Reflections: Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network, 2017 December

Volume XIV, No. 3 December 2017
Ieshia Hall, African American Programs Assistant
Historic Preservation Division
Watch Night: Gullah Tradition Reenacts Transition to Freedom
newly freed Africans began to
create their own communities
and congregations that
continue to participate in
Watch Night. Over the
decades these celebrations
have become a part of the rich
Gullah Geechee heritage that
black churches and institutions
have kept alive 2
.
Gullah Geechee families and
congregations still celebrate
Watch Night as a way to
remember their ancestors and
to celebrate renewal. Charlotte
Dunn grew up within the
Gullah Geechee (GUGE)
Culture Heritage Corridor of
the southeast. She witnessed
Watch Night as a child and
participates in the annual service now as an adult. Mrs.
Dunn explains the tradition: “[W]hen four men would
go to each corner of the church, the pastor would call
out, ‘Watchman, Watchman, tell me the hour.’ And the
watchmen would call out the time. During this period, the
congregation is on its knees in the dark praying.”3
When it is close to midnight, Mrs. Dunn said the lights are
turned off and the congregation is silent until the passing
of midnight. At midnight, the lights are turned on marking
the congregation’s passage from the darkness into the light,
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
Abraham Lincoln’s
Emancipation
Proclamation was
recognized by the enslaved
as a turning point in their
history. They saw it as the
fulfillment of their hope
to no longer be bound and
treated as objects but as free
human beings in a country
founded on freedom and
liberty for the common man.
With the issuance of the
preliminary proclamation in
September 1862, the news of
freedom spread quickly. On
December 31, 1862 enslaved
Africans gathered in cabins,
praise houses, churches, and
meeting halls to pray.1

Some historians report that those enslaved on Georgia’s
coast were some of the first to receive news of emancipation.
They gathered that night to witness to the coming of a
freedom for which they hoped for hundreds of years.
Once the Civil War ended and freedom had been granted, the
1 Smith, Frank O. & Donna Healey, Ph.D., Watch Night& The
Emancipation Proclamation: Gullah Geechee Culture Heritage
Corridor Commission Lays Plans for Linked Observances, (John
Island: Waiting for the Hour, 2012), p.1.
Watch Night Meeting, Dec. 31, 1862: Waiting for the Hour
Source: Library of Congress
2
Watch Night: Gullah Tradition Reenacts Transition to History
outgoing GUGE Commission Executive Director. “And
understanding how a people who couldn’t read rejoiced
that they were going in to a new era is important part of
understanding how significant it is today that we can see
visions and make them come true.” 5
The GUGE Cultural Heritage Corridor extends from
Pender County, NC, to St. Johns County, FL, and 30 miles
inland. It is home to one of America’s most unique cultures,
shaped by captive Africans brought to the southern United
States from West Africa and continued in later generations
by their descendants.6
The corridor is a National Heritage
Area designated by Congress in 2006 to recognize the
important contributions made by African Americans known
as Gullah Geechee to American culture and history.
The 12-member GUGE Cultural Heritage Corridor
Commission administers the corridor management plan and
assists governments, and public and private entities with
interpreting the Gullah Geechee story, promoting the living
culture, as well as preserving associated sites and artifacts
for the education and benefit of the public. Heather Hodges
is the new Executive Director for the GUGE Corridor. She
assumed her duties this fall.
For more information on the corridor-wide celebration
or to share your Gullah Geechee traditions, visit www.
gullahgeecheecorridor.org or call 843 818 4587.

