African-American Heritage Trail
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African Americans have been part of American history for many centuries,
with reports of free and enslaved Africans traveling to the Americas as early
as the 1400s. It has been a fraught, tumultuous, and difficult history but one
that also stands as testimony to the power of perseverance and the strength of
the human spirit.
Local African American history begins, as it does throughout the South, with
slavery. Slavery was already present in Bartow County – originally Cass County
– when it was chartered in 1832. Cotton and agriculture were the primary
economic drivers but enslaved laborers were also used in the timber, mining,
railroad, and iron industries. After emancipation, a strong African American
community emerged, which worked to support and empower its members even
as they collectively faced the pressures of Jim Crow laws in the segregationist
South. Many of the families that established themselves in Bartow County
during that time remain here today and have dedicated themselves to preserving
that same legacy of community support and empowerment.
What this brochure hopes to make clear, is that one cannot fully consider
the history of Bartow County without understanding the history of its
African American citizens. This history has been found embedded in the
stories of individuals who witnessed its unfolding. It has been found in the
historical record, a trail of breadcrumbs left by those who bought land, built
businesses, and established themselves in spite of staggering odds. It has been
found in the recollections of those who left Bartow County in search of a
better life, and it has been found in struggles and achievements of those who
stayed. This brochure is an effort to introduce what is known and share what
has been discovered. It is not the definitive guide, but rather, a starting point
for further research as the body of work on local African American history
continues to grow.