mrs. Joseph K. Brick; became junior college in 1926. Closed, 1933. Build...
- G-85BULL CITY BLUESDuring the 1920s-1940s, Durham was home to African American musicians whose work defined a distinctive regional style. B...
- G-83CENTRAL ORPHANAGE OF NORTH CAROLINAFounded 1883. Pioneer Negro child-caring institution, serving on state-wide basis.
- H-103CHARLES N. HUNTER 1852-1931Black teacher, writer, & reformer. Principal, Berry O'Kelly School; a founder, N.C. Industrial Assoc. Lived 1 block S.
- F-61CHERRY HOSPITALOpened by state in 1880 for black citizens with mental illness. Named in 1959 for R. Gregg Cherry, governor, 1945-49. Op...
- A-58CHOWAN ACADEMYFounded in 1886 for blacks by Calvin S. Brown, pastor, Pleasant Plains Baptist Church. Later a public school named for B...
- E-74DRED WIMBERLYFormer slave. Voted for better roads, schools, and colleges as State representative, 1879, 1887; and State senator, 1889...
- F-8E. E. SMITH 1852-1933President for over 40 years of State Colored Normal School (Fayetteville State University). U.S. minister to Liberia, 18...
- H-90EDWARD A. JOHNSON 1860-1944Politician, businessman, philanthropist, author, and educator. First black to publish a N.C. textbook. Home was here.
- A-37ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITYFounded in 1891 as Negro normal school. Four-year college after 1939. Became a university in 1969.
- A-91FATHER AARON BAZEMORE 1881-1992African American pastor. He founded in 1911 St. John, the first Church of God in Christ ministry in N.C. Grave 100 ft. W...
- L-103GEORGE E. DAVIS 1862-1959Organizer & fundraiser, 1921-35, for Rosenwald Schools; program built 813 schools for black students across N.C. Lived 1...
- C-53GEORGE H. WHITE 1852-1918Lawyer; member of N.C. legislature, 1881 & 1885. U.S. Congressman, 1897-1901. Born into slavery. Home stands 2 blocks N.
- E-116GEORGE H. WHITE 1852-1918Represented the state's "Black Second" district, U.S. House, 1897-1901. Last black Southerner in Congress for 72 years. ...
- D-88GREGORY NORMAL INSTITUTESchool for blacks, 1868-1921. Founded by American Missionary Assoc. Named for benefactor James H. Gregory. Was 4 blocks ...
- G-94HENRY P. CHEATHAM 1857-1935Born into slavery. U.S. Congressman, 1889-1893. Superintendent of Colored Orphanage of N.C., 1907-1935. Grave 8/10 mi. N...
- J-74IMMANUEL COLLEGELutheran. Founded 1903, and moved here in 1905; prepared black students for work in theology & education. Closed 1961.
- D-122J. ALLEN KIRKAfrican American pastor, Central Baptist Church, 1897-1898, nearby. Was community leader. Wrote key eyewitness account o...
- E-103JAMES E. O'HARA 1844-1905Black political leader. Member, U.S. House of Representatives, 1883-1887. Practiced law in Enfield. Lived 1/10 mi. S.
- G-57JAMES E. SHEPARDNegro educational and religious leader. Founder of a college (1910), now N.C. Central University, its president to 1947....
- D-83JAMES F. SHOBER 1853-18891st known black physician with an M.D. degree in N.C. Practiced 1878-89. Home and office stood one block north.
- H-87JAMES H. YOUNG 1860-1921Colonel of black N.C. regiment in war with Spain; edited Raleigh Gazette; legislator. Home was 25 ft. W.
- E-101JOHN A. HYMAN 1840-1891First black to represent N.C. in U.S. Congress, 1875-1877; state senator, 1868-1874. Home is one block west.
- E-85JOHN C. DANCY 1857-1920Editor of A.M.E. Zion Church papers; orator; a delegate to Methodist world conference; customs collector of Wilmington. ...
- G-109JOHN MERRICK 1859-1919Black business leader. In 1898 he founded what is now N.C. Mutual Life Insurance Company. His grave is 85 yds. N.W.
