Efforts underway to preserve last home in Rosewood following 1923 massacre

ROSEWOOD, Fla. - The niece of a woman who survived the Rosewood Massacre in Florida is working to preserve and relocate a home from the community and turn it into a museum. 

The old John Wright house is a solemn reminder of what Rosewood is…and was. 

"A destroyed town - no Blacks live there anymore," sings Lizzie Jenkins, President Founder Real Rosewood Foundation, "Where emptiness resides in the silent sacred breeze. Life there no more. Only nature's moss on trees." 

The Wright house is weathered by the heavy hand of time. It's one of the few things left after the massacre of 1923. 

The house…and the stories. 

Mahulda Gussie Brown Carrier - provided by family Lizzie Jenkins

"In 1992, I started speaking about Rosewood and I never stopped speaking ever since," said Jenkins. 

Lizzie Jenkins’ aunt – Mahulda Gussie Brown Carrier – narrowly survived.  

On January 1, 1923 a white woman falsely claimed a Black man attacked her. Enraged by the claim - an angry mob of white men torched the predominately Black town. At least 5 Black people were killed. Families scattered for safety.

Wright's home was the only home not touched in Rosewood. The white store owner hid survivors in the house until they could catch trains out of town to safety.   

It's a story Jenkins' family put to song. 

"The sheriff and the store owner worked around the clock," sang Jenkins, "Informed the train conductor when and where to stop." 

It was a risky task for Wright and Sheriff Robert ‘Bob’ Walker to coordinate as white men....as racial tension bubbled.

Jenkins is now working to raise roughly $600,000 to relocate the house a little over 30 miles northeast to the town of Archer in Alachua County.  It’s her aunt’s hometown. Jenkins plans to turn the Wright home into a museum -- named in her aunt’s honor.  

"We're going to shelter that house just as he sheltered the Rosewood survivors," said Jenkins, "Even if we take one board - 2 boards - windows - doors - we're going to move the house. We are taking history home." 

The family who lives in the Wright home now donated it to The Real Rosewood Foundation for the relocation project. They plan to move out – but a timeline isn’t set yet. 

If you’re interested in donating to the project – click here. 

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