Lift Every Voice: Ossabaw/Pin Point African-American History Tour

Trip description: The day begins with a morning boat trip to Ossabaw that includes the natural and cultural history of the Moon River District, with emphasis on the many historic African American communities of the area. On Ossabaw, visitors will go on a walking tour of North End plantation, including three restored tabby cabins built by enslaved Africans for their housing. Learn about Hercules & Betty in the 1770s, the Bond brothers in the 1850s and 1860s, and their descendants who founded Pin Point community in the 1890s. Tour leader is Hanif Haynes, a historic interpreter with Pin Point Heritage Museum. Haynes is a resident of Pin Point community and is a descendant of Benjamin Bond, an enslaved man who lived on Ossabaw Island and was a founder of Hinder Me Not Baptist Church on Ossabaw after emancipation.The tour continues in the afternoon at Pin Point Heritage Museum.

The museum tour emphasizes the crabbing and oystering culture of early/mid 20th century Pin Point. The Pin Point community was founded in 1896 by groups of freedmen (formerly enslaved people) many of whom had lived and worked on Ossabaw Island both while enslaved and after emancipation. Interpretive guide will be Gail Smith, a Pin Point resident and descendant of the Dilward family who founded Pin Point, and the Martin family whose relatives worked on Ossabaw in the 20th century.