- E-114JOHN WILLIAMSON 1846-1911Former slave. Member, legislature, six terms; newspaper publisher & advocate of education. Grave is 1/2 mile west.
- A-61JOSEPH C. PRICE (1854-1893)Negro orator and teacher. A founder and president of Livingstone College. Born in Elizabeth City. House was 2 miles S.
- E-122KNIGHTS OF LABORBlack farmworkers in region affiliated with labor union, 1886-1890. Precursor to the Fusion movement. State convention h...
- I-91LAURINBURG INSTITUTEFounded 1904 by E. M. and Tinny McDuffie to educate black students upon encouragement by Booker T. Washington. Campus 10...
- H-111LEONARD MEDICAL SCHOOLNation's first four-year medical school. Trained 400 African American physicians. Operated here from 1882 to 1918.
- G-119MARY POTTER ACADEMYFounded by G. C. Shaw 1889 to educate African Americans. Named for a Presbyterian benefactor. Later a public school. Ope...
- E-62MOSES A. HOPKINS 1846-1886U.S. minister to Liberia, 1885-1886; black clergyman. Founder & principal of Albion Academy which stood two blocks east.
- J-29N.C. A. AND T. STATE UNIVERSITYChartered in 1891 as a land grant college for blacks. Since 1972 a campus of The University of North Carolina.
- H-124N.C. COLORED STATE FAIROperated 1879-1930 by N.C. Industrial Assoc. to accommodate the state's black citizens. Was held, 1891-1925, fifty yds. ...
- G-53NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITYFounded 1910 by James E. Shepard for Negroes. State liberal arts college, 1925-1969. Now a regional university.
- F-64OWEN L. W. SMITHU.S. minister to Liberia, 1898-1902; born into slavery. Pastor, St. John A.M.E. Zion Church in Wilson. Lived 1/10 mi. N.
- J-87PALMER MEMORIAL INSTITUTEPreparatory school for blacks founded 1902 by Charlotte Hawkins Brown. Named for Alice Freeman Palmer. Closed in 1971. N...
- B-66PEA ISLAND LIFESAVERSOnly U.S. Lifesaving Station manned by black crew. Led by Richard Etheridge, 1880-1900. Operated near here.
- A-90PETER WEDDICK MOORE 1859-1934Educator. Was born into slavery. President, what is now Elizabeth City State University, 1891- 1923. Grave 1/3 mi. SE.
- A-85ROBERT LEE VANN 1879-1940African American editor, lawyer, and civil rights advocate. Led Pittsburgh Courier, 1910-1940. He was born 4 miles east.
- D-108ROBERT R. TAYLOR 1868-1942Pioneer black architect. Taught, designed buildings at Tuskegee, 1893-1933. Housing projects bore his name. Lived 3 bloc...
- A-89ROSENWALD SCHOOLSJulius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington established fund in 1912 to provide grants to African American communities to ...
- I-22THOMPSON INSTITUTEEst. 1881 for blacks by Lumber River Bapt. Assoc. Boarding school; trained teachers; named for A.H. Thompson. Succeeded ...
- L-91WARREN COLEMAN 1849-1904Founder of the nation's first textile factory owned and operated by blacks, 1897-1904. Mill building is 350 yds. N.
- J-108WILLIAM McBRYAR 1861-1941Buffalo Soldier & officer. In 1890 awarded Medal of Honor. His long career exemplified struggles of black soldiers of th...
- D-118WILMINGTON COUPArmed white mob met at armory here, Nov. 10, 1898. Marched six blocks and burned office of Daily Record, black-owned new...
- J-31WINSTON-SALEM STATE UNIVERSITYEstablished for Negroes as Slater Industrial Academy, 1892. State supported since 1895; University since 1969.
- P-88YOUNG MEN'S INSTITUTEEst. 1892 as center of social, moral, religious influence for blacks working at Biltmore. Businesses thrived in building...
Modern North Carolina, 1930 on
- E-120ELLA BAKER 1903-1986Civil rights leader. She organized the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, April 1960, at Shaw University. Her ch...
