Black History in Jamestown
Learn about the rich history of Jamestown’s Black community.
Places to Visit
See Jamestown’s historic sites and learn its history through its artifacts
Current Exhibits
Learn about this summer’s museum exhibit and other displays around town
Map of Historic Places
Click to explore the island and get driving directions around town. Take it on the road
From our Online Catalog
Search and view our online catalog of materials in the JHS collections

Edward Mitchell Bannister 1828 – 1901
Jamestown Harbor at Sunset, 1895The Providence Art Club recently mounted a tribute to commemorate the life and work of one of their original founders, the Black artist Edward Mitchell Bannister. Bannister, born in New Brunswick, immigrated to Boston in about 1848....

Switchboard Operators
"Number, Please" Switchboard Telephone OperatorsLeft to right: Nancy Peters, Shirley Whitehead, Maxime VonShade Clark, Jennie Clarke, Ellen "Midge" Matoes Wright, Eva VonShade, Genevieve Matoes Currie, Bess Sheehan, Millie Cullen, Harriet Beers, Dorothy Matoes Nunes....

Slaves linked to Africa
Jamestown Slaves linked to Sierra Leone, Gambia riversBunch Island in the Sierra Leone River, 1784. A woman enslaved in Jamestown by Sayles Carr was one of 75 captives to be purchased on the voyage along the West African river in 1742. NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED...

Black Regiment: Backstory
JHS Recommended Event: “The Backstory of the Black Regiment: Soldiers’ Ties to Community and Kin” Lecture by Peter Fay, Patriots Park Commemoration by NAACP Patriots Park, Portsmouth, RI, August 27, 2023, 3 pm Philo Phillips of North Kingstown was 27 when his...