The Freemanville Settlement
Posted by: 
moochie
N 29° 08.962 W 080° 59.418
17R E 500943 N 3224534
In 1866, Freemanville was settled by approximately 500 former slaves.
Waymark Code: WM2HBV
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 11/04/2007
Views: 99
Founded soon after the US civil war, the settlement that would become Freemanville was established by Dr. John Milton Hawks, an abolitionist and union army surgeon, along with other union army officers and the Florida Land and Lumber Company. In 1866, roughly 500 former slaves, many of whom had fought for the union during the war, and their families initially settled here. An additional 1000 freed slaves would arrive via steamboat in the following months. Of the 3000 blacks that made Florida their home, roughly half settled near the Halifax River, thus making this area the most populous in Volusia County at that time. In 1867, Dr Hawks named the settlement Port Orange. Due to harsh farming conditions and poor supplies, the settlement, the Florida Land and Lumber Company and the integrated school disbanded in 1869. Many of the settlers returned to their home states or headed for the area citrus groves looking for work. However a few of those original freed slaves stayed. Over time, the settlement became known as "Freemanville". Mt. Moriah Baptist Church is the last remaining structure from the pioneering African-American community in Port Orange known simply as Freemanville.
Marker Number: F467
Date: 2002
County: Volusia
Marker Type: Roadside
Sponsored or placed by: The City of Port Orange and the Florida Department of State
Website: Not listed
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