Live music, bird watching, 5K run. Mitchelville plans weeklong Juneteenth celebration (2024)

HISTORIC MITCHELVILLE— For hundreds of formerly enslaved people, freedom began in a small village on Hilton Head Island. On June 8, that historic site will host a weeklong celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Historic Mitchelville will begin its 10th annual Juneteenth celebration with a 5K run and walk at Mitchelville Freedom Park at 8 a.m. on June 8 and will end with a festival June 15 — with a variety of events in between.

In addition to commemorating the holiday, the activities will give the public a chance to see recent updates to the park, which is undergoing an ambitious restoration and preservation effort.

Re-creations of historic buildings will be completed just in time for the Juneteenth celebration. The free-standing structures, called "ghost buildings," are frames built to represent what once stood in the town. Construction is also underway on a church reflection area.

The two projects are just a few of the renovations planned for Mitchelville, said Lola Campbell, chairperson of Mitchelville Freedom Park's executive committee.

This week marks the 10th Juneteenth celebration at the Freedom Park, but "it's also a celebration for Mitchelville as we progress toward our goal of what we want to see finalized in that park," Campbell said.

And, Campbell muses, what better place to celebrate Juneteenth than the site of the first self-governed town for the formerly enslaved?

Historical significance

Situated on the north end of Hilton Head Island, Mitchelville was founded in 1862. At its peak, the town stretched to over 200 acres on the former Fish Haul Plantation, which borders the shore. By 1863, somewhere between 1,500 and 3,000 people called it home.

In Washington, many federal officials came to consider Mitchelville a great success. It served as proof of concept for the Port Royal Experiment, which sought to create schools and hospitals for the formerly enslaved, as well as to enable them to buy land seized from slaveholders.

The community endured 31 years, though the population declined over time as other opportunities became available for the formerly enslaved residents. The Great Sea Island Hurricane of 1893 literally wiped whatever remained of Mitchelville off the map.

Eventually, Mitchelville faded from memory. A renewed effort aims to bring it back. Today, Freedom Park is part of the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network and a multimillion-dollar renovation and preservation project.

"Our tagline is 'where freedom began,'" Ahmad Ward said when discussing plans for the site in 2023. Ward, who serves as executive director of Hilton Head's Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park, is leading fundraising efforts to support the park's master plan.

The timeline of a number of the larger projects depends mostly on funding and permits.

Plans for the park include reconstructions of freedmen's houses and gardens, an 18,000-foot interpretive center with a window overlooking the Port Royal Sound, an archaeology lab and a plaza anchored by a boulder from Sierra Leone.

Juneteenth schedule

Juneteenth festivals have been held at Mitchelville since 2015. The first happened days after the mass shooting of nine Black attendees and members of the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, only 100 miles away from Hilton Head.

This year's celebration is larger in scale than previous years. Bird-watching, educational programming, a drum circle, a sleepover in the park and a festival to wrap it all up are in store for Freedom Park.

Organizers are expecting a big turnout, Ward said.

"Last year's festival had 1,400 people there, so I'm expecting at least that, maybe a little larger," Ward said. "There'll be a little extra security, a little more food, just making sure everything goes as it's supposed to."

Ward asks that visitors bring chairs, but not coolers. A number of food vendors will be on site. The schedule of events includes:

• June 8, 8 a.m.: 5K run and walk at Mitchelville Freedom Park
• June 11, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.: Bird-watching in the park with the Hilton Head Audubon
• June 12, 5-6:30 p.m.: Opening reception at Ruby Lee's restaurant
• June 13, 6 p.m-6 a.m.: Sleepover in the park
• June 14, 5:50-7 p.m.: Drum circle
• June 15, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Juneteenth Festival featuring live music and vendors

Additional information, including registrations, can be found online at exploremitchelville.org/juneteenthcelebration/.

"Mitchelville is literally where freedom began," Campbell said. "In my opinion, it's the best place to celebrate."