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'Environmental racism:' First town incorporated by Black families freed from slavery sits in major NC flood plain

The first town ever incorporated by Black men and women freed from slavery is right here in North Carolina -- but its history is at risk of being destroyed in floods.

Posted Updated

By
Heather Leah
, WRAL multiplatform producer
PRINCEVILLE, N.C. — The first town ever incorporated by Black men and women freed from slavery is right here in North Carolina.

During the Civil War, there were over 10,000 enslaved men, women and children in Edgecombe County. Their stories remain etched across several geographical landmarks remaining in modern day Princeville – places like the Tar River, Shiloh Landing and Freedom Hill.

Despite its importance to United States history, Princeville's valuable historic narrative has been almost washed away in generations of floods. Today, this historic town is among the poorest in the state – in part due to hurricane damage and high water that have plagued the town since its founding.

Like countless other historically Black communities established in the aftermath of the Civil War, Princeville was built on a dangerous and costly foundation that would shape its future right up until modern times.

How do you preserve history when it keeps getting flooded?

Freedom Hill: First town incorporated by Black men and women freed from slavery is in NC

Environmental racism: Black communities built on flood plains

Of all the places in the state where newly-freed men and women could settle, why did they choose the area around Princeville?

The answer is Freedom Hill. The hill marks a spot of slightly higher elevation, where the Union Army was camped after the Civil War. Hundreds, if not thousands, of newly freedmen sought protection at the camp.

"Freedom Hill is Princeville's version of Juneteenth," said Earl Ijames, historian and curator for the North Carolina Museum of History.

Freedom Hill: First town incorporated by Black men and women freed from slavery is in NC

According to Ijames, the land was not deemed valuable by the white landowners because it was in a flood plain.

"This was common practice," said Ijames. "You've heard of redlining." (Redlining was the practice of denying mortgages or insurance, or requiring higher rates for those, based on the ethnic and racial makeup of a neighborhood.)

Research from 2021 shows neighborhoods that were impacted by redlining in the early 1900s "face a far higher risk of flooding today."

As newly-freed families began settling on Freedom Hill and along the banks of the Tar River, a man named Turner Prince – a carpenter who had been freed from slavery – began building homes. The incorporated town was named Princeville in his honor.

Little could Turner Prince have known that only a little over 100 years later, the town of roughly 2,000 people would lose over 700 homes in Hurricane Floyd.
The historic cemetery was also heavily impacted. According to a new Freedom Hill documentary, which explores the history, people and impacts of environmental racism on Princeville, over 100 people buried in the local cemetery were unearthed during the floods. One woman recalled having to 'identify' her father's body by explaining what kinds of surgeries he'd had done in his lifetime.

Aside from historic sites like Freedom Hill and the Tar River, the town of Princeville has another natural and cultural landmark: The site where enslaved men and women first arrived in Edgecombe County.

Many of the enslaved men and women arrived by boat, disembarking at a well-known bend in the Tar River – a landmark which can still be seen today in an area known as Shiloh Landing.

Freedom Hill: First town incorporated by Black men and women freed from slavery is in NC

Environmental history: Endangered Longleaf Pines contribute to flooding

To help preserve and protect their town's history, the community hosted a 'Homecoming' event on Saturday and Sunday – drawing crowds to eat local food, buy local products and learn the rich history of their community.

During the event, Ijames hosted the planting of a small, rare Longleaf Pine outside the Princeville Elementary School.

"Planting a Longleaf Pine is a simple gesture with a profound impact," he said.

Longleaf Pine forests, he said, were once a critically important part of environmental history of eastern North Carolina. These forests covered a huge percentage of the state, stretching around 90 million acres from Texas through North Carolina and into Virginia.

"One of the reasons we flood is the original forest tree has been obliterated," Ijames explains. "Pine roots go deep and soak up water. They aren't as likely to fall in a hurricane."

Now, he says, they are almost extinct.

Freedom Hill: First town incorporated by Black men and women freed from slavery is in NC

Just as we work to preserve our cultural history, he says we must preserve North Carolina's natural history.

"The two are interlinked," he says.

He encourages anyone interested in making an impact to preserve North Carolina's natural history and overall environment to plant a Longleaf Pine.

"It's a way to take an actionable step towards protecting our history," he says.

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