For the 101st year, the descendants of Roberts Settlement gathered to celebrate their annual Homecoming at Roberts Chapel and Cemetery, located in Arcadia, Indiana.
The festivities for the three-day event kicked off with hot dogs, a hayride and fireworks on Friday evening. At the gathering, more than 150 family members and friends enjoyed fellowship over a delicious catered meal by Creative Cakes and Catering by Dorothy before taking part in the Homecoming program held in the Chapel. A worship service on Sunday featured Melanie Gay (White) Thompson, a direct descendant of several founding families, including the Roberts’.
The highlight for many attendees was the unveiling of The Legacy Walk, an interactive exhibit that provides a self-guided journey through Roberts Settlement’s Black pioneer history as well as a peaceful place for reflection. More than $500,000 was donated by family members, businesses and private individuals in addition to several grants and in-kind donations to commemorate this site that holds such historic significance in both Hamilton County and Indiana.
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Located 30 miles north of Indianapolis, the Roberts Settlement was founded in 1835 by free Blacks of mixed racial heritage who migrated mostly from North Carolina and Virginia as southern slavery threatened their freedoms and way of life. Their goals were the pursuit of economic, educational, and religious aspirations with the freedom and liberties that they believed rightfully belonged to all people. Today, set on a gently rolling landscape, visitors will find a chapel and cemetery, representing a once thriving community that continued to grow through the late-1800s.
Since 1924, the family has gathered to commemorate the founding of the settlement and the perseverance of the original families.
Historian and Noblesville native Stephen A. Vincent, Ph.D. said, “In the mid-1920s, growing self-awareness of Roberts Settlement’s special heritage led former residents to organize annual homecoming reunions, establishing a Fourth of July tradition that has continued to the present day.”
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At the first gathering, Cyrus Roberts, who grew up in the neighborhood during its most prosperous days, proclaimed to the assembled celebrants that:
“Our religious and educational facilities and opportunities have not been excelled in the past, [and] our religious influence and intellectual ability. . . are known far and wide. . . . [Today] our talent is sought, and the name ‘Roberts Settlement’ has become a synonym, not only for greatness, but also for honesty and uprightness wherever spoken.”
