Become Part of This Important LEGACY
Please consider giving to the IMAGINE! Black Pioneers capital campaign.
Our goal is $440,000 with project groundbreaking in 2023 during the 100th Roberts Settlement Homecoming.
Funding will pay for the fabrication and installation of the Legacy Walk and exhibit content that commemorates the past, informs our present and inspires our future.
Please make checks payable to
Roberts Chapel Church & Burial Association
PO Box 561
Noblesville, IN 46061
You may also make your gift online by clicking the DONATE button below.
PLEASE consider adding 3% to cover the cost of online transaction fees.
Our goal is $440,000 with project groundbreaking in 2023 during the 100th Roberts Settlement Homecoming.
Funding will pay for the fabrication and installation of the Legacy Walk and exhibit content that commemorates the past, informs our present and inspires our future.
Please make checks payable to
Roberts Chapel Church & Burial Association
PO Box 561
Noblesville, IN 46061
You may also make your gift online by clicking the DONATE button below.
PLEASE consider adding 3% to cover the cost of online transaction fees.
ABOUT THE ROBERTS SETTLEMENT LEGACY WALK
An accessible walking path, beginning at the Indiana State Historical Marker and looping through the west-side of the Chapel, provides the means for a self-guided journey through Roberts Settlement’s Black pioneer history as well as a peaceful place for reflection. Visitors are greeted by “Morning Light,” a dazzling entry feature symbolizing exploration, discovery, opportunity, and hope. Beyond, the Legacy Walk takes visitors through four separate interpretive- themed stations: Roots & Migration, Progress & Perseverance, Faith & Reverence and Legacy & Footprints. Each station includes a title monolith, a bench, and a graphic reader rail with interpretive content. Structures are fabricated from Corten-style steel and faux stone. The Roberts Settlement Legacy Walk, as well as the surrounding grounds, will be a public space to enjoy and embrace the rich history of Hamilton County, Indiana’s Black pioneers.
Underscoring the national historical significance of the project, the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF), a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, recently announced its award of $75,000 to Roberts Settlement for Preserving Black Churches. Roberts Settlement is one of 35 organizations in 22 states to receive a total of $4 million in grant funding to advance long-term and sustainable strategies that strengthen stewardship and asset management, interpretation and programming, and fundraising activities for historic Black churches across the country. This program works to uplift the legacy of often-overlooked Black churches, ensuring their legacy of spirituality, history, and democracy endures.
Concept & Future Fabrication & Installation by Display Dynamics, Inc
Underscoring the national historical significance of the project, the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF), a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, recently announced its award of $75,000 to Roberts Settlement for Preserving Black Churches. Roberts Settlement is one of 35 organizations in 22 states to receive a total of $4 million in grant funding to advance long-term and sustainable strategies that strengthen stewardship and asset management, interpretation and programming, and fundraising activities for historic Black churches across the country. This program works to uplift the legacy of often-overlooked Black churches, ensuring their legacy of spirituality, history, and democracy endures.
Concept & Future Fabrication & Installation by Display Dynamics, Inc
ABOUT ROBERTS SETTLEMENT
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Roberts Settlement pioneers and their descendants built a community and a legacy in Central Indiana that has sustained the family since 1835 -- nearly two centuries. The once-vibrant community of nearly 300 free people of color continues to serve as a reminder that great things can be accomplished when people work together for a better life. Descendants, bound by this heritage, enriched and strengthened by faith and perseverance, have gathered to celebrate family ties at the annual Homecoming.
This dedication has inspired a campaign to preserve and share this remarkable heritage and history through the Roberts Settlement Legacy Walk. |
ROOTS & MIGRATION
Roberts Settlement was established in 1835 by free people of color who migrated mostly from North Carolina and Virginia to escape deteriorating racial conditions.
Most pioneers had the Roberts surname, but other families also made this migration through the mid-1800s.
Their goals were the pursuit of economic, educational, and religious aspirations with greater freedom and fewer racial barriers.
PROGRESS & PERSEVERANCE
Early struggles ultimately gave way to greater security. Roberts Settlement experienced exceptional prosperity from the 1850s-1870s.
The opening of the nearby Peru & Indianapolis railroad in1853 brought residents easier access to farm markets and, in turn, the ever-growing cornucopia of consumer goods.
Forested land was cleared at an increasing pace, frame houses replaced log cabins, and a community schoolhouse was built. By the late 1870s, the Settlement expanded to 300 residents and nearly 2,000 acres of land.
FAITH & REVERENCE
Faith has always been a cornerstone of Roberts Settlement life. In 1838, Wilson and Delilah Barker, a neighboring white couple, organized the Mt. Pleasant Methodist Episcopal Church with nine Black and nine white members.
In 1848, the Roberts community erected a log meeting house that served as a church and school until the current chapel was constructed.
Early in its history, the Roberts congregation aligned with Wesleyan Methodism, a denomination that promoted the religious doctrine of Holiness and vigorously attacked racial injustice.
Roberts Chapel continues to serve as a backdrop to annual descendant gatherings and will be prominently featured in the Roberts Settlement Legacy Walk.
In 1848, the Roberts community erected a log meeting house that served as a church and school until the current chapel was constructed.
Early in its history, the Roberts congregation aligned with Wesleyan Methodism, a denomination that promoted the religious doctrine of Holiness and vigorously attacked racial injustice.
Roberts Chapel continues to serve as a backdrop to annual descendant gatherings and will be prominently featured in the Roberts Settlement Legacy Walk.
LEGACY & FOOTPRINTS
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An annual homecoming reunion began in 1924 with this important and prophetic message from Rev. Cyrus Roberts for attendees: “Our religious and educational facilities and opportunities have not been excelled in the past, [and] our religious influence and intellectual ability … are known far and wide. … [Today] our talent is sought and the name “Roberts Settlement” has become a synonym, not only for greatness, but also for honesty and uprightedness wherever spoken.” |
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This Legacy Walk represents our opportunity to add to the legacy we inherited from our ancestors!
