Near Williamsburg in James City County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Free Black Settlement
Freedom Park
Photographed by Brandon D Cross, June 21, 2023
1. Free Black Settlement Marker
William Ludwell Lee of Green Spring Farm died in 1803. A year earlier he had written his will and bequeathed freedom to his slaves. He specified that comfortable homes be built for them on "the Hotwaters," a subsidiary farm about four miles north of Green Spring. Soon after his death, his executor began building houses for the former slaves.
On this site, three reconstructed cabins draw upon historical and archaeological research to yield a sense of what life was like for the men, women and children who lived here between 1804 and 1860. They also offer insight into the rigors of everyday life and the economic hardships that James City County's free Blacks experienced nearly 60 years before President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
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Slave quarters on a plantation, possibly Beaufort, South Carolina., c. 1862. Library of Congress
Map of New Kent, Charles City, James City and York Counties and detail, Colonel J.F. Gilmer, Chief Engineer. Library of Congress
Hot Water resident Delaware Brown, c. 1894. Courtesy Col. Lafayette Jones, Jr.
Reconstructed slave cabin, Booker T. Washington National Monument. Virginia Department of Historic Resources
Erected by Freedom Park.
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Location. 37° 19.077′ N, 76° 47.969′ W. Marker is near Williamsburg, Virginia, in James City County. It can be reached from Hotwater Trail one mile west of Centerville Road (Virginia Route 614), on the left when traveling west. This marker is located on the grounds of Freedom Park within the Free Black Settlement section. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5537 Centerville Road, Williamsburg VA 23188, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Peninsula, in Coastal Virginia, and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Tidewater. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Jackson Home (within shouting distance of this marker); Brown Home (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lightfoot Home (about 400 feet away); Welcome to Freedom Park (about 500 feet away); Engagement at Spencer's Ordinary (about 500 feet away); Welcome to the Hot Water Tract (about 600 feet away); Archaeological Analysis of Hot Water Tract (approx. 0.2 miles away); Timeline of the Hot Water Tract (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Williamsburg.
Another marker is no longer nearby.
Photographed by Brandon D Cross, June 21, 2023
2. Free Black Settlement Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on July 25, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 22, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,208 times since then and 96 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 22, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
