Wilberforce Colony - Wilberforce Colony

Wilberforce Colony

The initial arrangement between Israel Lewis and Thomas Crissup envisaged the purchase of 4,000 acres (16 km2) for $6000, to be paid by November 1830. But the number of colonists expected to support that purchase could not be immediately achieved, and the financial resources of the initial colonists could not support that arrangement. Appeals were made for further support. Attempts in Cincinnati and pleas to the Ohio state legislature were in vain. But an appeal to the Quakers was successful, and on September 20, 1830, James Brown and Stephen Duncan purchased 400 acres (1.6 km2) for Wilberforce.

With the land secured, the colonists turned to clearing land and building structures. By 1832 the settlement had crops in the ground and log homes. Settlers built three sawmills, one powered by water; a gristmill, and several general stores. The proximity of the settlement to the river gave transportation access to goods and provided a way to export products, agricultural and forest-related.

The riot in Cincinnati, and the establishment of Wilberforce Colony, raised a national Black consciousness. Interest grew in emigration from other northern cities. The Mother Bethel Church in Philadelphia assembled Black leaders from across the north to search for solutions to empower all African-Americans. In an 1830 convention, the Assembly organized itself as the American Society of Free Persons of Color, the beginning of the black convention movement.

Within the first 18 months, as Wilberforce grew from the initial few families, other black American emigrants joined them from Boston, Rochester, Albany, New York, Baltimore, and other cities. By 1835 the community had 166 inhabitants.

With this infusion of African-Americans from several places, political growth began. A board of managers was created, primarily to oversee financial matters. Austin Steward was president. He and other newcomers replaced the old Cincinnati leaders, relegating Israel Lewis, colony organizer and land agent, to fund-raising agent.

The schism between old Cincinnati families and new settlers eventually led to the decline of the colony.