The Toni Morrison Reflection Bench at Mitchelville

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The Toni Morrison Society placed its eighth bench in the Bench by the Road Project Series on Tuesday, April 16, on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The bench was installed in honor of the community of formerly enslaved African Americans who fought in the Union army and escaped slavery during the Civil War. Following the Battle of Port Royal Sound in 1861, Union officer George Ormsby Mitchel proposed establishing a town for these men and women—those who escaped during the battle or were abandoned by their former owners. By 1862, the village on Beach City Road had become home to nearly 1,500 self-governing African Americans who built their own homes, churches, schools, and cultivated their own land—establishing the first public schools in South Carolina. Mitchelville stands as a symbol of the agency and resilience of formerly enslaved people building independent lives.

The bench was placed by The Mitchelville Preservation Project, founded by Hilton Head Islanders in 2005. The Project’s mission is to replicate, preserve, and sustain this historically significant site, educate the public about the sacrifice, resilience, and perseverance of the freedmen of Mitchelville, and share the story of how these men and women established enduring roots for future generations of African Americans.

Mitchelville Freedom Park