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History, Reconstruction, 1869-1875
Written by Mrs. Susie Marshall
"Black schools in the
county were taught by black teachers. Alexander Phillips taught at the
Oxford Female Colored School in 1874-75 and received a wage of $50.00. Other
teachers included Joseph Phillips, George Humphries, Emma Webster, and Henry
Brothers.
The area of Oxford between North 7th Street and 5th
Street extending south from Price to Jackson Avenue was originally called
Freemantown. Oral tradition says that the area was sold to freed slaves
after the Civil War and became known as Freemantown. By the turn of the
century, small houses dotted the area, each with a small garden and often
livestock such as pigs, chickens and cows. Water was furnished from cisterns
and wells. The original 7th Street was dirt, becoming gravel with
the use of cars, then rough pavement about 1939. Freemantown was a small
African-American community with churches, schools, stores and businesses.
Second Baptist's Church stands on the south edge near the site of former
Mama Nance’s (Nancy Humphrey’s) grocery store. Bird Kirkland ran his
blacksmith business nearby, shoeing horses and fixing wagon wheels. In 1974,
Freemantown underwent Urban Renewal which created wider streets and new
housing for many of the residents. On August 5, 1996 the historical
marker for Freedmen Town was placed by the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History.”
History, page four |
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