2023 24 Black Pages FINAL 2 - Flipbook - Page 94
1823 - 1865 The Humblest of Beginnings
Slavery
1850
Milledgeville - 1860
Reverend Wilkes Flagg, once a
slave from Virginia, managed to
buy his own freedom and worked
as a blacksmith with his own shop.
By 1860, he had amassed
approximately $25,000 in wealth.
Passionate about improving the
WŚŽƚŽĨƌŽŵ'ĞŽƌŐŝĂ
lives of newly emancipated
ƌĐŚŝǀĞƐ
individuals, he founded a Black cotton
colony to create job opportunities and set
up a school for their education.
1832 - Macon
Among Macon's early African American educators,
Edward Woodliff stands out as a remarkable figure.
A free Black man, Woodliff arrived in Macon in
1832 and opened a thriving barber shop. The
success of his business enabled him to buy his
wife's freedom for $800, after which they moved
north. Following the Civil War, Woodliff returned to
Macon, and in 1865, he established the first school
for Black children in the area.
1864 - Perry
1865
Macon - 1820s
Solomon Humphries established a general store
after purchasing his freedom. With a line of credit
reaching $10,000, he purchased wholesale goods
from New York and Charleston, a such as dry
goods, groceries, hardware and cutlery, crockery,
hats, shoes, blacksmith's tools, etc." He was
eventually forced out of business and lost most of
his property before his death.
1820
During slavery, some African Americans found ways to earn money while in
bondage managing to purchase their own freedom and open businesses in Middle
Georgia before the Civil War. Some of these business leaders became instrumental
in the lives of freedman after the war.
Emmanuel Collins a boot and
shoemaker. At 17, he made boots
for Houston County’s confederate
soldiers. After emancipation,
Emanuel had a shoe business, a
grocery store, and restaurant. His
Collins Family
son, grandsons and future
generations continued running WŚŽƚŽĨƌŽŵŝƚLJŽĨWĞƌƌLJ
ůĂĐŬ,ŝƐƚŽƌLJĂŶŶĞƌƐ
businesses for over 160 years.
1865 - Civil War and the Emancipation of all African Americans
1880
1877 - Perry
Dr. Benjamin Simmons founded the Old Capital
Drug Company, which operated until the 1980s.
Additionally, he played a crucial role in attracting
African American doctors to Milledgeville.
At the age of 16, John Noble embarked on his
journey as an undertaker, providing care and burial
services for the deceased. For more than four
decades, he dedicated his efforts to the African
American community in Houston County. To reach
out to potential clients, John regularly placed
multiple advertisements in the Home Journal.
1890 - Macon
Milledgeville - 1897
1899
Ϯ
94
Dr. E.E. Green initially established Central City Drug
Store on Cotton Avenue. After a few years, he
relocated his pharmacy to his newly constructed
residence, situated at the intersection of Madison
Street and Green Street Lane.
