About this property
Free Hill (also called Free Hills) is an unincorporated community in Clay County, Tennessee, United States. It is an African American community established in 1816, before the Civil War. The original inhabitants were the freed slaves of Virginia Hill, the daughter of a wealthy North Carolina planter. After purchasing 2,000 acres (8 km2) of isolated hilly land, Hill freed her slaves and turned the property over to them. Folklore suggests that the original residents included Virginia Hill's own mulatto children. In the aftermath of the Civil War, with a logging boom pushing them economically, the residents of the nearby mainly white town of Celina began terrorizing the townspeople of Freehill, and burned down their school and church; in 1878 just before elections they drove all Black residents from the town violently. Once the Democratic party swept most of the seats in Congress, the whites holding the land were permitted by the new government to keep the stolen land and farms--one example is that of Cordell Hull, FDR's Secretary of State, whose family gained a large farm and land. At its peak, the community had about 300 residents and included two grocery stores, three clubs, two eating establishments, two churches, and a school. Today, Free Hill's population is approximately 70. The settlement's Rosenwald school was one of 354 schools for African Americans built in the early 20th century with financial support from the Julius Rosenwald Fund. The Free Hills Rosenwald School was used from approximately 1925 to 1949. The structure, which is believed to be one of only about 30 Rosenwald schools still standing, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. A small number of residents remain in Free Hill, whose population has declined since the 1960s. In September 1993 the state of Tennessee placed a historical marker on Tennessee State Route 53 to identify the community and commemorate its history. The Free Hills Community, an African-American heritage area Archived October 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Free Hills Rosenwald School
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Questions about this property
When was Free Hills Rosenwald School listed on the National Register?
Free Hills Rosenwald School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 15, 1996.
What type of historic resource is Free Hills Rosenwald School?
Free Hills Rosenwald School is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Free Hills Rosenwald School?
The period of significance for Free Hills Rosenwald School is recorded as the civil_war era, specifically around 1816.
Can I research the history near Free Hills Rosenwald School?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Free Hills Rosenwald School will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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