The Descendants of DeWitty, Nebraska Present:
The Ultimate Digital Black History Experience.
“From Lake Erie to the Seventh Concession, from Dillon Road to Drake Road to the west, the Buxton Settlement (formerly Elgin) fields are dotted with churches and houses built at the time, heroic of the way of the Underground. In 1849, Reverend William King settled there with the refugees in a territory of 9,000 acres of swamp
and forest. Other refugees followed, acquiring and clearing acres, building churches, schools and industries. The settlers constructing the network of roads and drainage ditches that still exist today, transforming the place into an establishment of well-kept houses, reflecting the industrious nature of the inhabitants and the children who received a classical education. Today, the spirit of these determined settlers that claimed a free life in these plains lives on in their descendants.”
— Bishop Forrest C. Stith
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Prepare to undergo a journey, with its inception beginning deep in the historic and pre-colonial heart of Africa, crossing the great Atlantic, passing through the American Underground, and ending with triumphant freedom at the longest lasting Black Homestead in Nebraska History, DeWitty (Audacious), Nebraska.
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First Floor - Pre-colonial Africa
The Portal to an igbo compound in Nigeria, West Africa. The Ozo institution is the highest spiritual and social strata in Igboland. Initiates of this institution would contract the carving of an elaborate door, a ritual dating back to Pre-colonial times, made from sacred African Oak, the oji tree, and were used to bridge the human and spirit worlds. Photo: J Stocker, early 20th century.
Pre-colonial African Kingdoms
Drummers, trumpeters, and a procession of soldiers celebrate the coronation of the King of Whydah, who sits front and center in the palace courtyard.
Friends and family mourn and celebrate the life of a deceased Congolese man lying in state during a funeral ceremony.
Royal Company of Africa Agent-General Jean Barbot created this three-panel engraving to depict the geography, architecture, and daily life he witnessed in the highlands of Sierra Leone.
This colored engraving features the Asante King adorned in gold, while surrounded by his subjects during the Yam Ceremony.
Eighteenth-century Italian artist Antonio Cavazzi depicted Queen Nzinga, of the Kingdom of Kongo, surrounded by drummers, trumpeters, and standard bearers during her seventeenth-century reign.
One Arab writer, Al-Hamdani, describes Ghana as having the richest gold mines on Earth. According to one narrative, the King had at his command 200,000 warriors and an additional 40,000 archers.
Pre-colonial Architecture
Fasil Ghebbi - Gondar, Ethiopia
The Fasil Ghebbi (Amharic: ፋሲል ግቢ) is a fortress located in Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It was founded in the 17th century by Emperor Fasilides and was the home of Ethiopian emperors. Its unique architecture shows diverse influences including Nubian, Hindu, Arab, and Baroque characteristics. Because of its historical importance and architecture, the fortress inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Ghebbi is an Amharic word for a compound or enclosure.
Pre-colonial African Rulers
Kings vs. Queens
The vast number of cultures, languages, and tribes throughout African history, and men and women who led them.
Technological Developments in Pre-colonial Africa
Africans through the Ages
Discover some of the various technological developments of native Africans during Pre-colonialism.
Pre-colonial Excursions Outside Africa
The Moors
Native to the Western North African Region, often referred to the as the Maghrebis, or the Western Part of the Arab World, the Moors expanded their influence and geographic presence into Spain, Portugal, Italy, and throughout the Mediterranean.
Second Floor - The Transatlantic Slave Trade
A Door to No Return - Ghana, West Africa.
Transatlantic Experience
The Transatlantic Experience with Khan Academy
A World History Project, visit Khan Academy, for an in-depth and introspective Transatlantic Experience.