Imagine carving out a life of hope, filled with new political
5 [EK Productions] (2016) Gullah Geechee Watch Night/Emancipation Day Celebration—Herman Blake Interview (3:34 to 4:07)
[Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.gullahgeecheecorridor.
org/
6 Gullah Geechee: A Unique African American Culture, National
Park Service website, accessed November 21 2017 https://www.
nps.gov/guge/index.htm
Ieshia Hall, continued from page 1
from the old year to the new.” While the ritual of turning
on and off the lights symbolizes the changing of a year, it
also reenacts the final moments when ancestors watched
quietly, through the night for word of the Emancipation
Proclamation, for when they would pass from being
slaves to being free in the United States. 4

Today, Watch Night is celebrated on New Year’s Eve
by many church congregations in the South as well as
black churches across the United States; however, its
association with enslavement and the Emancipation
Proclamation have been lost for many. The oral transfer
of traditions allows the Gullah Geechee to understand
the origin of Watch Night and its significance to African
American culture.
So this year, the GUGE commission is calling on
leaders and individuals from the faith communities of all
denominations throughout the corridor to sponsor Watch
Night and/or Emancipation Day Celebrations within
churches and communities and to tell the story of the
ancestors emerging from the darkness of bondage into the
light of freedom.
The GUGE Culture Heritage Corridor-wide celebration
of the 155th anniversary of the first Emancipation day
(January 1, 1863) is set for Sunday, December 31,
2017 and/or Monday, January 1, 2018. This effort
will facilitate wider acknowledgement, engagement,
appreciation, and application of tradition and history
in our modern world, while strengthening the
interconnectedness of communities from which these
customs and traditions flow.
“ Today, we have all sorts of challenges as we seek
to reconcile our history.” said Dr. Herman Blake,
4 Ibid.
3
The Thompson Farms: An Augusta-Richmond County Treasure Discovered
Joyce Law, Program Manager
Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History, Augusta
and economic opportunities after Emancipation. Charles
Crosby migrated to Augusta from South Carolina. In 1866
he purchased the horse named “Stonewall” from the federal
government. Crosby’s assets as a property owner appear
as early as 1870 in the Georgia Tax Digest and the federal
census. Family history state he took a wife, Cherry Crosby.
In 1875 Georgia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals awarded drayman Charles Crosby the first prize
of $10.00 for Best Kept Horse. And so, a family legacy
began.
John Ann Crosby (also recorded
as JoAnn), niece of Charles
Crosby born in 1862, was reared
in Charles Crosby’s home since
early childhood. Miss Crosby and
her descendants helped establish
a larger farming property in a
more distant sector of the county.
Miss Crosby married John
Thompson, a semi-professional
baseball player who migrated
from Atlanta to Augusta on
May 27, 1884. By 1898, the
former athlete had garnered
a sterling business reputation
as a drayman/farmer and,
according to family history, was
known to “speak his mind.”
From his capital resources in
dray transportation, he began
Thompson Farms on property
approximately nine miles from
the city center.
The city of Augusta experienced
a series of devastating floods in
the late 19th century and early
20th century. In 1908, John Thompson was one of three
black men appointed to serve on the special committee for
swamp relief. 7 Well-known community leaders Rev. C.T.
Walker and Rev. Silas X. Floyd were the other appointees.
In a 1921 article, The Augusta Chronicle described John
Thompson as “a worthy colored farmer…. ‘clearing’ up
some land, nine miles out… the first time any land has
7 “CAPT Huguet Helps Down the River”, The Augusta Chronicle
(Augusta GA), September 15, 1908, p.3.
been cleared in this vicinity since slavery times.” 8
This
virgin land, now wholly productive, in the easternmost sector
of the county becomes the domain of the Thompson legacy.
Family records report John and John Ann had four children:
Beatrice Thompson Oliver (1885-1959), Charles (1890-1941),
Harold D. (1893-1963) and brother Edwin Fletcher Thompson
(1895-1976). Mrs.Thompson astutely served as general
business manager of Thompson Farms; their sons Charles and
Harold divided responsibilities between the dray and farm
operations. Their older daughter Beatrice and youngest son
Edwin pursued medical careers in the northeast.
John Thompson was
a member of the nowdefunct Congregational
Church on Gwinnett
Street (now Laney-Walker
Blvd) in Augusta. Mrs.
