Lewis Quarters

Lewis Quarters. . , In 1860, 110 West Africans endured a harrowing Atlantic journey to Mobile Bay aboard the Clotilda, the last US ship to transport enslaved Africans. , As many as seven died at sea. The voyage was orchestrated by Timothy Meaher, who commissioned Capt. William Foster to smuggle the human cargo into Alabama despite an 1808 international ban. Survivors were hidden upriver before being sold to plantations in several Alabama counties. After their 1865 emancipation, many Clotilda survivors forged their own communities: Africatown and Lewis Quarters. , , On April 5, 1870, four Clotilda survivors and three American-born freedpeople. Some of whom had been enslaved by Col. Thomas Buford bought this seven-acre parcel of land for $200. It was purchased from former Confederate Sqt. Hiram Mounger Posey who was Buford's stepson, and his sister Ella E. Posey and S. Hooks. The Clotilda survivors who took part in the transaction were Charlie Lewis and his wife Maggie, Africatown doctor Jabez Shade and his wife Polly. They were the first Clotilda survivors to possess their own land. Joining in the purchase were Lucy Wilson, Horrace Ely, and his wife Matilda. Residents named the property Lewis Quarters. , The residents surrounding Africatown adapted their ancestral music and prayers, built homes collectively, and embraced Christianity. Clotilda survivor Charlie Lewis, a Yoruban culture preserver and elder co-judge, enacted laws, farmed, and taught entrepreneurship to his daughters Martha and Mary, who sold his vegetable crops in town. Initially laboring for poverty wages at Timothy Meaher's sawmill, Lewis eventually became the wealthiest townsman, known for his repair skills and ability to foster harmonious relationships. The Lewis Quarters community soon included fellow Clotilda survivors Anthony Thomas, Uriba Riggins, and their partners Ellen and Bill. , Before the violent end of Reconstruction, many original residents of the community participated in civic affairs. During the racially charged 1868 election, five male residents of Africatown and Lewis Quarters, including Charlie Lewis, defeated efforts by Timothy Meaher and others to prevent them from voting. Each paid their $1 poll tax and cast their ballots. They applied for citizenship later that year. Descendants of the first Lewis Quarters residents proudly remain in the community today.