Roberts Settlement Resources

Honoring the Land and Its People: Discover the Stories Beyond Roberts Settlement

Before the Free People of Color who founded Roberts Settlement arrived in the 1830s, this land was home to generations of Indigenous peoples who lived, hunted, and built communities here. Their stewardship of the land laid the foundation for all who followed. Roberts Settlement’s story is part of a broader tapestry of resilience, faith, and determination shared by Black pioneers and Native peoples across Indiana and the Midwest.

Explore the resources below to learn more about other historic Black settlements, the Indigenous nations who once inhabited this region, and the ongoing efforts to preserve and celebrate these vital stories in American history.

Black Settlements Across the Midwest

Discover the legacy of other free Black farming communities whose histories parallel and connect with Roberts Settlement. These settlements were founded by families seeking freedom, land, and opportunity in the 1800s.

  • Beech Settlement (Rush County, IN) – Established in the late 1820s near known Quaker families who had also migrated to Rush County from eastern North Carolina. The Beech is one of Indiana’s earliest Free People of Color communities. Its founders came from North Carolina (Halifax and North Hampton counties) and Virginia (Greensville County). Many of Roberts Settlement earliest families stayed with kin at The Beech before locating permanently in Hamilton County.
  • Cheyenne Valley Settlement (Vernon County, WI) — Near the city of Hillsboro, Cheyenne Valley was Wisconsin’s largest rural African American settlement. Wisconsin’s resistance to the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act encouraged formerly enslaved Blacks and free Blacks to settle here. Some of the earliest settlers, including the Revels, Walden, and Roads families, lived at Roberts Settlement before moving to Cheyenne Valley.
  • Greenville Settlement (Darke County, OH and Randolph County, IN) – In 1818, James and Sophia Clemens founded Greenville Settlement in Darke County, Ohio. By 1822, The Greenville Settlement, also known as Longtown, extended into Indiana where Thornton Alexander was the first Black man to purchase land in Randolph County. Free Blacks, freedom seekers and manumitted slaves made this community their home. In 1846, the Greenville Settlement community, in conjunction with the anti-slavery Friends, established Union Literary Institute (ULI) in Randolph County. ULI is believed to be the first school in the United States to accept students of all races. It also served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Greenville Settlement is closely connected to the Snow Hill and Cabin Creek settlements in Randolph County.
  • Lick Creek Settlement (Orange County, IN) – Indiana’s earliest free Black settlement. In 1811, eleven families led by Jonathan Lindley traveled from North Carolina with Quakers seeking a new home free of slavery. Benjamin Roberts, Peter Lindley, and Elias Roberts made the first land purchases in 1832. This farming community flourished from 1833 until the end of the Civil War.
  • Lost Creek Settlement (Vigo County, IN) – In 1824, Bowen Roberts left North Carolina for Indiana seeking to discover a refuge for Free People of Color determined to escape the racial violence and systemic oppression of the pre-Civil War South. Lost Creek grew to 12,800 acres across three townships. Six relics, including a church, cemeteries, a community center and a memorial remain of this once thriving community.
  • Lyles Station (Gibson County, IN) – Founded in 1849 Joshua and Sanford Lyles, freed slaves from Tennessee. Lyles Station is Indiana’s only remaining African American farming community still inhabited by the original founders’ descendants. During its height at the turn of the twentieth century, Lyles Station boasted a railroad station, a post office, a lumber mill, two general stores, two churches, an elementary school, and a population of 600. 
  • Weaver Settlement (Grant County, IN) – Established 1840s by Free People of Color fleeing racial threats and violence in North and South Carolina. During the Civil War many manumitted and fugitive slaves also found their way to the Weaver Settlement. The settlement is named for the Weaver family, one of the prominent early families that settled there. Weaver grew to over 3,000 acres by 1860. The community had a school, church, general store, blacksmith shop, and its own post office until 1902.
  • Early Black Settlements by County — Indiana Historical Society

Suggested Reading & Multimedia

Enrich your understanding of Roberts Settlement and the broader stories of Black pioneering and Indigenous heritage through these recommended books, films, and online exhibits.

Books & Publications:

  • Southern Seed, Northern Soil: African American Farm Communities in the Midwest, 1765-1900 by Stephen A. Vincent — Vincent examines the exceptional histories of the Beech Settlement and Roberts Settlement two related pioneer communities of free people of color in Indiana. Buy the book.
  • North Carolina’s Free People of Color, 1715-1885 by Warren Milteer Jr. — Milteer examines complex racial dynamics in North Carolina between 1715-1885, revealing how free people of color navigated varying levels of rights and discrimination while building distinct cultures and communities. Buy the book.
  • Beyond Slavery’s Shadow: Free People of Color in the South by Warren Milteer Jr. — Using a variety of sources, Milteer demonstrates how the growing influence of white supremacy and proslavery extremism created serious challenges for free people of color in the South from the colonial period through the Civil War. Buy the book.
  • Out of This Strife Will Come Freedom: Free People of Color and the Fight for Equal Rights in the Civil War Era by Warren Milteer Jr. — Free people of color were both architects of equal rights and active participants in the Civil War, on and off the battlefield. Their unique status as free persons before emancipation shaped their experiences of military service, political activism, and community life in ways distinct from those newly freed from slavery and impacted how they navigated the pursuit of equal rights. Buy the book.
  • Bone & Sinew of the Land: America’s Black Pioneers and the Struggle for Equality by Anna-Lisa Cox — Cox brings to light the long-hidden stories of America’s black pioneers, the frontier they settled, and their fight for the heart of the nation. Buy the book.
  • The Negro in Indiana Before 1900: A Study of a Minority by Emma Lou Thornbrough — Thornbrough presents the history of African Americans in a northern state from their first arrival in the eighteenth century. Her study covers their developing legal and economic status, efforts against white racism, and the founding of distinctive African American institutions: fraternal, social, and charitable organizations, churches, and schools.  Buy the Book.
  • Black in Indiana by Eunice Trotter – A descendant of Mary Bateman Clark, Trotter details Mary Bateman Clark’s landmark lawsuit in 1821 that ended slavery and involuntary servitude in Indiana. Buy the book.

Documentaries & Film:

Digital Exhibits & Online Resources:

Visit. Learn. Reflect.

The story of Roberts Settlement is one of courage, faith, and perseverance—woven into the larger history of the land and its people. Whether you walk the grounds, explore the Legacy Walk Story App, or follow these resources, you are part of keeping this remarkable legacy alive.

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