Encompassed by Prospect Laurel, Pine and Osage Streets
Front Royal, Virginia 22630
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Directions from Prospect Hill Cemetery to site 26:
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Front Royal's southern residential district included a segregated neighborhood known as Freetown. In its heyday, this neighborhood was the center of Front Royal’s vibrant African American community. The neighborhood includes approximately 40 buildings that line Pine, Osage, and Laurel streets. While mainly residential, several historic stores and a fraternal lodge, built in 1948 for the African American chapter of the Pride of Warren Lodge, can be found. A three-room school for African American children once stood near the corner of Laurel and Pine streets; it burned down during the 1920s. A grouping of commercial buildings and what was once a dance hall stands clustered near the corner of Laurel Street and Osage Street. Freetown appears to have been developed between approximately 1880 and 1920 and reflects the social and residential segregation that characterized the town prior to the 1960s.
Front Royal’s White residents referred to this community as “Freetown,” while the African American residents referred to it as “Southtown.” |
