1860 CENSUS - MAPPING OUR STORY
- Sandra Thompson
- Aug 12, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 18, 2021
At the time of the 1860 Census, just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, Florida, over 20 Legacy Communities can be identified on historical maps.
Legacy Communities.
The high concentration of black-owned lands, remaining historic structures, active churches, and cemeteries form a living laboratory for understanding a rapidly disappearing way of life that provided a sustainable cultural and economic foundation for many African Americans. Spanning over 150 years these communities are rapidly being lost to urban sprawl, out migration, and restrictive zoning.
In 1860 Florida's recorded population consisted of 140,424 people of which 61,745 "native born" made up over 45% of the State’s population. Many were indentured or enslaved. While there is plenty of information about Florida’s plantation economy and its economic drivers, little is known about the communities that were created by the enslaved, free people of color, indigenous and Freedmen of Florida. The self-sufficient communities they fortified were extensive and still exist today – now collectively known as North Star
On top systemic racism, on October 10, 2018, the region was hit by Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 hurricane. The devastation across the region, especially in Jackson County, was catastrophic. The potential for these already fragile North Star Legacy Communities to be lost forever in the decades of reconstruction and recovery that will follow Michael is extremely high unless direct action is taken to document their resources and provide economic resiliency tools and training to their residents.
Many of these communities have kept records through oral storytelling rather than formal documents, so it is important to collect these histories from individuals before they are lost.
Tree located outside of the Springfield Schoolhouse Museum and Springfield A.M.E Church in Marianna, FL.
About the Project
Florida State University's Department of Urban & Regional Planning (DURP), working with Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University’s Dr. Sandra Thompson, and with support from the Florida Department of State, developed this project in order to preserve and document North Star Legacy Communities. The department began preliminary work on this project in 2019. This project is a community engagement and economic development project involving extensive fieldwork and engagement with ethnically and economically diverse communities in Jackson County, Florida.
The Florida State DURP Barneby Graduate Studio is the primary working team for the project. The graduate studio operates as a consultant. In the past they have completed award-winning projects for clients in the public and private sectors. The team is working under the guidance of Urban and Regional Planning faculty (Dr. April Jackson and Dennis J. Smith, AICP), along with representatives from Florida State University’s DeVoe Moore Center (Dr. Sam Staley), and FAMU (Dr. Sandra Thompson).
We would like to thank our various Jackson County Legacy Community members, stakeholders, faculty, and staff that have contributed information and guidance throughout the development of this project. North Star Legacy Community Project Report If you would like to read the full most recent report detailing more information than what is featured here on the Story Map, please feel free to read and download the following report that was prepared by the project's team.
North Star Legacy Communities - Studio Project 2020 This document details the development of the North Star Legacy Communities project, key findings, and planned future work for the project. View Brochure Texas Freedom Colonies Project
We would like to thank Dr. Andrea Roberts and her team for inspiring our project's Story Map, Atlas, and Self-guided Interview Survey. If you would like to learn more about the Texas Freedom Colonies Project, please refer to the website below.
The Texas Freedom Colonies Project Texas, Community, planning, heritage, preservation, African American, history, Diaspora, Slavery, Black, equity,landscape, settlements,towns
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