Thompson is noted as a
member of Union Baptist
Church, a daughter
congregation of historic
Springfield Baptist
Church. Thompson was
a charter members of the
Augusta Chapter of the
NAACP along with other
business and community
leaders such as Rev.
Thomas Dwelle, pastor of
Union Baptist Church.
Harold D. Thompson married Sara Evans and had two sons,
Harold Jr. and Charles A. (named in honor of his paternal
uncle) to whom they passed the farming tradition. Harold Sr.
passed in 1963; Sara passed in 2009. Through an unbroken
succession of family ownership and steady acquisition of new
tracts, Thompson Farms encompass more than 1,700 acres. In
1984, the Augusta Black History Committee honored Harold
Jr. and Charles A. Thompson for continuing “ the same
profession or business as their ancestors.”
Thompson Farms is recognized by the Augusta-Richmond
County Georgia Extension Service as the largest commercial
commodity farm operation in Augusta-Richmond County,
producing corn, oats, rye, wheat, and peas in the region.
8 “Talking It Over”, The Augusta Chronicle, March 6, 1921, p.6.
John Ann Crosby
Thompson, 1862-1947
Courtesy of Thompson
Family
John S. Thompson
1876-1927
Courtesy of Thompson
Family
Charles A. Thompson points to
his grandfathers name in the 1917
Augusta NAACP charter roster
Courtesy Lucy Craft Laney Museum
4
Lest We Forget: In Search of Georgia’s WW I Black Soldiers
Georgia played a significant role during America’s
participation in World War I (1917-18). It was home
to more training camps than any other state and (by the
war’s end) it had contributed more than 100,000 men
and women to the war effort. Georgia had five major
federal military installations when the US entered the war.
Georgians also suffered from the effects of the influenza
pandemic, the tragic Otranto
maritime disaster, local political
fights, and wartime home-front
restrictions. 1
Historic records report close
to 380,000 African American
men would be inducted into
the United States army, with
200,000 serving in Europe and
a little more than 40,000 seeing
combat at the frontlines.2

The ecomonic impacts of the
war and the domestic politics
of the Progressive era of 20th
century increased the already
odious environment of racial
prejudice that empowered white Americans to abuse
African Americans at will, further denying the promises of
democracy to a segment of the population that lacked the
protections guaranteed by the Constitution of the United
States.3
Responding to the growing popularity of the film, The
Birth of a Nation (1915), the preeminent historian,
William Edward Burghart Du Bois painted a bleak
portrait of the future for race relations in America.
And Du Bois was correct in his assessment; incidents of
racial violence and the lynching of blacks would increase
both during and after World War I (WWI). 4

1 World War I in Georgia by Todd Womack, the New Georgia
Encyclopedia, original post July 28, 2005; http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/georgia-ww1-history-page.html
2 African American Soldiers (USA) by Pellom McDaniels III, International Encyclopedia of the first World War
1914-1918 online, updated post October 8, 2014 https://
encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/african_american_
soldiers_usa
3 Ibid.
4 Opinions: The Slanderous Film, in: The Crisis, Nov 2 (1915),
U.S. Congress voted to declare war on Germany in April
1917. Shortly after, President Wilson approved the Selective
Draft Act on May 18, 1917 to sustain an army capable of
defeating Germany, requiring all eligible men, ages twentyone to thirty to register for the draft.
However, many white men in Georgia sought to prevent
black men from being drafted. Some land-owning whites in
1917 refused to allow their black sharecroppers to register for
the draft or to report for duty once they had been called.
Many black men were arrested and placed in camp stockades
for not heeding draft notices that they had never received
from landowners. For most of the war, local draft boards
“resisted sending healthy and hard-working black males”
because they were needed in the cotton fields and by the
naval stores industry.5
~
World War I has been called “The Forgotten War,” and Black
soldiers were truly forgotten participants in this forgotten war
one hundred years ago. This article describes efforts during
this centennial anniversary of the U.S. involvement in the war
(1917-1918) that are being made in Georgia to correct this
omission and to remember their names.
pp. 76-77.
