Charleston, South Carolina – A first-of-its-kind archaeological research center is being built in the Lowcountry to advance resources and education about the history of the Mitchelville community, which is descended from formerly enslaved people in America.
People met in late September to break ground for this new facility. It will generate a resource for studying the community. Mitchelville was a self-governing hamlet of enslaved persons who had been released by the Union Army during the Civil War.
Today, descendants like Johnnie Mitchell are attempting to educate more people about this period of American history.
“The very significant thing for all African-Americans or this country’s history is that this is the first place where there was compulsory public education,” Mitchell told the crowd. “So, I keep saying I’m a living artifact because it’s implanted in me. It was about how you needed to gain an education.
Drayton Hall in Charleston was formerly a plantation but is now a museum that chronicles the city’s history. Valerie Bowens says she is carrying on the heritage of her cousin Richmond Bowens, who took satisfaction in delivering this narrative at the Hall.
“He returned here to Charleston and became the gatekeeper,” she claimed. “He worked for at least 25 years before he was unable to continue, after which he became the oral history person. I’m simply grateful that we had folks like my relative who were willing to open up and discuss their experiences.”
Mitchelville was one of the earliest towns for emancipated enslaved people during the Civil War, making self-government and education feasible. Nearly two centuries later, relatives are carrying on that heritage by starting construction on a new educational research facility on the island.
“Hopefully people will go and be able to really get the full history of Mitchelville and its significance and how we need to restart that whole emphasis on education that started there,” Mr. Mitchell said.
Leaders plan to open this center in Hilton Head sometime next year.
