Group seeks to preserve African-American history in Four Oaks

Submitted by PATRICIA CHISHOLM-JONES

FOUR OAKS — What is the origin of the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child?”

It’s an Igbo and Yoruba proverb that exists in several different African languages that reflects the emphasis those cultures place on family and community.

Some of the land which we now know as Four Oaks belonged to Isaac Evans Blackwell, a Tuscarora man whose family had been free since the early 1700s. Blackwell sold the land (roughly 40 acres around the railroad tracks) to Col. R.R. Bridgers in the 1880s, and Bridgers is credited with giving the town its name.

Blackwell is Acorn No. 1, and his granddaughter, Annie Mae Evans-Walker, who lived in the area until around 2015, is Acorn No. 3. In total, more than 300 Four Oaks residents are commemorated on four different posters featuring oak trees and, of course, acorns.

Early in the town's history, Edward Rodgers (Acorn No. 68) bought some land and developed housing for African-American families, often living with two, three and four generations to a home.

Children were taught moral values, social graces, housekeeping and cooking skills. Years later, a school for African-Americans was built. Students walked to and from school, teaching each other, their parents and other African-American citizens.

As the young town grew, welcoming the railroad and other industries, its citizens grew as well, leaving new acorns in the tree as they became adults and ventured out on their own journeys.

Recently, the Four Oaks Colorful Acorns presented the Johnston County Heritage Center with four posters featuring the acorns, and they are currently on display.