The name “Harris Neck” first entered my consciousness when I was a young girl visiting my grandmother. It was mentioned during trips near Savannah until her passing in 2009. Yet, as far as I can recall, I never set foot on the land of Harris Neck. Still, it had been a part of my identity long before I was born.
When a relative bought a house in Florida, I made annual trips to visit. Each time I drove south on I-95, below Savannah, GA, I would pass the sign for Harris Neck US Fish & Wildlife Refuge. It was a familiar landmark, marking my journey toward the Georgia-Florida border. Every time, it seemed to welcome me—yet I never accepted its invitation. What would I be looking for? I didn’t even know if any family members still lived there.
In my family’s archive, or “Vault,” are the stories of Harris Neck, particularly “Peru Plantation,” from the memoir of my great-great-grandfather Edward Jonathan Thomas. I found a new memoir at the Georgia Historical Society, and I have a speech he wrote in 1913. These, along with my grandmother’s stories and a file of newspaper articles, provide a glimpse into Harris Neck’s complex history. In the 1940s, the US War Department used eminent domain to displace the entire community to create a military airfield during WWII. My great-great-grandfather’s memoirs and speech reference Peru Plantation in McIntosh County, the enslaved people who lived there, and an act he performed after the Civil War. He deeded 10 acres to a man named Henry, who had protected the Thomas land and families during the war.
I was searching for a connection to my roots, but I didn’t want to intrude. Harris Neck has experienced many hardships, largely due to the actions of ancestors like mine, who were trapped in historical narratives shaped by “Lost Cause” myths.
The tension I felt while tracing my family’s history in Harris Neck—from the early 1800s to the present—left me wondering how to approach the land of my ancestors. I wanted to pay homage and confront its history, but Harris Neck isn’t just a US Fish & Wildlife Refuge; it’s living history. There are many places like Harris Neck across the country, and their stories are obscured. Their descendants, still living there or actively advocating for the reclamation of their land, have voices our history books rarely acknowledge. I didn’t feel it was right to enter this land without permission from the families who were displaced in 1942.
In July 2023, a conversation with my cousin led me to search for “Direct Descendants of Harris Neck” online. This search led me to a website for the Direct Descendants of Harris Neck Community (DDHNC), which was hosting the “3rd Commemoration of the 1942 Harris Neck Community Diaspora.” This seemed like the invitation I had been waiting for. I wanted to listen and learn from the descendants of the community—people whose families had been in Harris Neck for generations and who were still fighting to reclaim their land.
I called the number listed on the website, but it went straight to voicemail. Later that day, I received a call from a similar number. The next day, I called that number and spoke with Frances Timmons Lewis, the President of DDHNC, an accomplished pianist and well-known gospel singer, and her sister Margaret, a retired educator. I was nervous but explained that I wanted to attend the event and that I was researching my Thomas family, who had lived in Harris Neck, though they had left sometime in the 1900s. I would later realize it was by about 1908.
I had always heard of Harris Neck through the lens of my grandmother’s family, who viewed my great-great-grandfather as benevolent to those he enslaved. But I knew I needed to confront the true history if I was ever going to move forward with my project. The emotion during that phone call was palpable—welcoming and filled with a sense of potential connection.
Frances and I exchanged emails and had several conversations before I arrived in Harris Neck. The event included several days of activities, each centered around themes: “The Promise from the Promise Keeper,” “Walk of Sorrow,” “Justice, Faith, and Community Day,” and “A Day of Reflection-Excursion.” Most of the events took place at the Harris Neck First African Baptist Church or within the boundaries of the US Fish & Wildlife Refuge, in partnership with the agency. These events aimed to immerse attendees in the community’s history from pre-1942 to the present day.
A few days before my trip, I called Frances, and she put me on hold. When she came back, she introduced me to Pastor Edgar Timmons, her brother. During the call, Frances asked Pastor Edgar to pray for us. The prayer, a powerful song to God, helped me understand that my journey wouldn’t be guided by plans and preparation—two things I cling to in life—but by faith alone.
Pastor Timmons was one of the people who, in 1979, led an effort to reclaim the land after the government had taken it by eminent domain in 1942 to build an airfield. The community was given just two weeks to vacate, and the promised return of the land never came. In the years after the war, the land was leased to McIntosh County where it was abused under their management, and ultimately, it was transferred to the Department of the Interior, where it remains under Federal control. Pastor Timmons and others were jailed in Savannah for 30 days in 1979 for their efforts to reclaim the land.
During the Walk of Sorrow, we walked from the entrance to the US Fish & Wildlife Refuge back to the First African Baptist Church, carrying pieces of lumber representing the homes residents had been forced to carry or leave behind in 1942. Fran, her sister, and I had already shared our thoughts, desires, my remorse, and their legacies. We all wanted to meet one another, acknowledge the painful history, and build a new legacy of love and reconciliation. At the event, Fran asked me to speak, and I was both honored and nervous.
It has taken me a long time to write this post, as it’s impossible to fully capture the emotions of the in-person interactions and phone calls, where faith and love were central to everything. At the event, I stood before the community, greeted by Fran, who introduced me with warmth and sincerity. I made my apologies for the actions of my ancestors, offering them from my heart. It was a moment of emotional release and one of love for the community and families who welcomed the stranger in their midst.
Afterwards, as I sat there, I listened to each speaker, each member of the Timmons family, dignitaries, and community leaders. Sister Sandra Hicks-Sheffield sang a solo that sent tingles down my spine, a powerful experience filled with the Holy Spirit, and the Commemoration choir led us all in praise. Then, the guest speaker, Pastor Daryl Johnson, inspired us all with his words: “I’m jumping into the future right now.”
Since then, every time I speak about my family’s history, I lead with an apology. Some may wonder why I would apologize for the actions of ancestors I never knew, but this act of acknowledgment allows me to take responsibility for their actions and engage with the narratives moving forward. My grandmother, though she had clung to the uncomfortable truths of the past, had her own version of the story. But my mother (who accompanied me to this significant event) and I dream of a different legacy—a living one, passed on to my children, so we never forget the harm of the past and remain committed to the changes needed for the present and future, in unity.
With the permission of the Timmons family, I finally set foot on the land, grateful for the lessons of the community, and ready to jump into the future.
For anyone interested in more history of Harris Neck, USFW Harris Neck in partnership with DDHNC has provided an “auto” tour of Harris Neck. It gives more details about the land, the formation of the church, the establishment of the Harris Neck School, and the community as a whole. It is provided on an app, but you can go to this link. For each section of history, hit the “next” arrow on the bottom right corner of each page to listen or read the content. Additional archival photos are available on this tour.