- B-67FREEDOM RALLIESMass meetings at Green Memorial Church for 32 days, June-July 1963, & nonviolent marches, led to the desegregation of lo...
- J-114GLENN T. SETTLE 1894-1967Founder of Wings Over Jordan Choir and Negro Hour radio show, 1937. He promoted traditional spiritual music & racial har...
- L-112HARRY GOLDEN 1902-1981Journalist, humorist, & civil rights advocate. He published, 1944-68, The Carolina Israelite. He lived one block N.E.
- B-76HYDE COUNTY SCHOOL BOYCOTTAfrican Americans boycotted public schools for the 1968-1969 year, challenging desegregation plan to close black schools...
- G-127JOURNEY OF RECONCILIATIONIn 1947 the Congress of Racial Equality & local citizens, black & white, protested bus segregation. Setting out from Was...
- E-127KEYS v. CAROLINA COACH COMPANYLandmark Interstate Commerce Commission case, 1955, helped end racial segregation in interstate transportation. Original...
- N-14LESLEY RIDDLE 1905-1979Old-time musician and song collector. African American, he collaborated with the Carter Family, 1928-37. Grave 1/4 mi. S...
- E-126LOUIS AUSTIN 1898-1971African American editor. Published Durham-based Carolina Times, 1927-71. An advocate of social justice and civil rights....
- E-112MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. 1929-1968In his speech, Nov. 27, 1962, in gym 200 yards S.E., civil rights leader delivered refrain "I have a dream," used in Lin...
- C-73MONTFORD POINTRecruit training depot for black Marines, 1942-1949. In 1974 renamed Camp Johnson for Sgt. Gilbert Johnson, drill instru...
- G-135NAVY B-1 BANDIn May 1942 a group of 44 African American musicians broke U.S. Navy's color barrier, enlisting at general rank. Barrack...
- E-118OPERATION DIXIEBlack leaf house workers in eastern N.C. unionized in 1946. First pro-union vote, at tobacco factory 1 block W., precurs...
- G-48PAULI MURRAY 1910-1985First African American female Episcopal priest; lawyer, activist, poet, & human rights champion. Wrote Proud Shoes, 1956...
- E-106PLUMMER BERNARD YOUNGJournalist. Publisher of Norfolk Journal & Guide, 1910-1962, leading black-owned newspaper in the South. Birthplace near...
- J-122POLIO HOSPITALDuring epidemic of 1948, integrated hospital built in 95 days. In 1963, it was makeshift jail for civil rights protester...
- L-113ROMARE BEARDEN 1911-1988African American artist and writer. Many of his collages were inspired by childhood memories of N.C. Born 1 block N.W.
- G-130ROSE BUTLER BROWNE 1897-1986Educator & civil rights activist. Chair, Education Dept., N.C. College for Negroes, 1948-63. Her grave is 100 yds. N.E.
- G-123ROYAL ICE CREAM SIT-INSegregation protest at an ice cream parlor on this site, June 23, 1957, led to court case testing dual racial facilities...
- F-74RUTH W. WHALEY 1901-1977Pioneer female African American lawyer. First to be licensed in N.C., 1933. Was Secretary of N.Y.C. Board of Estimate, 1...
- E-125SANITATION WORKERS' STRIKELed by African American workers and civil rights coalition, 1978, against sanitation dept., here. It reshaped the labor ...
- J-79SIT-INSLaunched the national drive for integrated lunch counters, Feb. 1, 1960, in Woolworth store 2 blocks south.
- H-121ST. AGNESHospital. First nursing school in N.C. for African Americans, 1896-1961. Founded by Sarah Hunter. Building four blocks N...
- H-107STUDENT NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEECivil rights organization, an outgrowth of sit-in movement, had origins in conference at Shaw University, Apr. 15-17, 19...
- E-113TILLERY RESETTLEMENTEst. 1935; New Deal farm project. 350 black families from N.C., S.C., Fla., Ark., Va. purchased homesteads. Restored hou...
- J-115TOBACCO UNIONISMStrike by leaf workers, mostly black & female, June 17, 1943, 1/2 mile W., led to seven years of labor & civil rights ac...