Freeman Lake, seen from the dam, was created by Joseph Freeman on land his grandfather had accumulated following his enslavement. (Kassie Freeman) Matthew Freeman was born into slavery in 1854. Following his enslavement, he purchased and ac-cumulated more than two thousand acres of land in Fayette County. In 1917, according to his fam-ily, he donated land and other resources to build the first African American school and a church in Fayette County. His family and friends knew him as an entrepreneur, and he utilized his prosperity to help others by allowing other former enslaved people to build homes and raise gardens on his property.
In 1930, Freeman passed away and left the property to his heirs. By 1960, his grandson Joseph Freeman realized the need for a recreational area for African Americans in the Newtonville community and surrounding area. He created Freeman Lake to fill the African American com-munity’s social and recreational void. He developed a plan, provided the funding, and engaged
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