HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Hundreds of people turned out on Hilton Head Island as Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park cut the ribbon on its new Archeology Research Facility, the first building of its kind at the site honoring the town founded by people freed from slavery.
Local and state leaders joined the celebration. The building gives historians and scientists a place on the grounds to study artifacts dug up at the park, and park leaders said it will act as a stand-in visitor center until a larger main building is constructed.
Executive director Ahmad Ward said research sits at the core of the organization’s mission, which makes a lab and teaching space a fitting first structure. He noted the group was incorporated in 2010 and thanked those who pushed the idea for years. Board chair Shirley Peterson said supporters can now see the plan becoming real, with more work still ahead.
Digging has shaped what is known about Mitchelville since the 1980s, when excavations of an older Indigenous site first turned up traces of the town. Later surveys tied to the expansion of the island’s airport runway in the 1990s found more remains. In 2018 and 2019, student teams excavated three areas searching for evidence of an early church or praise house.
At its peak, Mitchelville was home to between 1,500 and 3,000 residents. The park is also part of the state’s school curriculum through the Palmetto Pioneer Program.
Filed under: Hilton Head Island SC Neighborhood News
