Port Orange in Volusia County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

The “Freemanville” Settlement

Photographed by AGS Media, July 31, 2011

1. The “Freemanville” Settlement Marker

Inscription. Founded soon after the U.S. Civil War, the settlement that would become “Freemanville” was established by Dr. John Milton Hawks, an abolitionist and Union Army surgeon, along with other Union Army officers and the Florida Land & Lumber Company. In 1866, roughly 500 former slaves, many of whom had fought for the Union during the war, and their families initially settled here. An additional 1,000 freed slaves would arrive via steamboats in the following months. Of the 3,000 blacks that made Florida their home, roughly half settled near the Halifax River, thus making this area the most populous in Volusia County at that time. In 1867, Dr. Hawks named the settlement Port Orange. Due to harsh farming conditions and poor supplies, the settlement, the Florida Land & Lumber Company, and the integrated school, disbanded in 1869. Many of the settlers returned to their home states or headed for area citrus groves looking for work. However, a few of those original freed slaves stayed. Over time, the settlement became known as “Freemanville.” Mt. Moriah Baptist Church is the last remaining structure from the

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pioneering African-American community in Port Orange known simply as Freemanville.

Erected 2002 by the City of Port Orange and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-467.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1866.

Location. 29° 8.968′ N, 80° 59.42′ W. Marker is in Port Orange, Florida, in Volusia County. It is on South Ridgewood Avenue (U.S. 1) north of West Ocean Avenue, on the right when traveling north. The marker is just north of the entrance to Riverside Pavilion Park, a public park of the City of Port Orange. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3431 South Ridgewood Avenue, Daytona Beach FL 32119, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Florida’s First Coast.

It is also in the American South

and on the Eastern Seaboard. 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,

Photographed by AGS Media, July 31, 2011

2. The “Freemanville” Settlement Marker

Seen along U.S. Route 1

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 one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Sands Fish & Oyster Company (approx. 0.2 miles away); Grace Episcopal Church (approx. 0.6 miles away); Working (approx. 1.1 miles away); The Roof (approx. 1.1 miles away); Telling Dunlawton's Stories (approx. 1.1 miles away); Living on the Edge (approx. 1.1 miles away); From the Boardwalk (approx. 1.1 miles away); The Most Dangerous Chieftain (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Port Orange.

More about this marker. The marker is capped with the Florida Historical Marker Program logo.

Mt. Moriah Baptist Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by AGS Media, August 1, 2011

3. Mt. Moriah Baptist Church

The church, established in 1911, is several hundred feet west of the historical marker, along Orange Avenue. The church building is the last remaining structure from the Freemanville days.

Entrance to Riverside Pavilion Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed by AGS Media, July 31, 2011

4. Entrance to Riverside Pavilion Park

The marker is just north of this sign, behind the trees.

The Halifax River image. Click for full size.

Photographed by AGS Media, July 31, 2011

5. The Halifax River

Along this shore was founded Port Orange and the Freemanville community.

The Port Orange Florida East Coast Railway Freight Depot image. Click for full size.

Photographed by AGS Media, August 1, 2011

6. The Port Orange Florida East Coast Railway Freight Depot

About 650 meters to the southwest is FEC building #245, today used by a plumbing supply company. The Port Orange depot, erected in 1894, was listed with the National Register of Historical Places in 1998 (# 98000057).

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on August 2, 2011, by Glenn Sheffield of Tampa, Florida. This page has been viewed 5,308 times since then and 237 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on August 2, 2011, by Glenn Sheffield of Tampa, Florida. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.