Archaeologists Uncovered the Lost Homestead of a Forgotten King, Buried for 260 Years
One of the most unique characters in Black American history is that of “King Pompey,” a formerly enslaved person who was elected “king” by his fellow Black Americans in elaborate West African celebrations.
On the eve of the American Revolution, Black people from Salem, Boston, and other nearby cities would travel to Pompey’s homestead in Lynn, Massachusetts to participate in Black Election Day, which took place the same day that white, land-owning men were voting for colonial governors.
Historians and anthropologists from Northwestern University and the University of New Hampshire have finally discovered the precise location of Pompey’s homestead, illuminating an incredible-yet-obscured chapter of American history.
For an entire century, Black Americans in New England—many of whom were enslaved and denied the right to vote—participated in another kind of democratic electoral system. Known as “Negroes Hallowday” or “Negroes Election Day,” Black men throughout New England gathered on the same day as white, land-owning men (the only people who could legally vote at the time) to cast a ballot for their elected leaders.
According to the New England Historical Society, there were some 31 elected black kings and governors throughout the northern colonies and states between 1750 and 1850. These weren’t just ceremonial titles—many elected “kings” and “governors” were called on to be leaders and to handle important matters related to the Black community. One of the most notable among this colonial royalty was a man named Pompey Mansfield, who was allegedly an African prince before being enslaved and sent to the Americas.
On the eve of the American Revolution, after winning his freedom, “King Pompey” lived in a homestead along the Saugus River near Lynn, Massachusetts. According to historians, Black people from Salem, Boston, and other nearby towns traveled to this home to participate in West African traditions and elect Pompey to his kingly status. However, the home described in historical accounts appears to have been lost to time.
But sometimes, appearances can be deceiving.
On June 18, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) announced the discovery of the rocky foundation that likely made up King Pompey’s 18th century homestead.
“King Pompey was an esteemed leader in the Black community, but his home and property have always been a mystery,” Northwestern University’s Kabria Baumgartner, a historian who worked on the team, said in a press statement. “I spend a lot of time in archives looking at written materials so to be on site and see this revealed has been exciting.”
In 2023, the New England Humanities Consortium put out a call for intellectual projects that would bring students and faculty together to do meaningful work. When UNH anthropologist Meghan Howey saw the call, she texted her friend and former colleague Baumgartner with a simple mission: “Let’s go find Pompey.”
That search sent them poring over old historical references to the Pompey homestead as well as leveraging LIDAR-derived topographic maps to cross reference with historical newspapers and specific landmarks. Once they located the promising site, Baumgartner, Howey, and their team began digging, removing layers of newer foundation in the process. Below 260 years of trash and mortar, they finally discovered what they’d been looking for—a pebble stone foundation that matches the description found in historical documentation.
“The big find was the handmade pebble foundation without quarry rock,” Howey said in a press statement. “That showed determination and ingenuity. And then the compelling match of the historical descriptions, the bend in the river, marshy meadow, oak trees. While not everything in history is written down, or even written down correctly, when it comes to what people leave behind, they don’t edit their trash.”
With Pompey’s home finally rediscovered, the team hopes to work with the National Park Service to create a historical marker related to the story of King Pompey while also continuing through their outreach to bring the story of this long-lost Black Election Day back to life. For Baumgartner, the discovery adds much-needed dynamism to the pictures of the daily lives of people who suffered under America’s cruelest institution.
“I’ve always been fascinated by those fleeting private and intimate moments outside of the watchful eye of an enslaver when Black people could be themselves and enjoy each other and be in community,” Baumgartner said in a press statement. “It’s rare for me to get a chance to be on the site of a discovery and thanks to Meghan and her team’s archeological work we get a better sense of King Pompey’s world. It was just as described, serene and peaceful.”
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