Inside the remarkable Black history connected to Timbuctoo, New Jersey

TIMBUCTOO, NJ - This Black History Month, FOX 29 is celebrating a community in South Jersey that’s one of the few remaining African American settlements from the 19th century. 

What we know:

Timbuctoo was established as a free Black community in 1826, according to Guy Weston of the Timbuctoo Historical Society. 

Weston’s fourth great-grandfather purchased a parcel of land in 1829 for $15 and a second parcel in 1831 for $15.

Weston has pages of legal documents originating back to the purchase in the 1800s, but said he was unaware of them until the land was passed down to his mother when he was in his twenties.

"We lived life that many years on Earth not knowing that the family had these wonderful treasures, and they really have given us insight into our family most people don’t have," said Weston. "It’s compelling, and it’s inspiring, and it gives me a sense of identity of my past most people don’t have."

At its peak, Timbuctoo was home to more than 125 residents, there was a school on the corner called African Union School for Black children and the Zion Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal African Church and cemetery.

About a dozen headstones from the 19th and early 20th centuries remain at the cemetery, and eight of the headstones belong to Black Civil War veterans. 

"We frequently and most typically talk about antebellum African American history by talking about enslavement and ugliness and mistreatment and while that certainly happened here, we also have a narrative of Black people buying land, Black people establishing institutions, Black people having their names written in the newspaper about various different things," said Weston. 

The historic nature of this community also attracted the attention of archaeologists from Temple University. In 2010 and 2011, researchers excavated and analyzed over 15,000 artifacts from Timbuctoo. 

Weston also showed us his family bible, which on the first page recorded the marriage of his great-great-grandparents in 1879. The marriages, births and deaths of family members are also recorded in the years that followed, starting in 1880.

"Just sitting in the back looking at a tree, that tree is 100-years-old, so that means my great-grandfather was here when it was planted. Maybe he planted it himself," said Weston.

For further information on Timbuctoo, visit the Timbuctoo Historical Society’s website.

What's next:

On March 14, Weston will join Dr. Chris Barton at Temple Anthropology Laboratory and Museum for a Fireside Chat titled "Unearthing the Layers: The Intersection of Race and Class in Timbuctoo, NJ". The public is welcome to attend 3 p.m. at Gladfelter Hall Room 107.

Afterward, there will be a Timbuctoo Archaeologist Exhibit opening and reception.