Freedmen’s Schoolhouse To Be Dedicated

Smithfield, NC (May 20,2026):

The Historic Smithfield Foundation will hold a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Freedmen’s Schoolhouse on Friday, June 19. The ceremony will take place at 11 am in the sanctuary of First Missionary Baptist Church, 403 Caswell Street, Smithfield. A ribbon cutting and tours of the schoolhouse will follow.

Dr. Crystal R. Sanders, a Johnston County native and descendant of freedmen who attended the school, will be the keynote speaker. She is an award-winning American historian, author, and professor who specializes in 20th-century African American history, Black women's history, civil rights history, and the history of Black education. She currently serves as an Associate Professor of African American Studies at Emory University.

The Freedmen’s Schoolhouse, located at 308 N. Fourth Street, was built by the federal Freedmen’s Bureau in 1868-1869 under the auspices of the American Missionary Association and is the only freedmen’s schoolhouse known to remain in North Carolina. The Historic Smithfield Foundation and the Johnston County Heritage Center have been collaborating for almost a decade to rehabilitate the building and interpret its history for the public. Private donations and a $250,000 grant from the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources have made the work possible.

General contractors for the project were Jason Allen of Raleigh and Steve Jancso of Clayton. Maurer Architecture of Raleigh provided architectural services.

The public is invited to the event.

Additional information about the schoolhouse and its history, including names of students, can be found online at https://www.johnstonnc.gov/freedmenschool/.

A green historical marker with white text stands on a white post next to a sidewalk in a residential area. At the top of the sign is a small, circular, black-and-white photograph of a historic wooden building. The sign details the history of a Freedmen's School built on the lot in 1868. In the background, a house with white siding and a small porch is visible, along with a green lawn and trees.

Freedmen's Schoolhouse historical site marker in Downtown Smithfield. The sign reads, "FREEDMEN'S SCHOOL, 1868. Under the auspices of the American Missionary Association, an abolitionist organization based in New York, the federal Freedmen's Bureau built a two-room schoolhouse on this lot in 1868–1869. The building was also used by the Baptist church until it was moved to an adjacent lot in 1887. It served as a school for African Americans from 1869 to 1912. ERECTED BY THE JOHNSTON COUNTY HERITAGE COMMISSION AND JOHNSTON COUNTY VISITORS BUREAU, 2019."

Dr. Crystal R. Sanders

Page last updated: May 21, 2026