Preserving and sharing the history of Letitia Carson

Oregon State University, Oregon Black Land Trust, Oregon Black Pioneers and the Linn-Benton NAACP chapter have begun preserving and sharing the history of Letitia Carson, the only Black woman in the state to claim a homestead under 1862’s Homestead Act and who won two lawsuits against a white neighbor who sold her property.

During the Juneteenth weekend celebration, volunteers worked on the former Carson project in an archaeological exploration alongside OSU archaeology graduate students or alumni to excavate the land.