FREEMANTOWN HISTORICAL FOUNDATION

Description

.Freemantown was founded over 150 years ago, by an enterprising man by the name of William Thomas Freeman on what is now Berry College property. William, a slave who had escaped to fight for the North in the United States Colored Troops, 44th Division during the Civil War. He received his freedom after the war and returned to Rome, GA. He purchased approximately 550 acres of land with his father, Mead Freeman, along with some of his siblings, and other families during the initial establishing of Freemantown.
From the mid-1860s to 1926, Freemantown flourished with farms, homesteads, a church-school, and a blacksmith shop. Each member possessed distinct trades and farming skills, with William Thomas Freeman passing down the blacksmithing craft to his male descendants.
Acquired by the Berry School in 1926, Freemantown now exists solely as a cemetery. Though the community is gone, its significance in Georgia's African American heritage remains. Visitors, including descendants of the original landowners, residents, and others, can explore Freemantown's history on our website: www.Freemantown.org