5 Ibid.
Lamar Veatch,Ph.D. Heritage Associate
The Georgia WWI Centennial Commission
with an introduction and case study from compiled sources
Eugene Bullard, native of
Columbus Georgia
Wikipedia.org
Sharecroppers in Bulloch County
New Georgia Encyclopedia/ www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
5
He was assigned to Company C of the 325th Field Signal
Battalion, 92nd Division. The 325th is noted as the first
all-Black signal unit in the U.S. Army and the only Black
signal unit to serve in World War I. 6
After the war, he
graduated from Meharry School of Medicine’s Dental
College and practiced in Philadelphia, PA. Thompson also
served five non-consecutive terms as a Pennsylvania state
representative. Upon news of his father’s failing health,
Dr. Thompson closed his private practice and returned to
Augusta in the early 1960s to assist with farm operations.
There, he died in 1976.
Very significantly, another source of African-American
casualty names are the Adjutant General’s Georgia
Death Cards. These are the original military records that
document soldiers’ deaths, and these provide very accurate
historical information that is now being added to this
public-access “Database” on the Commission’s website.
http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/georgiamemorial-database.html
The second source of African-American names are from
inscriptions. As part of a national effort to find and
document all of the WW1 monuments throughout the
United States during these Centennial years, the Georgia
Commission has been photographing and listing Georgia’s
veterans memorials and monuments. These photos and
descriptions of over 150 memorials may be found on the
Commission’s website.
http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/
monuments-memorials-historic-sites.html
6 Williams, Charles H. Sidelights On Negro Soldiers, B.J. Brimmer
Company, Boston 1923.
The Georgia WW1 Centennial Commission was established
by the Georgia General Assembly in 2015. Affiliated with
the United State WW1 Centennial Commission that was
established by Congress in 2013, this state commission is
charged with “honoring, educating, and commemorating”
the role that Georgia and Georgian’s played in this war that
really changed everything. This year (2017) marks the 100
year anniversary of America’s entrance into the Great War.
Just after World War I officially ended on November 11,
1918, there were efforts to memorialize those that died
in service during the war. These took two forms – books
and documents that provided a written record and local
inscribed stone monuments and brass plaques. The
Centennial Commission determined that by “collecting”
these items and recording the names for posterity, those that
died would be honored and commemorated.
One of the first listings of war dead from Georgia to
be published was The Georgia State Memorial Book –
Adopted as the Official Record by the Military Department
– State of Georgia – 1921. This book, published by a
company outside of Georgia, provides a photograph and
brief notation for some 1,200 Georgia soldiers that died in
service during this war. While only white soldiers were
included in this “official” 1921 book, this list became the
start of the Commission’s “Georgia Memorial Database.”

Fortunately, there were other lists produced soon that did
contain the names and information for Black soldiers that
died in service. The Georgia Dept. of Veterans Service
(GDVS) developed such a listing. An additional 700 names
were added to the “Database” from this GDVS list, with
many of these being Georgia’s Black soldiers.
Researchers in Augusta were able to confirm the WWI
service of Edwin Fletcher Thompson, D.D.S. using the
Georgia World War I Service
Cards, 1917-1919 and U.S.
Army Transport Service
Passenger List 1910-1939.
Dr. Thompson does not have
a military tombstone at his
final resting place in Cedar
Grove Cemetery, however
his family tells of his time in
the Great War. It was found
that Dr. Thompson served in
France as a private first class
from June 10, 1918 through
February 27, 1919.
Hart County Soldiers Memorial also lists “Colored” soldiers.
Erected in June 1922, Hartwell, GA
Lamar Veatch/ Georgia WWI Centennial Commission
Edwin Fletcher Thompson
Pennsylvania General Assembly
6
Lest We Forget: In Search of Georgia’s WW I Black Soldiers
Lamar Veatch, continued from page 4
These local monuments, memorials, and plaques are proving
to be valuable for names of the African-Americans who died
in WW1. This is because some local communities who have
honored their war dead with lasting tributes included listings
for both white and black soldiers.
