Pennytown was a community of black farmers and laborers near Marshall, Saline County, MO

*PENNYTOWN*
(Off of MO/Saline County "UU" 8 mi. SE of Marshall )
The History of Pennytown is available only through the efforts of one lady, Josephine Jackson Lawrence, (1929-1992) who was born and raised at Pennytown. She collected, gathered, garnered, and saved every bit of information possible. her collection is now at Western Manuscripts Dept. in Columbia.
" ^{^3.} "Griot's" (gree-oh) in early Africa, were tribal members whose role in the tribe was to act as historian and to pass on their tribal history from one generation to the next. These triabal members were the storytellers of that time and their given role in that society was to preserve the genealogies and traditions of the tribe. This term is still true today in America, we have those that we could call griot's also. They are the family members who hunger for knowledge of their ancestry, who search and preserve their ancestry, who bring life to their ancestors by their endless and sometimes fruitless researching for knowledge and pass it on so their descendants and future generations will know their heritage.
Mrs. Lawrence was truly a "griot" in her efforts to preserve the history of this community

The Friends of Pennytown Historic Site will host a gathering from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, June 7, at the Pennytown Freewill Baptist Church south of Marshall. The day will feature Moses Berry speaking about his family history and showing artifacts. Entertainment will be provided by Nostalgia. (off site link) Pennytown is located eight miles southeast of Marshall, with the route off U.S. Highway 65 marked by signs.

Marshall Democrat-News
Tuesday, July 30, 2002
Pennytown homecoming part of weekend

Located about eight miles southeast of Marshall stands Pennytown Freewill Baptist Church, which will be the site of much reminiscing, worship and fellowship this weekend during Santa Fe Trail Days.

The Pennytown Committee, made of descendants and supporters of preserving Pennytown's history, has scheduled a fund-raiser Sunday afternoon to bring together descendants and friends of the historic African-American community.

From 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., fellowship will center around a carry-in basket dinner. Freewill donations will be accepted and will go toward the maintenance of the church and the continuation of efforts to restore the area.

"It's a time to bring a lunch and have a good old-fashioned time praising the Lord," said committee member Virginia Huston, a descendent of Pennytown.

The local praise band "Go Forth" will provide music for entertainment and worship and several descendants of Pennytown will also be singing and sharing their talents.

With the purpose of bringing people together and educating the public about the historic site, everyone is invited to join in on the meal and celebration time.

Lola Williams, who is also a descendent of Pennytown, said this weekend's celebration will be a special time to talk with others and remember the history of Pennytown and the lives of those who lived there during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

"It's a time to bring together the family and love and spiritual background," she said.

Her grandfather, Richard Lewis, and great-grandmother, Penelope "Penny" Lewis, lived in Pennytown and her brother, Charles R. Williams, will be giving a presentation about Pennytown at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. He will be speaking about the history of Pennytown in comparison with the history of Southern black people.

"There's a definite difference between those of us who were raised in that area and those who were raised in the south," he said. "We were kind of isolated and not exposed to the Southern black culture."

It is tradition for Pennytown descendants to gather at Pennytown Freewill Baptist Church each year to remember those who have passed on and continue spreading seeds of the gospel.........As part of Santa Fe Trail Days, the Pennytown homecoming brought together families and friends through the enjoyment of food, fellowship and worship. ...............Speaking of how elated she was to be able to carry on the tradition of the Pennytown homecoming, Virginia Huston thanked the members of "Go Forth" (band) for helping restore the church and coming to the historic place each year to worship with her and many of her family members...........Charles Williams, whose great-grandmother Penelope "Penny" Lewis, lived in Pennytown, reflected upon some things he has recently been studying. Trying to figure out why African-Americans do things the way they do, Williams came up with a solution......... We just found out for sure and we're getting more information about it," he said. "Why do we, descendants of Pennytown, and we as a people, do things the way we do? Because as slaves we have been programmed for over 300 years to act that way." ...........Williams briefly told about how his great-grandmother Penny was freed from slavery as a 5-month-old child. A woman who married into the family, Flora Lewis, was also an amazing woman, Williams said. In fact, he showed the congregation a page in the Kansas City Star's Sunday, Aug. 4, edition bearing a picture of the painting Flora Lewis had created in 1939. The fact that she was an African-American, and a woman, made her work even more important to Williams.............Thursday, June 06, 2002
History of Pennytown recalled in presentation

