Lewis Freeman House
By Skylar Donner, Spencer Ordoñez, and Ari Verinder
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Introduction
Introduction
Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the enslavement of Africans was a common practice throughout the United States, particularly in the South. In Chatham County, North Carolina, the institution of slavery was recognized as the first census was taken in the year 1790. The population was recorded as 9,221 people, with 310 slave-owners owning 1,632 slaves [1]. Although slavery was, unfortunately, a normalized institution during the 17th and 19th centuries, some slaves were able to escape or free themselves from slavery and promote a better life for themselves.
George Moses Horton.
Courtesy of My Poetic Side.
Most Chatham County natives are aware of the story of George Moses Horton, an influential poet that was enslaved during the 1800s. As a slave, Horton did not have much of an education, so he had to teach himself how to read little bits of poetry and compose verses in his head. Horton would compose poems about the landscape, love and romance, and his life as a slave. In Chatham County, he is considered the historic Poet Laureate and has a school named after him [2].
Lewis Freeman
Lewis Freeman
Fewer Chatham County natives are familiar with the story of Lewis Freeman. Freeman was a free black man who lived in Pittsboro, North Carolina from the late 1700s to the mid-1800s. Unlike many other black men during this time, Freeman either born free, or at some point able to purchase or earn his freedom [3]. Due to his incredible achievements, Lewis Freeman is a prominent historical figure in Pittsboro.
Historians are unsure of how it was possible, but Freeman was able to purchase and own over 20 acres of land. He built his own house on his land in 1811, located in the heart of downtown Pittsboro. The house, now known as the Lewis Freeman House, was one of the first buildings in the town of Pittsboro. Along with being one of the first houses, it is now considered one of the four remaining historical buildings from Pittsboro’s initial settlement.
Although Freeman was not a slave, free black men could not own slaves due to North Carolina law; however, white businessmen trusted him enough to purchase slaves, an opportunity that was extremely rare during this time. With this privilege, Freeman was able to buy his own family out of slavery [4].
Newspaper advertisement of a Slave Auction.
Courtesy of The Raleigh Register.
It is known that Lewis Freeman purchased his wife and several children, but it is unknown exactly how many children he had. After buying his wife out of slavery, Freeman bought his son and sent him up North in an attempt to permanently free him from slavery. In doing so, this meant Freeman would not be able to see his son again – this was due to the risk of his son being re-enslaved if returning to the South [5]. After purchasing his family out of slavery, Lewis Freeman intended to pass his property to his wife and children, but this somehow failed. Instead of his family obtaining his property, the legal executor of Lewis’ will ended up owning the property [6].
Image of Robert C. Weaver featured on the cover of Time Magazine. Courtesy of The Chatham News and Record.
From the 1990s to 2010s, later generations of the Freeman family started discovering more about Lewis Freeman, some family members only hearing of him recently. Lewis Freeman’s descendants have accomplished numerous achievements. Robert T. Freeman, Lewis’ grandson, became the first African-American dentist in the United States. Robert C. Weaver, Lewis’ great-great-grandson, became the first Black American to serve in the United States presidential cabinet; he served as the first-ever Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which was established in 1965. Dr. Harold Freeman, Lewis’ great-great-great-grandson, was appointed the head of the American Cancer Society in 1988 and served as chairman of the President’s Cancer Panel for Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush [7].
Later Owners of the Property
Later Owners of the Property
Throughout its 200-year existence, the famed Lewis Freeman home has had many different owners. The contracts were lost after Freeman's death, and it was unknown who owned the home until Reverend Mathias Marshall bought it in 1872. Marshall held the house until Laura Morgan, his half-sister, acquired it from him in 1906. Laura's son and daughter-in-law had resided at the house until they died in 1979. The home was thereafter purchased and resided in by Jane Pyle, a historian, who also ran a small printing business from it [8]. According to Hobbs Architects, the current Lewis Freeman house is built in a Victorian style.
Oldest known photograph taken of the Lewis Freeman House.
Courtesy of Grimsley Hobbs.
Hobbs Architects
Hobbs Architects
Hobbs Architects, a local Chatham County architectural firm, has owned and operated in the Lewis Freeman residence since 2014. It was listed by the National Register of Historic Places before being sold to Hobbs Architects by Jane Pyle. Hobbs Architects opted to turn it into a walk-in archive museum and office.
Newest Renovation of Cabin.
Courtesy of Pittsboro Walking Tour Research.
Hobbs Architects additionally bought and relocated a cabin from the same era behind the Lewis Freeman House, remodeling the inside to use as a meeting space. The cabin on the site that Hobbs Architects utilizes as a conference room comes from Alamance County and was once owned by the Chatham County Historical Association before being sold to Hobbs Architects [9].
Jane Pyle's firm, Salisbury Pyle Inc., gave land to the Town of Pittsboro to be turned into a public park. The proposed park will be known as the Lewis Freeman Historical Park, after Lewis Freeman, who once owned the property it presently occupies.
Legacy
Legacy
In 2009, the Chatham County Historical Association initiated a walking tour of historical sites in Pittsboro, with one of the sites being the Lewis Freeman house. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Most recent photo of the updated and renovated Lewis Freeman House. Courtesy of Pittsboro Walking Tour Research.
Mr. Grimsley Hobbs, owner of Hobbs Architects, has expressed his appreciation of Lewis Freeman. “I feel Lewis Freeman's spirit in the house and appreciate it more for that reason,” Hobbs said [10]. The Freeman house is a significant part of Pittsboro today as it serves as a historical site and current office for one of the largest architectural businesses in Chatham County.
Sources Cited
Sources Cited
Hadley, Wade Hampton, Doris Goerch Horton, and Nell Craig Strowd. Chatham County, 1771-1971. Lillington, NC: Edwards Brothers, 1997.
“George Moses Horton Poems > My Poetic Side.” My Poetic Side. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://mypoeticside.com/poets/george-moses-horton-poems.
“Hobbs Architects • Lewis Freeman House • Historic Renovation.” n.d. Hobbs Architects. https://www.hobbsarchitects.com/projects/lewis-freeman-house
Mann, Casey. “Pittsboro Park to Honor 'Free Man' Lewis Freeman: Early Black Settler's Legacy Alive 200 Years Later.” The Chatham News + Record. The Chatham News + Record, May 13, 2020. https://www.chathamnewsrecord.com/stories/pittsboro-park-to-honor-free-man-lewis-freeman,4654.
“Uncovering a Free Black Man’s Past: Buying a Slave to Unite His Family,” Ancestry Blog, October 24, 2014, https://blogs.ancestry.com/cm/uncovering-a-free-black-mans-past-buying-a-slave-to-unite-his-family/.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
“Hobbs Architects • Lewis Freeman House • Historic Renovation.” Accessed February 18, 2022. https://www.hobbsarchitects.com/projects/lewis-freeman-house.
Donner, Skylar, Ari Verinder, and Spencer Ordonez. Grimsley Hobbs Interview. Personal, March 4, 2022.
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For Further Information
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