Oberlin Village is the longest surviving and most intact Reconstruction-Era freedman’s colony in Wake County and North Carolina.
Photograph: Raleigh, North Carolina- Looking north on Oberlin road as children cross the newly built Oberlin Road bridge spanning Wade Avenue, June 1959.
Photograph source: NO.59.6.166 - From the News and Observer Negative Collection, State Archives of NC. Photo copyrighted by the News and Observer.
Narrative: History of Oberlin Village dot org, and Olde Raleigh N.C. FB page
Oberlin Village is the longest surviving and most intact Reconstruction-Era freedman’s colony in Wake County and North Carolina.
It began in 1858 as Oberlin Enclave, when a Free Black man named Jesse Pettiford purchases 16-acre parcel for $160.
The small white house seen in the background (2310 Wade Avenue) is extant and was built for Theodore and Mary Haywood Person in 1954. Mary was the daughter of Alonza Miles Haywood (1870-1958).
Born to enslaved parents, Alonza was a blacksmith and an early resident of the Oberlin Freedman community. His home is seen in this picture on Oberlin road to the right of the Person House. Theodore and Mary remained in the home until their respective deaths in 1991 and 2002. The property remained in the Person family until 2007.
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History of Oberlin Village
New research has revealed a previously unknown chapter of Oberlin's history—it is no ordinary freedmen town but an antebellum free Black enclave that grew into an African American municipality, built away from White supervision by former slaves freed during or after the Civil War.
Because it was rooted in freedom, Oberlin Village provided a legacy of freedom and land ownership, creating an enduring Black settlement with an elevated degree of home ownership, artisinal pride, and an irreproachable reputation.
Cited: Little, M. Ruth. “Rooted in Freedom: Raleigh, North Carolina’s Freedmen’s Village of Oberlin, an Antebellum Free Black Enclave.” The North Carolina Historical Review, vol. XCVII, no. 4, Oct. 2020, p. 425.
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To learn about more history of Oberlin Village, click this link: https://friendsofoberlinvillage.org/history-of-oberlin.../