Beginning at 12:30 p.m., Ella B. Wright, the oldest living descendent of Pennytown, will share memories and help others remember the tales they have been told about the town. Huston, the last person born in Pennytown, will also share memories and information about her family members who lived there.

The events of the day will center around the Pennytown Freewill Baptist Church, which is all that remains of the town besides remnants, memories and broken-down buildings.

Huston, who is a member of the Pennytown Committee, wanted to share the presentation at the library before Saturday, to educate patrons about the historic site and invite them to join in on the celebrations. Her purpose was to share the history and memories of Pennytown with others, with hopes of continuing to restore the area.

Lawrence and his wife Tracy have also been strong supporters of Pennytown. Lawrence still remembers going to Pennytown to visit his Uncle Francis and Aunt Willa.

Huston and Lawrence said the only way they know everything they do about Pennytown is because of their mother, Josephine.

"Our family there goes back several generations," Lawrence said. "Some of the real history about Pennytown is due west of it, in Finnis Creek Cemetery. Residents of the town are buried there and descendants of Pennytown can be buried there for free still today

From: Preservation Issues (Vol. 4, No. I,) and From Preservation Issues, Volume 7, Number 1:

For nearly 50 years, homecoming has been held at the last building still owned by Pennytowners - the First Freewill Baptist Church. ......The church was a small, badly deteriorated structure constructed of hollow terra cotta block.

Pennytown's founder was Joe Penny, an ex-slave from Kentucky who arrived in Saline County in the late 1860s. Penny purchased eight acres of land south of Marshall. He paid white owner John Haggin the sum of $160 for his land and the deed was duly recorded. It was a rare business transaction - possibly the only instance at this early period of legal transfer of land to a freedman.

1870 Federal Census- Blackwater Township, page 104 PO Bownsville
102-105 stop-household
Penny, Joseph (B) age 60 property value $250 b. Ky
Penny, Harriet (B) age 54 b. TN
Gatron, Peter (B) age 19 b. MO.
Williams, William (B) age 10 b. MO.

Same census shows a white family- Marshall Townhip, p.189 Arrowrock PO, same ages exactly
William Penny age 60 b. NC
Ann Penny age 54 b. GA

1880 Federal Census Saline County Salt Fork Township-P. 552D- from FamilySearch

Joe PENNY	Self	M	Male	B	68	KY	Farmer	VA	VA
Harroh PENNY	Wife	M	Female	B	65	TN	Keeping House	GA	VA
Nora BUTLER	SDau	W	Female	B	28	MO	At Home	GA	TN
Eveline BUTLER	SDau	W	Female	B	35	MO	At Home	GA	TN
William WILLIAMS	GSon	S	Male	MU	19	MO	At Home	MO	MO
Sallie A. BUTLER	GDau	S	Female	B	10	MO	At Home	KY	MO
Minnie BUTLER	GDau	S	Female	B	4	MO	At Home	KY	MO

This indicates that Joe did not have any children-with this wife-at least that survived- he would have been about 53 years old at the end of the Civil War.

Penny then divided his land into small lots and sold them to other black settlers. More land was acquired over the years and similarly divided and sold.

