Pictured: Clarissa Bolden Thomas’s House and Store
Digital Archive
Life and Legacy in Esmont
For many African American families, roots in Porter’s Esmont run deep.
Their history traces back to the early days of Colonial America, when European Americans transformed the Esmont area into a network of plantation-based communities. These plantations depended on the forced labor of enslaved African Americans to thrive. Following emancipation, Black laborers began to establish themselves more permanently in the Esmont area, building settlements where they could raise families and shape new futures.
One such area is Porters Road. Known by various names—Porters’ Precinct, Porters’, or Porter—it would grow into the heart of Black civic, economic, and social life in Esmont. For nearly two centuries, it became a place where generations of families formed the tightly woven community of Porter’s Esmont, rooted in resilience, kinship, and self-determination.
A place where they made a way out of no way.
Completed Projects
Porters Road Storymap
Dr. Lisa Goff & “Mapping Black Landscapes” Class
Created in collaboration with Dr. Lisa Goff’s “Mapping Black Landscapes” class and members of Esmont known as the ‘History Keepers,’ this Story Map is a virtual exhibit exploring the history of Porters Road, one of Esmont’s Black neighborhoods.
The Story Map dynamically traces the historical evolution of Porters Road’s physical landscape through an interactive map, highlighting key landmarks that continue to preserve its legacy.