Revealed: Freedmen's 1865 Land Grants on Skidaway Island Stripped Away
An investigation uncovered that dozens of formerly enslaved families once owned land on Skidaway Island, Georgia, which was reclaimed by the government and given back to former owners within two years.
A two-and-a-half-year probe by the Center for Public Integrity traced land-title archives confirming that numerous freedmen were granted ownership of plots on Skidaway Island, Georgia, following the 1865 40-acre promise. Within two years, the federal government rescinded those grants, restoring the land to the former enslavers. The island now hosts The Landings, a high-end gated development where the original Black community’s story is largely omitted.
Linda Brown, one of the few Black homeowners there, said the revelation felt like a rug being pulled out from under them. A recent Reveal broadcast, produced with the Center, displayed a descendant receiving her ancestor’s title and discussed how such hidden documents relate to ongoing reparations debates. The episode updates a June 2024 segment that first highlighted the issue.
Why it matters
It exposes how historic land theft still shapes wealth and segregation in modern affluent neighborhoods.
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