Neighbors in 1880 - one side was a white family and then the following black families were likely residents of Pennytown

Israel SMITH	Self	M	Male	B	27	VA	Farmer	VA	VA
Mildred SMITH	Wife	M	Female	B	21	MO	Keeping House	KY	KY
Mary STUART	SDau	S	Female	B	10	MO	At Home	MO	MO
Benton STUART	SSon	S	Male	B	6	MO	At Home	MO	MO
Willie STUART	SSon	S	Male	B	5	MO	At Home	MO	MO
Johnie SMITH	Son	S	Male	B	1	MO	At Home	VA	MO

Samuel CROWBARGER	Self	M	Male	MU	27	VA	Farmer	VA	VA
Anna CROWBARGER	Wife	M	Female	B	23	MO	Keeping House	---	---
Henry CROWBARGER	SSon	S	Male	B	10	MO	At Home	...	MO
Amanda MILLER	MotherL	W	Female	MU	60	KY	At Home	KY	KY

John ALEXANDER	Self	M	Male	B	38	KY	Farmer	VA	VA
Ellen ALEXANDER	Wife	M	Female	B	33	MO	Keeping House	VA	MO
Elisabeth ALEXANDER	Dau	S	Female	B	15	MO	At Home	KY	MO
Lula ALEXANDER	Dau	S	Female	B	12	MO	At Home	KY	MO
Mary ALEXANDER	Dau	S	Female	B	9	MO	At Home	KY	MO
Ellen ALEXANDER	Dau	S	Female	B	6	MO	At Home	KY	MO
Callie ALEXANDER	Dau	S	Female	B	5	MO	At Home	KY	MO
Walter ALEXANDER	Son	S	Male	B	4	MO	At Home	KY	MO
Munroe ALEXANDER	Son	S	Male	B	2	MO	At Home	KY	MO

Mack JACKSON	Self	M	Male	B	35	MO	Huckster	MO	MO
Christian JACKSON	Wife	M	Female	B	33	MO	Keeping House	MO	MO
Margret JACKSON	Dau	S	Female	B	10	MO	At Home	MO	MO
Clifton JACKSON	Son	S	Male	B	7	MO	At Home	MO	MO
Tom JACKSON	Son	S	Male	B	5	MO	At Home	MO	MO
Edmond JACKSON	Son	S	Male	B	3	MO	At Home	MO	MO
Mack JACKSON	Son	S	Male	B	1	MO	At Home	MO	MO

James JACKSON	Self	M	Male	B	37	MO	Farmer	MO	MO
Jane JACKSON	Wife	M	Female	B	28	MO	Keeping House	MO	MO
Robert JACKSON	Son	S	Male	B	12	MO	At Home	MO	MO
Lucy JACKSON	Dau	S	Female	B	5	MO	At Home	MO	MO
Henry JACKSON	Son	S	Male	B	3	MO	At Home	MO	MO

Washington BROWN	Self	M	Male	B	56	KY	Farmer	VA	VA
Patsy BROWN	Wife	M	Female	B	54	MO	Keeping House	GA	VA
Luesa JACKSON	SDau	W	Female	B	32	MO	At Home	TN	MO
Willie JACKSON	GSon	S	Male	B	8	MO	At Home	---	MO
Jimie JACKSON	GSon	S	Male	B	6	MO	At Home	---	MO
Bettie JACKSON	GDau	S	Female	B	4	MO	At Home	---	MO
Lettie BROWN	Mother	W	Female	B	72	VA	At Home	VA	VA

Stephen WASHINGTON	Self	M	Male	B	60	KY	Farmer	VA	KY
Mathilda WASHINGTON	Wife	M	Female	B	40	MO	Keeping House	VA	VA
Anderson WASHINGTON	Son	S	Male	B	19	MO	At Home	KY	MO
Lucy WASHINGTON	Dau	S	Female	B	12	MO	At Home	KY	MO
Matilda WASHINGTON	Dau	S	Female	B	10	MO	At Home	KY	MO

William BUCKNER	Self	M	Male	B	50	MO	Farmer	---	---
Lucinda BUCKNER	Wife	M	Female	B	43	KY	Keeping House	KY	KY
Laura L. BUCKNER	Dau	S	Female	B	17	MO	At Home	MO	KY
Mary V. BUCKNER	Dau	S	Female	B	13	MO	At Home	MO	KY
Reoby J. BUCKNER	Dau	S	Female	B	8	MO	At Home	MO	KY
Ida B. BUCKNER	Dau	S	Female	B	2	MO	At Home	MO	KY

