Fort Raleigh National Historic Site opens new Freedom Trail exhibit on National Trails Day, June 1

The permanent trail exhibits bring the people of the Roanoke Island Freedman’s Colony to life.

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (Fort Raleigh) and the Dare County Trails Commission will celebrate National Trails Day, June 1, 2024, by unveiling newly installed educational exhibits along Fort Raleigh’s Freedom Trail.

Roanoke Island was a place of community for thousands of freedom seekers during the Civil War. Following the island’s occupation by Union forces in 1862, it became a haven for African American families throughout the region. Their presence prompted the Union army to establish a Freedman’s Colony on the northern end of Roanoke Island.

The new exhibits along the 2.5-mile roundtrip Freedom Trail include eight educational signs highlighting the hardships and triumphs experienced by the formerly enslaved and missionary teachers at the Freedman’s Colony on Roanoke Island. Nine life-sized steel silhouettes accompany the signs throughout the trail. These exhibits, brought together through original research and community connections, are the first to bring personal narratives about the Freedman’s Colony to Fort Raleigh.

Freedom Trail Event Details

• Date: Saturday, June 1, 2024
• Time: 9 a.m.
• Location: Freedman’s Point, the parking lot at the base of the William B. Umstead Bridge, also known as the Old Manns Harbor Bridge.
• Description: Brief remarks about the project and National Trails Day will kick off the event, followed by a ranger-led walk highlighting each sign and the original research for each highlighted historical individual.

In addition to hours of research on the Freedman’s Colony by Fort Raleigh staff and volunteers, community and national organizations and individuals also contributed to the exhibits.

Grant assistance for the exhibits came from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the National Park Foundation, the Underground Railroad-Network to Freedom and Outer Banks Forever. The Pea Island Preservation Society, Outer Banks History Center, University of Notre Dame, Sonja Griffin Evans and others provided research and support throughout the project.