Dade City in Pasco County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Freedtown

Photographed by Diane Murphy

1. Freedtown Marker

Inscription. About a mile west of this location is the abandoned site of the Freedtown settlement, Pasco County's pioneer black community. It was established about 1869, by newly freed slaves, to the southwest of Lake Buddy.

Freedtown consisted of cabin homes, a congregation of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and a cemetery. The small community thrived until the Great Freeze of 1894-95, which decimated the agrarian economy of not only Freedtown, but also the other nearby lakefront communities of Pasadena and Earnestville.

Nothing remains today of Freedtown or its cemetery. Following the freeze, most of Freedtown's population migrated north and became residents of Dade City, where many united with the Mount Zion AME Church congregation.

Erected 2004 by Pasco Board of County Commissioners, Pasco County Historical Preservation Committee.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1895.

Location. 28° 17.953′ N, 82° 12.262′ W. Marker

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is in Dade City, Florida, in Pasco County. It is at the intersection of Fort King Road and Bozeman Road, on the right when traveling south on Fort King Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 10148 Fort King Rd, Dade City FL 33525, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Florida’s Gulf Coast

and on Tampa Bay.

It is also in the American South

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Pasadena Church (approx. 2.2 miles away); Prospect Community (approx. 2½ miles away); Christmas Day, 1835 (approx. 3.6 miles away); Site of Old Fort Dade (approx. 3.9 miles away); Enterprise United Methodist Church (approx. 4 miles away); As Good as Gold (approx. 4.1

Freedtown Marker with weathering image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Diane Murphy, September 2023

2. Freedtown Marker with weathering

miles away); Wallace Estill Embry (1846-1911) and Minerva Caroline “Sallie” Cooper Embry (1857-1950) (approx. 4.1 miles away); Charles Floyd Touchan, Sr. (1883-1957) and Ruth Embry “Miss Polly” Touchan (1887-1986) (approx. 4.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dade City.

Other markers no longer nearby. The Great Endurance Run (was approx. 3.4 miles away but has been confirmed missing); Hercules Powder Company Camp #39 (was approx. 3½ miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Photographed by Diane Murphy, September 2023

3. Freedtown Marker

Photographed by Diane Murphy, September 2023

4. Freedtown Marker

Photographed by Diane Murphy, September 2023

5. Freedtown Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 29, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 14, 2024, by Diane Murphy of Saint Cloud, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,339 times since then and 158 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on March 14, 2024, by Diane Murphy of Saint Cloud, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.