M. MONTGUMERY	Self	W	Female	B	48	MO	At Home	KY	KY
Mack CHANNEL	Son	S	Male	B	16	MO	At Home	MO	MO

Samuel LARANCE	Self	M	Male	B	46	VA	Tanner	VA	VA
Harrett LARANCE	Wife	M	Female	B	38	VA	Keeping House	VA	VA
Jenny LARANCE	Dau	S	Female	B	21	MO	At Home	VA	VA
Samuel LARANCE	Son	S	Male	B	15	MO	At Home	VA	VA
Antony LARANCE	Son	S	Male	B	14	MO	At Home	VA	VA
Mary E. LARANCE	Dau	S	Female	B	10	MO	At Home	VA	VA
Johnie LARANCE	Son	S	Male	B	9	MO	At Home	VA	VA
Richard LARANCE	Son	S	Male	B	6	MO	At Home	VA	VA
Charley LARANCE	Son	S	Male	B	5	MO	At Home	VA	VA
Bettie LARANCE	Dau	S	Female	B	2	MO	At Home	VA	VA
Lester LARANCE	Son	S	Male	B	1	MO	At Home	VA	VA

next is a white family-

By 1900, the town consumed approximately 64 acres and had 40 families living in a dense collection of small frame houses. Pennytown also eventually contained two churches, a school, a store, and two communal lodges.

The first church building to be built on the same site began immediately following the fire. (?) Pennytowners purchased hollow tile blocks a few at a time until they had accumulated enough to build the church. The construction was accomplished by church members, and the cornerstone was laid in 1926

The last families left Pennytown in 1943, leaving only the elderly who died there.

As Pennytowners took up residence elsewhere in order to have better jobs and better education for their children, they also sought to establish a connection with the past. At the end of World War II, former Pennytowners organized an annual homecoming to be held on the first Sunday in August.

For nearly 50 years, homecoming has been held at the last building still owned by Pennytowners - the First Freewill Baptist Church. And each year, Pennytowners and their descendants gather there to sing long-remembered spirituals and illuminate the past for younger generations. The little church grew frail over the years; it lost its windows to vandals, its roof to the elements, the mortar holding it together crumbled, and it began to collapse. But still the Pennytowners assembled there annually to stand on the front lawn and stare up at the church in awe. It was, they believed, the very embodiment of their history. ..........

As we concluded our visit on that hot day in August, Josephine told me she was going to begin in earnest a fundraising campaign to restore the church. "How will you raise such a large amount of money?" I asked. "With the Lord's help," she replied, "with the Lord's help, I know we can do it."

Josephine began her fundraising for the church, "the Pennytown way." Quilts were hand stitched and raffled, dinners held, pastries baked and sold, and a Pennytown cookbook produced. At every street festival, county fair, or church supper in Saline County, Pennytowners were there, raising money to save their church. By the time of Josephine's death in 1992, the group had raised nearly half of the estimated $35,000 necessary for the church building's restoration.

Josephine's daughter Virginia Houston took charge of the fundraising effort following her mother's death. She said the group now has more than $18,000 in its Marshall bank account; she too has faith that their fundraising goal will be reached and the church restored.

Exactly three years ago, Preservation Issues (Vol. 4, No. I,) published the story of the Pennytown "project": the efforts of the descendants of the town's early residents to raise the capital to restore the Pennytown church. That inspiring storyhas come to a happy conclusion as reported below

The First Free Will Baptist Church is the last remaining building still owned by Pennytowners in a once thriving freedmen's hamlet near Marshall, Saline County. The town itself, founded and nurtured by ex-slave Joe Penny in the late 19th century, no longer exists. The homes, schools and businesses of 40 families that once surrounded the church are gone, replaced by an MFA test farm.

