Step Back in History: Kingdom of the Happy Land

The Historic Saluda Committee welcomes Ronnie Pepper as the guest speaker at the next Step Back in History program to be held on Saturday, October 12th at 10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary of the Saluda Presbyterian Church, 54 Carolina Street, Saluda, NC. Join Pepper for a look back at the fascinating history of the Kingdom of the Happy Land, a community of freed slaves that settled near Tuxedo on the North Carolina-South Carolina border just after the Civil War. It is thought that some of the African Americans that settled in Saluda may have had ties to the residents of the Kingdom, or may have been descendants. Using the art of storytelling, Pepper will present from an African American perspective. This event is free and open to the public.

According to Pepper, “Our local history is full of African-American people who have endured and overcome many hardships, trials and tribulations; whose stories go untold and many times forgotten. So it is true of a group of freed African-American slaves that settled into a community on the border of North and South Carolina, the Kingdom of the Happy Land. Even if there is no one person important, no one person famous, this community spoke through their actions that spoke to who they were. They would contribute to this place that would tie their histories into the larger whole. Let us journey together to discover the past from a different perspective.”