Muncie’s Emancipation Day in 1887
By: Chris Flook
Many African Americans across our great nation celebrate Juneteenth, a holiday in recognition of emancipation from slavery. Specifically, Juneteenth commemorates the arrival of Union troops into Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. On that date, General Gordon Granger entered the Oleander City to announce the end of the Civil War and proclaim freedom for the state’s enslaved population. In the ensuing years, the freed women and men of Texas celebrated the date as Jubilee Day. In time, the holiday became known as Juneteenth and its observance spread across the United States during the 20th century.
However, in the first few decades after the Civil War, many African American communities outside of Texas memorialized Emancipation on either September 22 or January 1. On September 22, 1862, Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which legally freed slaves in all Confederate states on January 1, 1863. The order read, in part, that “on the first day of January in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”
Muncie was no exception. In the summer of 1887, the city’s Black leaders laid plans for an Emancipation Day celebration in September to observe the 25th anniversary of the proclamation.
Muncie was undergoing a remarkable transformation due to the prior year’s discovery of natural gas. The soon-to-be Magic City was rapidly evolving from an agricultural center into the industrial capital of east-central Indiana. Hundreds of people were pouring into the city to work on gas wells and in new factories. Muncie's population grew a staggering 117% in the 1880s and the city's African American population more than doubled in the same decade.
Delaware County at the time was also predominantly a Republican stronghold, with many Union veterans, both white and Black, assuming leadership roles in the transitioning city. Muncie certainly wasn’t a bastion of racial harmony during this era and Black Munsonians faced ongoing discrimination. Yet, Civil War and Emancipation commemorations were often celebrated in a manner that transcended race.
As such, the 25th anniversary of Emancipation was designed by boosters as a city-wide celebration. Planning for the day was spearheaded by a steering committee consisting of several prominent leaders from Muncie’s growing Black community including Reverend N.L. Bray, Al Shoecraft, Charles Guy, Foster Fry, John Williams, and Felix Herrold. The committee organized a parade, speeches, concerts, and dinner styled as an “old Virginia Supper.”
In the days leading up to September 22, the city’s Republican-leaning newspapers provided a near daily countdown, heralding the arrival of Emancipation Day. So too did many residents. A September 5, 1887 birth announcement in the Muncie Daily Times read, “Born: to Mr. and Mrs. John Sea this morning a great big bouncing 11¼ pound boy. Mother and babe both doing well. John says son is a reliable Republican and will in all probability take part in the Emancipation celebration that will be held in this city Sept. 22.” Twelve days later, the Times encouraged its readers to “do what you can to make the Emancipation Proclamation Celebration a grand success.”
In the evening of the 21st, an all-Black band arrived via train from Marion to serve as the musical centerpiece for the next day. The Muncie Morning News reported that a large crowd met the band when they arrived around 7:45 PM. An impromptu procession then made its way to the corner of Walnut and Main for a concert. Under the shadow of the newly finished grand third courthouse, “the street was soon filled with listeners and the excellent music was much enjoyed. After rendering several pieces the band was escorted to the Tremont (hotel) where the committee” entertained them.
The Cowan Band arrived the following morning around 10:00 AM. Both bands made their way to the Bee Line railroad station to play medleys as prominent Hoosier African Americans arrived in the city for the day’s festivities.
An hour later, the parade participants assembled at the Royal Rink, a roller skating and assembly hall establishment on the northeast corner of Jackson and Elm streets. The papers reported that the parade consisted of several bands, including the ensembles from Marion and Cowan, followed by a speakers’ carriage and residents on foot and in additional horse drawn carriages. Led by Marshal Al Shoecraft, the parade first went east on Jackson Street to Beacon, turned north onto Main, then headed west to the new courthouse. From there, they went south on Walnut, turned west on Charles, north on High, then east on Washington, and finally north on Walnut Street.
The planners intended the procession to end at the Delaware County Fairgrounds, where several prominent speakers were slated to deliver orations. However around noon, the skies opened up and soaked the participants, prompting an early end to the outside revelry.
Undaunted, the steering committee arranged for the speeches to take place that afternoon back at the Royal Rink. The venue could accommodate several thousand people; plus, the evening dinner party was booked at that location. The extant newspaper reports aren’t exactly clear as to who all spoke, but the published names included O. Mason, Solomon Woods, Ken Brown, Lemuel Stokes, Charles Smothers, and J.W. Ryan. Graham Duewell of Ohio gave the official oration.
Around 7:00 PM, according to the Muncie Daily Times, “the tables were spread, and placed thereon everything that was good to eat. The audience were favored by good music by the choir and band. Several speeches were made fitting to the occasion. At 11 o’clock, the floor was cleared for the purpose of tripping the light fantastic...They danced until the wee small hours. A general good time was had, and everybody left satisfied with the day, as being well spent on a good cause.” A fitting end to a grand day indeed.
Post first appeared in Chris Flook’s ByGone Muncie column in the Star Press on February 4, 2021.