One of the earliest monuments erected in Georgia is in
Fairburn. Unveiled in May, 1919, it is inscribed with a
“Colored” listing of both wounded and killed servicemen.
Many other communities throughout Georgia followed
Fairburn’s lead with similar inscribed lists. The bronze
plaque on the courthouse square in Hartwell (shown on page
5) is an example. The names listed on this plaque and on all
the other recorded and newly located monuments are being
added to the Memorial Database.
Georgia is the home of one very few WW1 monuments
that is specifically dedicated to African-American soldiers.
Erected by the congregation of the Shiloh Baptist Church in
the Harrisburg community of Baldwin County, this modest
memorial is dedicated “In Memory of the Colored Soldiers of
the World War.” Three names – Alex Threat, Willie Warren,
and Augustus Austin – are inscribed.
This monument was noted in the Atlanta Constitution article
on January 18, 1920, as the first war monument to “colored”
citizen-soldiers.
According to Rev. Shedrick D. Ellington, pastor of Shiloh
Baptist Church, the monument was crafted by local mason
the late Mose Ray and other builders from the surrounding
Harrisburg community. Ellington said the small obelisk has
become a landmark in Harrisburg and attracts visitors and
historians from around the state, and possibly the county.
Shiloh Baptist
Church was
founded in 1875
in Harrisburg, a
nearly-200-yearold enclave within
the MidwayHardwick area of
Baldwin County,
four miles south
of Milledgeville.
In acknowledging
the underrecognized role
that Georgia’s
Black community
played, the GA
Commission
adopted a specific
goal to: “Explore
and honor the
role of African
American Georgians in WW1.” Among the many programs
and activities targeted at achieving this and the other goals
are two related projects that are helping to identify and honor
Georgia’s Black WW1 soldiers that gave their all in the
service of their country.
The Centennial Commission’s expectation is that these
public databases of names and memorials will form the most
comprehensive listing of Georgia’s fallen soldiers – both
Black and White – and be a tribute to them and their families
for ultimate sacrifice they made one hundred years ago in
World War 1 – and be forgotten no longer.

~
To report missing names of African American WW I service
personnel, please send emails to lamar.veatch@usg.edu .
The Shiloh WWI Monument
Fairburn”s WWI monument located in Holly Hill Memorial Park L. Veatch/Georgia WWI Centennial Commission
L.Veatch/Georgia WWI Centennial Commission
7

National Trust Launches Action Fund for
African American Cultural Heritage
The new African
American Cultural
Heritage Action Fund is
accepting letters of intent
from organizations or
individuals seeking to
preserve a site, landscape
or history associated with
black cultural heritage.
Grant will range from $50,000 to $150,000.
For full fund details, including the online form to
submit your letter of intent, visit Forum.SavingPlaces.
org/aachactionfund . Letters are due January 31, 2018.
National Trust for Historic Preservation
2600 Virginia Ave NW, Ste 1100 |Washington DC 20037
202 588 6000 | www.savingplaces.org
Image credit: NTHP/www.business.livetalksla.org
Announcements
Black Educators, Schools focus of AthensClarke 2018 Brown Bag Lecture
Amy Kissane of the
Athens-Clarke Heritage
Foundation to present
on “Black Schools: Here
and Gone” January 17,
2018 at the Lyndon
House Arts Center
Community Room.in
Athens, Georgia.This
lecture runs from noon
to 1pm and is free and open to the public.
For information or to RSVP, visit online at
http://achfonline.org/brown-bag-lunches/ .
Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation, Inc.
489 Prince Avenue | Athens, Georgia 30601
706 353 1801 | www.achfonline.org
Photo credit: Austin Steele/Flagpole.com
West GA Famers and Federation of Sothern
Cooperartives Mark 50 + Years of Service
The West Farmers
Coop, founded in
1966, was influential
in creating the
Federation of Southern
Cooperative/Land
Assistance Fund.
