Princeville, NC est. Feb 20, 1885

About me:

Princeville .., North Carolina is the oldest incorporated Black town in the United States. It is located in the Coastal Plain region of eastern North Carolina and lies just south of the Tar River from the county seat of Tarboro in Edgecombe County. Settled just after the Civil War in 1865, Princeville was originally called "Freedom Hill" by the freed slaves who had gathered on this Tar River flood plain seeking refuge at a Union Army camp that was located there. Throughout its history, Princeville has endured racial intimidation, economic and social isolation, and repeated flooding (e.g. 1800, 1865, 1889, 1919, 1924, 1940, and 1958), but it has steadfastly persisted as a cohesive, "all-Black" community. After the building of a levee in 1965 to prevent major flooding, the town saw many modern improvements, the expanding of its borders, a growth in population and an increase in the number of businesses. In 1999 a 500-year flood caused by Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd broke the levee and wiped out the town, bringing national attention to the historical and social significance of Princeville as a symbol of African American perseverance and self determination. Today this 98% African American town of approximately 2,100 people is rapidly rebuilding from the devastation of the flood of 1999 and is very proud of its unique place within African American heritage and United States history. This unique sense of place and solidarity among Princeville's town members, along with the destruction of physical historical documents from the flooding of its past, make it an ideal community in which to begin the preservation of oral history. ..