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Overview:
A traveling exhibit on one of the state’s first Black women landowners is making a stop in Eugene, thanks to two Lane County historical institutions who want to diversify their programming.
In the bedrooms and corridors of the Shelton McMurphey Johnson House, standing banners tell the story of early Black Oregon settler Letitia Carson. There is no photo of Carson, as none are believed to have been taken during her lifetime. Rather, an illustrated outline to represent her presides over the interior of the Victorian mansion.
A travelling exhibit about Carson’s life is on display at Eugene’s historic Shelton McMurphey Johnson House through September. While it has no physical artifacts, the exhibit tells the narrative of Carson’s life to visitors as they walk throughout the museum.
The Carson exhibit is traveling throughout Oregon this year, a project from Oregon Black Pioneers. A collaboration between the Shelton McMurphey Johnson House and Cottage Grove’s Singing Creek Educational Center brought it to Eugene.
Though Carson’s story happened largely in Benton and Douglas counties, the exhibit comes to Eugene as both Lane County historical institutions consider what Oregon history has often left out.
“As a living history organization, it’s really important for us to make sure that we are highlighting history from all sides and multiple perspectives,” said Karen Rainsong, the executive director of Singing Creek Educational Center. “We want to make sure that we are not just talking about white settler history, but the entire history,”
Letitia Carson’s story
Carson was born into slavery around 1815 in Kentucky. She came to Oregon in 1845 with David Carson, a white man. Their daughter Martha Jane, was born on the way. They settled on a 640-acre land claim, the amount provided for married couples at the time, close to Soap Creek. According to the Letitia Carson Legacy Project at Oregon State University, they built a homestead and raised cattle and hogs, and planted crops. In 1849, their son Adam was born.
But in 1850, the Oregon Territory reduced the Carson land claim by half because it didn’t recognize Letitia and David as a married couple. In 1852, David died without a will.
But the neighbor who administered his estate, Greenberry Smith, didn’t recognize Carson or the children as David’s heirs. He auctioned off the family’s possessions. In 1854, Carson sued David’s estate, twice. She argued that if she wasn’t David’s heir, the estate owed her back wages and damages, as well as the value from the unlawful sale of her cattle.
Oregon did not allow Black immigrants to own land at the time. However, in 1855 a jury ruled in her favor, granting her hundreds of dollars. The following year, a federal judge awarded her more than $1,500. Later, after the passage of the 1862 Homestead Act, Carson filed a claim for land in Douglas County. President Ulysses S. Grant certified that claim in 1869, making her the only Black woman in the state to successfully file a claim for land. The ranch — cattle, pigs, a barn, smokehouse, two-story home and an orchard — was hers.
Carson’s story is an example of the grit of the state’s early Black settlers, said Belinda Miller, the communications manager for Oregon Black Pioneers.
“Her story challenges the narrative of Oregon and helps Black Oregonians today see themselves reflected in Oregon history,” she said in a statement.
SMJ, Singing Creek on wanting to tell Black stories
The exhibit is a rental from Oregon Black Pioneers, paid for via a grant from the Lane County Cultural Coalition.
Shelton McMurphey Johnson House executive director Leah Murray said bringing the exhibit to the house is part of wanting diversity in its programming.
The Carson exhibit is at the house at the same time as its main exhibit, “Footnotes on the Butte.” That exhibit, about the history of the Skinner Butte neighborhood, includes the first house owned by a Black family and early Black neighborhoods in Eugene.
“The house was owned by three white families who were influential in the community,” Murray said. “We are the closest thing Eugene has to its own museum, and we need to represent the whole community.”
Rainsong said that though Carson isn’t from Eugene, bringing the exhibit to the city fits. Singing Creek has done a better job of showing Indigenous history than Black history, Rainsong said. That put her on a hunt to highlight Black settlers.
“We are a society and a city that is culturally diverse,” she said. “We have a lot of white people, it’s true, but there are a lot of other people too from other countries and other backgrounds. It’s necessary to bring it in. It’s needed to make sure that those voices are included.”
How to see the Letitia Carson exhibit
The Shelton McMurphey Johnson House, 303 Willamette St., is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. On Saturdays and Sundays, it’s open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
No advance tickets are required for a visit to the exhibit, which is in Eugene through September. Tickets cost $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 years and under, and $8 for students, seniors and AAA members. Admission is free for up to 6 people with an EBT card.