These nonprofits
organizations support Black farmers in West Georgia
and the Southest, respectively, in accessing training,
financial and economic resources. The Federation has
administrative offices in East Point, Georgia.
West Georgia Farmer’s Cooperative
7516 US Hwy 27 South| Hamilton, GA. 31833
www.facebook.com/westgeorgiafarmerscooperative/
706 881 1249
Image credit: West Georgia Farmer’s Cooperative
A.E. Beach Institute Celebrates 150 years of
Education, Excellence and Leadership
Established in 1867 to
teach Savannah’s newlyfreed Black children,
the Beach Insiitute has
a legacy of achievement
and activism.
Join patrons and
alumni in recognizing
its influence on the
past, present and future
of Savannah and beyond on. Contact The Beach
Institute office for more information.
The Beach Institute African-American
Cultural Center
502 E Harris Street | Savannah, GA 31401
912-335-8868 | http://www.beachinstitute.org/
Photo credit: KTCF/ www.facebook.com/Beach-Institute
The Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network (GAAHPN)
was established in January 1989. It is composed of representatives from
neighborhood organizations and preservation groups. GAAHPN was formed in
response to a growing interest in preserving the cultural and built diversity of Georgia’s
African American heritage. This interest has translated into a number of efforts
which emphasize greater recognition of African American culture and contributions
to Georgia’s history. The GAAHPN Steering Committee plans and implements ways
to develop programs that will foster heritage education, neighborhood revitalization,
and support community and economic development.
The Network is an informal group of over 3,000 people who have an interest in
preservation. Members are briefed on the status of current and planned projects and
are encouraged to offer ideas, comments and suggestions. The meetings provide
an opportunity to share and learn from the preservation experience of others and to
receive technical information through workshops. Members receive a newsletter,
Reflections, produced by the Network. Visit the Historic Preservation Division
website at www.georgiashpo.org. Preservation information and previous issues of
Reflections are available online. Membership in the Network is free and open to all.
About GAAHPN
This publication has been financed in part with federal
funds from the National Park Service, Department of
the Interior, through the Historic Preservation Division,
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The contents
and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or
policies of the Department of the Interior, nor does
the mention of trade names, commercial products or
consultants constitute endorsement or recommendation by
the Department of the Interior or the Georgia Department
of Natural Resources. The Department of the Interior
prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color,
national origin, or disability in its federally assisted
programs. If you believe you have been discriminated
against in any program, activity, or facility, or if you desire
more information, write to: Office for Equal Opportunity,
National Park Service, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington,
D.C. 20240.
Published quarterly by the
Historic Preservation Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Dr. David Crass, Division Director
Melissa Jest, Editor
Velmon Allen
Jeanne Cyriaque
Lillian Davis
Jennifer Dickey
Barbara Golden
Terry Hayes
Richard Laub
Kenda Woodard
Isaac Johnson, Chair
Dr. Gerald Golden, Vice-Chair
Steering Committee
Isaac Johnson
Chairman
Melissa Jest
African American
Programs Coordinator
Reflections Editor
Voice 770/389-7870
Fax 770/389-7878
melissa.jest@dnr.ga.gov
8
Since its first issue appeared in December 2000, Reflections has documented
hundreds of Georgia’s African American historic resources. Now all of these
articles are available on the Historic Preservation Division website
www.georgiashpo.org. Search for links to your topic by categories:
cemeteries, churches, districts, farms, lodges, medical, people, places,
schools, and theatres. You can now subscribe to Reflections from the
homepage. Reflections is a recipient of a Leadership in History Award from
the American Association for State and Local History.
About Reflections
Ieshia L. Hall
African American
Programs Assistant
Voice 770/389-7879
Fax 770/389-7878
ieshia.hall@dnr.ga.gov
Staff