The Gullah Geechee People

The Gullah Geechee people are the descendants of Central and West Africans and they have traditionally lived along the coasts of southeastern North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and northeastern Florida. The African presence in Northeast Florida dates back to the 1500s and included people from many different African societies. The mixing of these diverse African peoples over time created the unique, creole Gullah Geechee culture which has retained many African cultural expressions. The culture has been preserved and sustained in long-standing, once-remote coastal Gullah Geechee communities like Cosmo., Many of the ancestors of the Gullah Geechee people were enslaved on the coastal rice, indigo and Sea Island cotton plantations in the region. They continued to reside in the region after Emancipation and established self-sufficient, freedmen's settlements like Cosmo. They were able to preserve many of their traditions in these isolated, close-knit communities. Evidence of Gullah Geechee culture can be found in their distinctive arts, crafts, foodways, spiritual expressions, burial practices and music. They also created their own language called "Gullah" which contains many African words., Many Gullah Geechee people became landowners after Emancipation including the men and women who helped found Cosmo. However, land development has led to the loss of family lands and displacement of Gullah Geechee people. The National Trust for Historic Places included Gullah Geechee communities on its 2004 list of historic sites at risk of being lost. The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor was subsequently created in 2006 by the U.S. Congress to help protect and recognize Gullah Geechee culture and heritage like the historic community of Cosmo. Successful historic and cultural preservation initiatives in Cosmo include the addition of the Palm Springs cemetery to the National Register of Historic Places in 2020., (captions) , Esther Napoleon Bartley ("Aunt Easter Bartley") local community ancestor once enslaved at Kingsley Plantation. She was known for her keen, quick intellect and exceptional memory, right up to her days as one of Jacksonville’s oldest citizens, living to be well over 100 years of age. (State Archives of Florida), Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters educating audiences about Gullah Geechee ring shout tradition at festival in nearby Armstrong, Florida. (Heather L. Hodges), Margaret Garrison of Jacksonville poses with one of her sweetgrass baskets. She learned sweetgrass basket making at age three. She made her baskets by coiling pine needles and sweetgrass, then sewing them with palmetto frond strips. (State Archives of Florida), A family at Kingsley Plantation on Fort George Island around 1870. (State Archives of Florida), A Gullah Geechee family in Mandarin, FL around 1890. (State Archives of Florida), Fisherman with nets on the St. Johns River in 1870. (State Archives of Florida)