But Pennytown still lives. It lives in the memories of Pennytowners, and its story is passed down to younger generations and honorary Pennytowners of all ages, races and creeds. The small church, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is the visible memory of the history of the town and the triumph of its people over adversity and injustice in post-Civil War Missouri. It also serves as an important reminder of a part of Missouri's and America's history that should not be forgotten. It was for these reasons that Pennytowners, under the leadership of the late Josephine Lawrence, began their lengthy effort to gain national recognition for the Pennytown church and raise enough money for the restoration project. Through bake sales, dinners, raffles, the sale of a Pennytown cookbook and "passing the hat," the group had raised $18,000 by 1994. It was not enough for the restoration project, but it was enough to help match a Historic Preservation Fund grant, awarded in early 1995 by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' Historic Preservation Program.

The project consisted of the construction of a new foundation, the reconstruction of the exterior walls using the building's original hollow masonry blocks, construction of a new roof and the installation of new windows and doors. Minimal interior work included drywall and a wood plank floor. Volunteers accomplished the interior and exterior painting.

In 1996, on the first Sunday in August, as they had been doing for 50 years, Pennytowners from throughout the United States came back to the church for the Pennytown homecoming. More than 200 people gathered on the lawn surrounding the building to greet old friends, make new ones, eat dinner and enjoy an inspirational program. But most of all, they were there to celebrate the restoration of the Pennytown church; their "project" had come to a successful conclusion, and a new life was just beginning for the church building.

The restored church will play an important role in Saline County's heritage tourism initiative, hosting busloads of visitors who want to learn about Pennytown's history. It will also be the location of an educational field study program for the county's school children, especially those who are studying Missouri history.

Pennytowners, now under the leadership of Lawrence's daughter Virginia Houston, have many plans for the future. Fundraising will continue for maintenance of the church building and for the restoration of the historic privy (also listed in the National Register). A fence, a sign and a brochure for visitors are also planned.

DNR photo by Karen Grace
Lawrence's daughter Virginia Houston stands in front of the recently completed church.

Editor's Note from Preservation Issues: To my knowledge, the articles and photographs are not copyrighted.

Pennytown ^{^1.} was a community of black farmers and laborers near Marshall, Missouri. Land purchased in 1871 by Joseph Penny became the nucleus of Pennytown, which grew to become the largest black community in Saline County. Residents of Pennytown performed agricultural, domestic, and other kinds of labor for the region. The residents formed a strong community based on mutual cooperation.

Pennytown began to lose population in the 1920s as residents moved to other towns in Saline and Pettis Counties which were closer to their jobs. By the 1970s the only building still standing in Pennytown was the Free Will Baptist Church, which had always been one of the most important community institutions. Annual reunions are held in August so that former residents can retain their ties with Pennytown and preserve the history of their community. (^{^2.}The Freewill Baptist Church was added to the national Historical Register as Free Will Baptist Church of Pennytown (added 1988 - Building - #88000388) Off MO UU 8 mi. SE of Marshall, Marshall )

Josephine R. Lawrence, who was born in 1929 in Pennytown is a local historian with a keen interest in preserving and recording the history of Pennytown. Josephine R. Lawrence's mother was Nellie Jackson and her father was Fred Robinson. Her grandmother was Beulah Jackson. Aaron Jackson was her mother's first husband; Aron Jackson was her cousin. She had two brothers, Aaron and James Jackson, and a sister, Lorene Jackson Crobarker. Josephine's former husband was Clarence L. Lawrence.

The First Freewill Baptist Church of Pennytown is a registered not-for-profit organization with the state of Missouri. Donations may be tax-deductible. For more information about the "Pennytown Project," write or call Dr. Daniel Fahnestock, 269 S. Jefferson, Marshall, MO 65340, (816) 886-6903 or Virginia Houston, 770 W. Clara, Apt. 1, Marshall, MO 65340, (816)886-8418