📍 The Freedom Trail on Roanoke Island, NC
🌳 Opened in Manteo on June 2024 to honor the Roanoke Island Freedmen’s Colony—a Civil War–era refuge where more than 3,000 formerly enslaved people built a new beginning.
🥾 This 2.5-mile path [1.25 miles each way] winds through forest starting near the Elizabethan Gardens to Freedmen’s Point on the Croatan Sound
🕊️ 8 interpretive signs with 9 life‑sized steel silhouettes, each celebrating individuals from the colony
🔸 Annice Jackson, Marie Ferribee, Alice Ferribee – The first trio you meet. Annice led herself and her daughters to freedom and to Roanoke Island, where the girls received their first formal education.
🔸 Thomas Robinson – Born enslaved on Roanoke Island, Thomas rowed to the Union Army on Hatteras Island and shared key intel that helped plan the Battle of Roanoke Island.
🔸 London Ferebee – Escaped slavery, reunited with his father in New Bern, then came to Roanoke Island where he became a student and later an assistant teacher in the colony.
🔸 Fanny Whitney – Freed by the Union Army in Hyde County, Fanny and her family made their way to Roanoke Island.
🔸 Spencer Gallop – After working for Union forces on Roanoke Island, Spencer enlisted in the 36th U.S.C.T., becoming one of the Army’s first Black soldiers.
🔸 Sarah Freeman – A missionary teacher who opened schools and helped educate and uplift the newly freed residents of the colony.
🔸 Jimmy Banks – A young boy in the colony who was taken in by Sarah Freeman after losing his parents. He later moved with her to Indianapolis after the war.
Walk the Freedom Trail in Manteo this Juneteenth—2.5 miles of history, 9 lives honored, one path toward liberation. Every silhouette tells a story of resilience, education, service, and faith. This isn’t just a hike—it’s a living memorial. 🌿 #juneteenth