The Middle Passage
Olaudah Equiano, also known by the name Gustavus Vassa, an author, abolitionist, and survivor of The Middle Passage from the Kingdom of Benin, according to his memoir. Enslaved at 13, Olaudah Equiano recorded the fear that he felt about the possibility of being eaten when he was captured:"When I looked round the ship too and saw a large furnace or copper boiling, and a multitude of black people of every description chained together, every one of their countenances expressing dejection and sorrow, I no longer doubted of my fate; and, quite overpowered with horror and anguish, I fell motionless on the deck and fainted. When I recovered a little I found some black people about me, who I believed were some of those who brought me on board, and had been receiving their pay; they talked to me in order to cheer me, but all in vain. I asked them if we were not to be eaten by those white men with horrible looks, red faces, and loose hair. They told me I was not; and one of the crew brought me a small portion of spirituous liquor in a wine glass; but, being afraid of him, I would not take it out of his hand." - Olaudah Equiano 
3D Slave Ship Experience by Slavevoyages.org
Experience the inner-working and various dynamics of a Slave Ship, by taking a 3-dimensional tour of the two Slave Ships, from 1770-1785, the Marie-Séraphique, and the L'Aurore.
Third Floor - New World Slavery
The side entrance into the main house at Boone Hall Plantation, in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. The side entrance into the main house at Boone Hall Plantation, in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Brazil - The Americas
Roughly 5,000,000 African slaves were estimated to be shipped to Brazil between 1501 and 1866.
The Reality of Slavery in Brazil.
Slavery and Abolition in the 19th Century.
The African Slave Trade and Slave life.
Brazil was the last place in the Americas to abolish Slavery in 1888.
American South & Caribbean - The Americas
Mixed Media Experience
The 1799 Home of Judge John Overton
Judge John Overton owned a slave named Emmeline Overton, an ancestor of the DeWItty’s, who would later have children with the son of Judge Overton.
The Owens-Thomas Plantation House
Take a virtual walking tour of the Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters, an antebellum home in Savannah, Georgia.
The Wilberforce House
The Wilberforce House, the birthplace of William Wilberforce, who was a British politician, abolitionist and social reformer, provides a unique history of slavery worldwide, located in the High Street, Kingston upon Hull, England.
The Danish Annaberg Sugar Plantation
Gain a unique perspective by taking a Virtual Tour in the Virgin Islands, witnessing Colonialism and slavery on a Danish sugar plantation.
International Slavery Museum
Take a Virtual Tour of the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, UK, providing a Contemporary History of Slavery Worldwide.
The 1619 Project
The 1619 Project is a journalistic expression, developed by Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York TImes writer, for the purpose of reframing the narrative of slavery and contributions of African American's to American history.
Slavery in the 13 Colonies Explained
Listen to Mr. Beat, tell a short but meaningful historical rendition of Slavery during Colonial times in America.
Evergreen Plantation in Edgard, LA
The Evergreen Plantation is historic and relevant as it is the most intact plantation complex in the South with 37 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, including 22 slave cabins.
Magnolia Plantation in Charleston, South Carolina
The Magnolia Plantation and well-known Gardens, serve as a historic marker located in South Carolina. It is one of the oldest surviving plantations in the South.
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
As a 5,000 acre plantation, around 130 enslaved men, women, and children lived at Monticello at any given time. About 15 slaves worked in the house.
Jamestown 3D Experience
Join the Smithsonian and discover details regarding the everyday life of Jamestown inhabitants.
Fourth Floor - The Underground Railroad
As far North as New Jersey and Canada, and even Nebraska, former Slaves and their descendants would pass along the Underground to freedom.
A Story of Freedom Retold
Historic Rendition of the Underground Railroad
During the Mid 1880’s an estimated 30,000 fugitive slaves escaped into what would now be known as Canada, seeking a better life. Some would return to America to create a new life, while others would never return.
Visit Paul Collins Art to purchase and support: https://www.collinsart.org/
The Legacy of Black Canadian’s on the Underground Railroad
Gain new insight and experience with the Toronto Public Library, as it retells parts of an often misunderstood and untold story of the flight of former slaves to freedom.
Buxton National Historic Site and Museum in Ontario, Canada
Descendants of DeWItty joined many other Africans on their journey through the Underground Railroad, making it to Tennessee, and eventually traveling all the way to what is now known as Ontario, Canada for Freedom. The promise of land-ownership in the young State of Nebraska, proved too enticing to pass up.
Shannon Prince operates the museum every year in September with a week long celebration to honor those who made it to Canada. After the civil war William P. Walker and 11 families made their way back to America, Overton, Nebraska in 1880, then DeWitty, NE. Also many Black men from the North Buxton settlement came back to fight in the Civil War.
