Shelton Descendants Historical Society

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Cheryl Freeman Snipes is the Founder and President of the Freemantown Historical Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit grassroots organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the legacy and lost heritage of historic communities. The foundation focuses particularly on the original Freemantown settlement that once stood tall and proud on land that is now part of the Berry College campus in Mt. Berry (Rome), GA.  All that remains on this land is the African American Freemantown Family Cemetery, with the earliest known burial occurring in 1893.

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Cheryl, a Freemantown descendant  of Mead, Sanford, Essex and, (William) Thomas Freeman (a veteran of the 44th U.S. Colored Infantry of the Union Army during the Civil War) the settlement's founders, established the foundation to ensure the history of this unique, post-emancipation settlement near Rome, Georgia, is never lost. Her grandfather, Everett,  instilled in her the importance of their "richness" in history—a mission she carries forward today.​

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The Journey to Freemantown

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Nearly 13 years ago, Cheryl’s then 79-year-old mother, a direct descendant of William Thomas Freeman, wanted to visit Freemantown in Rome, GA, the land on which her father was born. Cheryl, unclear on the exact location of Freemantown, began researching Rome and stumbled upon an article in the Rome Tribune newspaper. The article indicated the Berry College administration was looking for “lost descendants” of Freemantown. While there were likely descendants in the Rome area who could have responded, none did—only Cheryl, who resided near Detroit, MI.

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She contacted Berry on a Tuesday, had several telephone conversations with executive staff, and by Thursday, she had packed luggage in her car, her mother in the passenger seat, and drove to Berry College in Rome, Georgia. Once there, she engaged in a series of meetings that would forever change her life and the lives of others.

The most significant connection she made was with Sherre Harrington, the Director of the Berry College Memorial Library. Sherre had researched Meade Freeman, William Thomas Freeman, and Freemantown for some time; she provided Cheryl with extensive documentation and continues to assist Cheryl with ongoing research. even though Sherre is now retired. Cheryl, and her Mother, visited the land on which Freemantown once stood, seeing the Freeman Family Cemetery for the first time. She was shocked at its poor condition, noting it was accessible to horses stabled nearby. By the end of her visit, Cheryl had forged a partnership with Berry College and committed to ensuring that the heritage and legacy of the Freeman family at Freemantown would be preserved, protected, and promoted. Armed with new knowledge of Freemantown and the cemetery, she has done exactly that over time.

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History of Freemantown

William Thomas Freeman (aka Thomas Freeman), 23, and Henrietta Freeman, 15 (no relation), married in Milledgeville, GA, in August of 1846/1847. Both were enslaved on the plantation of farmer John R. Freeman. In the early 1850s, John R. and his family relocated to Rome, taking approximately 50 enslaved people with him, including Thomas and his family. John R. amassed 160 acres of farmable land and 450 acres of woodlands and operated ferries along the local rivers.

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In the summer of 1864, the 44th United States Colored Infantry (USCI) was stationed in and recruiting in Rome. Thomas Freeman enlisted in Company I, remaining in Rome on duty as a blacksmith. Thomas, along with hundreds of other Black infantrymen, was taken prisoner by Confederate troops. Thomas was near death when he was located and rescued by his former enslaver, John R. Freeman, in 1865.

During the Reconstruction Era, both returned to Rome, where Civil War veteran Thomas continued to blacksmith while he and Henrietta raised 12 children, and John R. Freeman farmed. In 1871, Thomas and his father, Mead, began purchasing land in the Flatwoods District (Militia District 1120). On this land, Thomas and others established Freemantown, a self-sufficient, racially mixed settlement consisting of homes, farms, a blacksmith, a general store, the Freemantown Chapel and cemetery, a school, and a host of skilled services.

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By the time of his death on April 18, 1893, Thomas Freeman owned 380 acres of land valued at $1,000, along with husbandry and blacksmithing equipment. Thomas’ estate was split amongst his wife, Henrietta, his remaining children, and his brother, Sanford. Henrietta survived on a small pension from the Army and died in August 1923.

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The flourishing of Freemantown was eventually halted by the pressures of the early 20th century. Beginning in 1916, representatives of Martha McChesney Berry, the founder of Berry College, initiated a series of land purchases from the Freeman family, culminating in the final deed of sale in April 1926. This process of institutional acquisition effectively dissolved the physical community.

