In 1855, Alexander and Charity Freeman, who were freed slaves, bought 99 acres of land near Myrtle Grove Sound. They were of mixed African and American Indian heritage. In an 1860 census, of 72 households, the Freemans were one of only 8 “colored” or “mulatto” households on the Federal Point peninsula. By the time of Alexander Freeman’s death, the couple had acquired 180 acres at the head of Myrtle Grove Sound.
Following Alexander Freeman’s death, his son, Robert Bruce Freeman (b. 1830) inherited the land, and parlayed the investment to become one of the largest landowners in the county. In 1876, Robert Bruce Freeman and his wife Catherine used cash to purchase 2500 acres of land from the Cape Fear River to the Atlantic Ocean, which included Gander Hall Plantation and Satgeley Abbey Plantation, which were renamed the Old Homestead. The purchase stretched along 3,450 feet of coastal waterway. Freeman had strong ties to the community, and so two major donations of land were made from the newly acquired tracts; 10 acres were given to St. Stephens AME church in Wilmington as a campground near the Cape Fear River, and the other major donation was land for a public school for colored children at Federal Point. It opened in 1877, and had 34 students led by teacher Charles M. Epps. In 1886, Freeman sold 24 acres of land, which became the northern end of Carolina Beach, to William L. Smith, which would be used to build a railroad. Freeman approved this construction in exchange for free passes for colored people on Mondays. Eventually, these passes would be revoked altogether, and black individuals would not be allowed to visit Carolina Beach except as workers for the white patrons.
Robert B. Freeman had learned the logging business, a trade he passed on to his children. He had six children with his first wife, Catherine, and 5 children with his second wife. Robert B. Freeman died in 1901, and was buried in the family cemetery which had been created on Freeman property. After his death, his youngest son by his first marriage, Ellis G. Freeman, took over the management of the family's land. Ellis Freeman obtained a $50,000 government permit to sell yellow granite, and created a profitable business carrying people out on the ocean to fish. In the 1920's, they began to develop a recreational community known as Seabreeze. During the Jim Crow years, Seabreeze was the only beach community in the state that black families could visit. When black people were forbidden from even travelling through Carolina Beach to get to Seabreeze, the family bought a boat to ferry people back and forth to the resort.
Today many members of the Freeman Family still live in the Wilmington area, and some still own the small community stores that have been in the family for generations.
References:
Henson, Elaine Blackmon. Carolina Beach. Charleston, SC. Arcadia Pub, 2007.
Reaves, Bill. “Strength through struggle”: the chronological and historical record of the African-American community in Wilmington, North Carolina 1865-1950. Wilmington, NC. New Hanover County Public Library, 1998.
Slate, Hartman. Family Album; A Series on the Cultures that Make Up the Cape Fear Region; Freeman Family Has Rich History in Region. Star-News, December 25, 1994.
