(side 1)
Montgomery's Slave Depots
Montgomery slave traders operated depots where enslaved men, women, and children were confined. The slave depots functioned as active trading sites and as detention facilities where the enslaved were held captive until they were auctioned at Court Square. The city had four major slave depots. Three of the depots lined Market Street (now Dexter Avenue) between Lawrence and McDonough and were owned by Mason Harwell, S.N. Brown, and E. Barnard & Co. In 1859, Montgomery had as many slave depots as it did hotels and banks. The slave trade continued to thrive in Montgomery even during the Civil War. As late as 1864, Thomas L. Frazer opened a new slave depot on this block and sold boys and girls "of all descriptions."
(side 2)
Montgomery's Slave Traders
Vast plantations with large slave populations emerged in Alabama's Black Belt beginning in 1820. Montgomery's proximity to the Black Belt made the city a center for slave trading in Alabama. From the river, down Commerce Street and to this block, slave traders worked next door to shop owners and other business establishments. E. Barnard & Co. operated at 88 Commerce Street. Mason Harwell, one of Montgomery's most active slave traders, kept an office at 21 Market Street (now Dexter Avenue). On a single day, Harwell sold hundreds of enslaved men, women, and children, alongside livestock. Across the South, slave traders were generally among the wealthiest and most influential citizens in their communities.
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