In Search of Freedom: Investigating 19th Century African American Settlement Development in Southern Indiana

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Silenced Lifeways:The Archaeology of Free African-American Communities in the Indiana and Illinois Borderlands" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

During the early 19th century, free African Americans began moving from North Carolina to Orange County, Indiana, developing a small farming community in Southeast Township.  This community, known today as the Lick Creek African American Settlement, thrived for several generations until many of families began an exodus to Canada during the 1860s.  The settlement is only partially documented and very few written records exist to give us insight to the daily lives of the individuals who called Lick Creek home.  Here, I provide an overview of archaeological investigations at three sites to explore the early development of the Lick Creek Settlement and to begin to understand the lived experience of the individuals in this community.  This work, a partnership with the Hoosier National Forest, has provided us with new insight into the lives of the people who lived in Lick Creek and gives us direction for further study. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2019   •
• Silenced Lifeways:The Archaeology of Free African-American Communities in the Indiana and Illinois Borderlands

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 277