THERE IS A STORY FROM THE HEART OF JOHNS ISLAND THAT TRANSCENDS TIME, GEOGRAPHY, AND ADVERSITY.
It’ s the story of the Freeman family’ s ancestral land at 3419 Jenkins Freeman Road. This property— and the family that has managed to hang on to it— is a testament to generational perseverance and a vital thread in the rich cultural and historical tapestry of the Lowcountry.
The story begins in West Africa, where the Freeman family patriarch, Kitt, along with his brother Richard and two sisters belonged to the Free Child tribal group, known as the Mandingo( Mandinka) people. In the late eighteenth century, they were captured and taken from their homeland, transported through the West Indies, and by 1779, brought to St. Helena Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, where they were sold into slavery.
Yet Kitt’ s resilience would define a legacy. By 1816, he had earned and saved enough to purchase freedom for himself and his wife. In reclaiming his autonomy, he also reclaimed his identity— changing his name from Kitt( Free Child) to Kitt Freeman, marking the beginning of the Freeman family name. His brother Richard would later serve in the Union Army during the Civil War, a powerful act of defiance and commitment to justice.
After leaving St. Helena Island, Kitt and his family settled on Johns Island, where they began building a future rooted in land, love, and labor. That legacy continued through generations. Kitt’ s grandson, James Freeman, acquired the land now known as 3419 Jenkins Freeman Road. In 1993, the deed passed to his granddaughter, Sarah Lee Johnson Anderson, and later to her son, Dr. Louis P. Anderson, Jr., in 2006.
This land remains in the hands of the Freeman family, as a remarkable example of African American land ownership that has endured since Reconstruction. More than a homeplace, it stands as a cultural landmark, a
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