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Harris Neck

Harris Neck, McIntosh County, Georgia · South Atlantic

Gullah Geechee Landowning and Agricultural Community

Land LossForced Expulsion

Categories: Black Landownership Lost or Displaced · Communities Destroyed or Displaced by Government/Public Projects · Forced Expulsion & Racial Cleansing

What was built

Established or development period
1865
Peak period
1900–1942
Who built the community
Formerly enslaved Gullah Geechee families who received land after emancipation, notably through a bequest to Robert Delegall, and built a self-sufficient coastal community.
Black population
Roughly 75 families, about 100+ residents, on about 2,687 acres.
Businesses
Oystering, crabbing, fishing, boatbuilding, farming and cattle raising.
Financial institutions
Not yet documented
Churches
First African Baptist Church and a community cemetery.
Schools
A community school.
Hospitals
Not yet documented
Newspapers
Not yet documented
Entertainment & cultural institutions
Not yet documented
Other community institutions
Not yet documented
Black land & property ownership
Approximately 2,687 acres of Black-owned coastal land, held by families since emancipation.
Economic significance
A self-sustaining Gullah Geechee landowning economy on the Georgia coast.

What happened

What happened?
In 1942 the federal government condemned Harris Neck for a World War II Army airfield. Residents were given roughly three weeks to leave; bulldozers destroyed homes, and families were not allowed to return after the war. The land was transferred to McIntosh County and then, in 1962, to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a national wildlife refuge.
Trigger or precipitating event
Wartime condemnation for an Army Air Corps airfield.
Underlying historical context
Wartime eminent domain applied to a Black landowning community, followed by refusal to return the land after the war ended.
Method of destruction / displacement
Government Acquisition · Eminent Domain · Forced Departure
Date or period of destruction
1942
Confirmed / documented deaths
Not yet documented
Estimated deaths
Not yet documented
People displaced
Roughly 75 families.
Homes destroyed
Homes bulldozed after the residents' forced departure.
Businesses destroyed
Not yet documented
Acres or property lost
Approximately 2,687 acres of Black-owned coastal land.

Afterward

What happened to the land?
An Army airfield, then county control, then the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge.
Was compensation paid?
Condemnation payments documented as far below fair value, and the land was never returned.
Was the community rebuilt?
No
What was rebuilt?
Not yet documented
Destroyed or displaced again?
Not yet documented
Second displacement date
Not yet documented
Second displacement cause
Not yet documented
What exists there today?
The Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, with the community cemetery still used by descendants.
Descendant, reparation & restoration efforts
The Harris Neck Land Trust, decades of federal petitions, congressional appeals and litigation seeking return of the land.
Historical significance
The clearest documented case of federal wartime condemnation permanently taking a Black landowning community's coastal property.

Sources

  • Source lookup

    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge history

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  • Primary record

    National Archives, War Department condemnation records, 1942

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  • Source lookup

    Georgia Historical Society

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  • Source lookup

    Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, National Park Service

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Last verified: 2026-09-20. This is a living historical collection. Additional communities and documentation will be added as research and verification continue.