Freetown Village Living History Museum   

Freetown Village's mission is to educate the public about African American lives and culture in Indiana through living history performances, the collection and preservation of artifacts, exhibits and allied programs.

History of Freetown Village
Freetown Village is a living history museum which depicts the lives and lifestyles of free African Americans in the year 1870. Freetown Village is a symbolic community representing many of the predominantly African American settlements scattered throughout Indiana during the post-Civil War years. The residents of Freetown Village are composite characters of the approximately 3,000 men, women and children identified on the 1870 Indianapolis census. The geographical focus is in the old Fourth Ward, the oldest African American settlement in Indianapolis. In 1870, five years after the Civil War ended, towns grew and prospered. Many who were former slaves discovered a new-found freedom and control over their lives. African Americans could now be paid for their work, purchase land, attend school, be legally married and not be separated because of slavery.

Freetown Village was first conceptualized in 1982 by Ophelia Umar Wellington out of her desire to teach African American history. With a small planning grant from the Indiana Humanities Council, eight people were instrumental in planning and implementing a two-month pilot project at the Indiana State Museum in the fall of 1984. The planning committee consisted of Dr. Monroe Little, Director of Afro-American Studies, IUPUI; Donald West, Archivist, Indiana Historical Society Library; Gary Ellis, Archeologist, Division of Historical Preservation and Archeology; Philip Seabrook, Director, Upward Bound, IUPUI; Glenn White, Director, Soul People's Repertory Co.; Gilbert Taylor, Director, Education Program, The Children's Museum; Sandy J. Henry, PR Consultant, and Ophelia Umar Wellington, Founding Director of Freetown Village.