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The documented narrative suggests a profound act of cultural violence accompanying the final transaction: "Oral history posits that upon the execution of the last deed of sale to Berry College in 1926, all remaining structures that comprised Freemantown were razed by the hooded night riders." The destruction of the homes, the chapel, and the store—structures that physically embodied the community's history—represents an acute form of historical erasure. The result is a total loss of visual evidence—"Not one photo exists of Freemantown as it stood before its demise"—leaving only the Freemantown Cemetery as the sole remaining physical proof of the settlement's existence on the Berry College campus.

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Current Impact & Foundation Work

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The legacy of Freemantown was brought back from the brink of total obscurity through the dedication of Cheryl. Driven by a desire to honor her grandfather's emphasis on their "richness" in history, Cheryl established the Freemantown Historical Foundation. Cheryl’s initial contact with Berry College, prompted by a serendipitous article, transformed into a formalized partnership aimed at preservation. Her work serves several critical functions:

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• Archival Preservation: By connecting with individuals like Sherre Harrington, former Director of the Berry College Memorial Library, Cheryl ensures that documented history and ongoing research are centralized, secured, and available for all to access.​

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• Community and Family Mobilization: She has successfully "brought together hundreds of William Thomas Freeman’s descendants," emphasizing combined storytelling to strengthen their collective identity and historical claim. The Freemantown Foundation hosts a family reunion at Berry College every five years. The first occurred in 2013, and the fourth reunion will occur in the summer of 2028. She also holds smaller family and community gatherings throughout the year on Zoom. Cheryl is often invited to speak about her family history and her journey to uncovering the past.

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• Restorative Justice: The foundation's dedication to preserving, protecting, and promoting the heritage of Freemantown directly challenges the historical act of erasure. By focusing on the neglected Freemantown Cemetery (described as "unkept and overgrown" and “subject to the trampling and excrement of the Berry horses” prior to intervention), Cheryl is securing racial justice for the ancestors whose memory was literally deteriorating on the land they once owned. Cheryl’s affiliation with Berry College opened the door for representatives of the nearby African American Shelton Family Cemetery to also begin a partnership with Berry College for historical and physical preservation.

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• Physical Preservation: Through her partnership with Berry, Cheryl has been able to secure fencing for the cemetery, a gazebo for quiet reflection and general use, quarterly cemetery clean-ups when necessary, and headstone cleaning and preservation. She initiated the push to secure grant funds and worked closely with the Berry College preservationist and representatives of the Shelton Family Cemetery (another pre/post-Civil War cemetery located two miles from Freemantown on the Berry campus) to secure a grant award of $50,000 from the National Grant Program of The National Trust for Historic Preservation. This resulted in becoming an awardee of the Action Fund's first cohort of the Descendant and Family Stewardship Initiative (DFS). The funds were received and controlled by Berry College and was used to conduct Ground Penetrating Radar of the cemeteries as needed, prepare a detailed preservation plan, prepare educational materials, and prepare documentation to secure the cemeteries' recognition on the National Registry of Historic Places.

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• Succession Planning: Cheryl actively recruits, engages, and mentors family members to assist her with the operation of the Freemantown Foundation, hoping she can pass the torch and ensuring the work to preserve the Freeman family history and cemetery will be continued by the descendants.

 

• ​Community Service: Cheryl still finds time to engage in meaningful community service in the area where she resides. She brings a group of descendants together approximately six times per annum to pack food boxes and deliver them to senior citizens in Detroit.

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Freemantown's story is a microcosm of the challenges faced by many successful post-Civil War Black communities: a period of extraordinary self-determination followed by systemic economic pressure and, often, violent dissolution. The physical destruction of Freemantown’s structures was an act of architectural erasure designed to wipe away evidence of Black autonomy and success.​ Cheryl’s unwavering commitment demonstrates that preservation is a powerful form of resistance.  The work of the Freemantown Historical Foundation ensures that the history, heritage, and legacy of this unique settlement are not merely remembered but actively honored, serving as an inspiration for other families seeking to reclaim their ancestral narratives from historical oblivion.

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