Letitia Carson was one of the first Black women to settle in Oregon. As a formerly enslaved unmarried African-American woman, she is the embodiment of marginalization and exclusion. And yet, she persisted, and won some of her battles. Carson’s story illuminates important facets of what life was like for early African-American settlers in Oregon. An elementary school in Corvallis was recently named for her, and her story is becoming more widely known and recognized through the work of the Letitia Carson Legacy Project.

More information on Letitia Carson can be found here.

This exhibition was created by Oregon Black Pioneers. The rental of it by BCHS is partially sponsored by the Oregon State University Center for Small Farms and Sustainable Food Systems.