Gordon Chapel and the Making of a 'Black Town'

Online Exhibit: Emory University's Symposium on Slavery & Dispossession

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An Early Black Settlement

Gordon Chapel, unincorporated community of Hawthorne, Florida, Alachua County.

Introduction

...A story of freedom, land ownership, and coalescence not often heard of in the south after African American slavery …

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The Gordons: Black Pioneers

Gordon Chapel is named after the church established at the center of its settlement …

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Florida: A Young State

Free and enslaved African Americans were in Florida long before the start of the American Civil War …

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Tour

Land & Maps

The Land: Images of Gordon Chapel, Hawthorne

crystal September 19, 2021September 29, 2021

Gordon Chapel, Hawthorne, Florida. Yesterday and today. …

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Archives

Land Deeds

crystal September 19, 2021September 29, 2021

The documents tell the story.
The documents write the history …

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Archives

Gordon Chapel’s Civil War Archives

crystal September 19, 2021October 1, 2021

Tillman Gordon’s Civil War records & Elizabeth Gordon’s Civil War widow’s pension file …

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