Facilities

The Property

The future Lewis Freeman Historic Park sits on a small but lovely one third of an acre property along Rectory Street between West Salisbury Street and West Street. It is currently in the conceptual design phase of development. The site features a grassy lawn with mature Black Walnut trees, a bamboo thicket and a sinuous creek.

The History

So what's the historic aspect of this park and who was Lewis Freeman? Lewis Freeman was the first recorded and most prosperous free black settler in Pittsboro. He was born in the late 1700s and passed away in 1845. He lived in one of four surviving homes from the original settlement, and owned sixteen parcels within the town, including most of the entire block containing the park. He owned about twenty additional acres throughout Chatham County.

Reference Articles

• Lewis Freeman House: Wikipedia entry for the Lewis Freeman House, now on the National Historic Register. It provides concise background information.
• Photo Gallery
• Uncovering a Free Black Man’s Past: Buying a Slave to Unite His Family HuffPost Blog Article by Henry Lewis Gates Jr. & Anne Gillespie Mitchell
• Walk Score and Travel Time Map: How long would it take to walk or bike to this park?

Related Documents

• Black Chathamites (PDF) - Making a Difference Brief biographical sketches of a number of prominent black Chathamites were compiled by Delphine Womack and Joyce Cotten for a display at the 2017 Horton School Reunion. The information for the sketches comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, the Horton Yearbook, Internet sources, Chatham County Historical Association records, funeral programs, and books. All of the individuals described were either born in Chatham, received their education in the county, or lived later in life in Chatham. Includes a page about Lewis Freeman.
• Stakeholder Meeting 1 (PDF) - Agenda From June 12, 2019 Stakeholders Meeting held at Pittsboro Baptist Church
• 07-22-2019 Site Analysis Access and Natural Features (PDF)
• 07-22-2019 Site Analysis (PDF)
• 07-22-2019 Site Analysis Surrounding Context (PDF)
• 07-22-2019 Site Analysis Zoning Analysis (PDF)
• A Synopsis of Aspirations of the Park from the Stakeholder Meeting of July 22, 2019 (PDF)
• 09-19-2019 Conceptual Bubble Diagrams (PDF)
• 09-19-2019 Design Concepts (PDF)
• 09-19-2019 Synthesis Concept with Salisbury Street Access (PDF)