The Mayhew Cabin and John Brown’s Cave in Nebraska City, Nebraska
One of the furthest Western stops on the Underground Railroad, the Mayhew cabin would become a local landmark, as slaves who sought refuge, we sheltered in Nebraska City, Nebrraka, possibly heading west towards the frontier, or further North to Canada.
Games & Simulations
Flight to Freedom | Mission US (Game)
In Flight to Freedom, players take on the role of Lucy, a 14-year-old girl enslaved in Kentucky who escapes to Ohio. As Lucy joins a community of abolitionists, players discover that life in the "free" North is dangerous and difficult. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act threatens all African Americans in the North and brings new urgency to the anti-slavery movement.
[Windows/Mac]
Blackhaven (Game)
Blackhaven is a first-person narrative game that follows Kendra Turner, a college intern at Blackhaven Hall, a historic mansion burned during the American Revolution. Working alone on a holiday, Kendra uncovers a trail of secrets and misdeeds that spans centuries and may determine her future.
[Windows Platform Only].
Quick Quiz on Slavery by Amanda Bonser (Game)
Test your knowledge and ability to retain by taking this short Quiz on Slavery.
Explore Over 2,000 Historical Artifacts on New World Slavery
Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to open up such artifacts to the world.
Credits: The Hunted Slaves by Richard Ansdell - 1861 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, UK.
Fifth Floor - DeWitty (Audacious), Nebraska
The DeWitty’s, like many Homesteaders of all races on the Prairie, lived in Sod homes, made from thickly rooted prairie grass, and offered a plentiful building material, when wood for cabins, and other materials were in short supply.
Freedom in DeWitty
Sarah Walker and William P. Walker
DeWitty later became known as Audacious, Nebraska.
Shores Family, 1887. Solomon Butcher Photo Collection, RG2608, PH-1231, Nebraska State Historical Society.
On the Homestead in Dewitty, Nebraska.
Members of the St. James African Methodist Episcopal church.
Cherry County, Nebraska Homesteaders
Fernella Austelia Celestial Walker is the daughter of William P. Walker and Charlotte Hatter Riley Walker, William P.'s second wife. Fernalla was comfortable in the saddle, riding on the range and as a school teacher.
The Moses Speese family near Westerville, Custer County, Nebraska, 1888
The Shores families near Westerville, Custer County, Nebraska, 1887
Mixed Media - DeWitty Past & Present
Descendants of DeWitty - The Dewitty Audacious Nebraska saga.
American film Director Artes Johnson takes a look at Black Homesteading in 1880's Nebraska. DeWitty, Nebraska was the longest lasting and most successful African American settlement in Nebraska history.
A Peculiar Set of Men: Nebraska Cowboys on the Open Range
There is an untold story of African Americans on the range, and Black cowboys and cow girls. This Article, while broadly covering the history of Cowboys on the Nebraska Open-range generally, the story also details history in Nebraska, made by cowboys of African descent.
Credits: History Nebraska (formerly the Nebraska State Historical Society).
Nebraska TV - The Forgotten Tale of DeWitty
The Forgotten Tale of DeWitty: African American history of Nebraska
Nebraska Stories: The DeWitty Settlement & More
A heart-felt reunion, and reflection on the legacy of DeWitty, Nebraska.
A History of DeWitty: Nebraska Homestead DeWitty by Dallas Jones
A thoughtful and visually appealing narrative of the trials and triumphs of the DeWitty Homesteaders.
[Official] The Descendants of DeWitty Documentary
The DeWitty, Nebraska Documentary, was made possible by the Omaha Community Foundation and a grant from the African-American Unity Fund.
Sixth Floor - Digital Museum Store
The Lewis Museum Shop, Baltimore, MD.
>>COMING SOON!<<
DeWitty Mug
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Become a part of the DeWitty legacy, with daily reminders of American and Nebraska History, with your own Official DeWitty coffee mug.
DeWitty T-Shirt
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Take a little piece of DeWitty with you, by purchasing a T-Shirt for yourself or a loved one today!
DeWitty Mouse-pad
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Surf the internet with your very own DeWitty Mouse-pad, and cherish memories of DeWitty every time you double click!
Seventh Floor - Networking Hub
These doors protected the window-like opening into each family's grain storage building. Dogon, Mali.
