What a fascinating and exceptionally interesting program at this month's Bulloch County Historical Society (BCHS) meeting to learn about the Croatan Indians! The Croatans were a small Native American ethnic group living in the coastal area known as the ‘Outer Banks,' now called North Carolina.
Prior to the informative presentation, a delicious yet hearty menu of roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, tossed salad, yeast rolls and butter with a delicious dessert of peach cobbler was served and catered by A Touch of Class.
Dr. Brent W. Tharp, Director of the Georgia Southern University Museum, held the BCHS guests' attention for the full time. The program was full of information about the Croatan tribe, which was later named the Lumbees in the 1950s. This program was truly one of the most interactive topics, allowing adequate time for an informative Q&A session.
In 1890, Croatan Indian men and women began leaving Robeson County, North Carolina, to work in the turpentine camps in Bulloch County, Georgia. The settlements that emerged re-created many features of their North Carolina home. Washington Manassas (W.M.) Foy from Effingham County, Georgia, was one of the wealthiest men in this part of Georgia. Foy owned the Adabelle Trading Company and employed a large number of Croatan Indians that settled and worked on his land.
Many of the Croatans became tenant farmers for the Adabelle Trading Company, growing cotton and tobacco. It had its own General Store, post office, sawmill, cotton gin, and school that was also a make-shift church.
Memorials and Places of interest from the Croatan/Lumbees:
- Croatan/Lumbee Indian Memorial Cemetery: Adabelle, GA (Dedicated in 1989) Learn more here.
- Croatan Indian Community Marker: US Hwy 301 and Ada Bell Rd. (Erected 2004) See it here.
- Foy-Hodges House (Washington Manassas "W.M." Foy mansion): Tattnall County, GA Learn more here.
In 1920, the Croatians faced hardship and social injustice. In this period, Georgia and the South, as a whole, legally encoded racial segregation and threatened to force Bulloch County Croatans into a black or white identity. Rather than assimilate into the larger communities of Bulloch County, the Croatans maintained their identity as Indians and eventually returned home to Robeson County, North Carolina.
For more interesting facts and stories, contact Dr. Brent Tharp at [email protected].
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