Stone by stone, artisan built a legacy beyond plantation

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

The stone wall surrounding the cemetery at Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Huntersville. Lewis Phifer, a slave at Latta Plantation who carved the steps at First Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, was in demand for his skill as a stonemason.

Five days a week, Elichia Ray drives past Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Huntersville to pick her grandchildren up from school.  

It wasn’t until last year that she discovered Lewis Phifer, the esteemed stonemason enslaved at Latta Plantation, was her great-great grandfather.  

“It’s like it was ordained by God,” Ray said.  

When looking for information about Hopewell High School, Ray found a page called “The Servant’s Entrance.” That led her youngest sister to track down a 1908 marriage license between Cyrus Phifer, Lewis’ son, and Maggie Farr signed by a member of the Sample family, who inherited the plantation. Maggie Pharr was Ray’s great grandmother.  

Phifer carved the steps to Hopewell Presbyterian, the gatepost and the steps at First Presbyterian Church in Charlotte. Mecklenburg County had the largest slave population in North Carolina’s Piedmont region and a small portion of the enslaved population were artisans, like Phifer.  

Phifer used a special technique of hand-drilling holes in stones to perforate them, refining them with an iron chisel after the cut was made. Little has been written about his talent.  

“We as a people have gone through so much. We’re such a hated people,” she said. “In my mind, my [great-great] grandfather beating out those stones and his back breaking and him never getting any pay for that really made me cry.”

The Sample family, who inherited the plantation, would hire Phifer out to others, a practice Ray compared to a sports transaction.

“It hurts. It really hurts,” Ray said. “When they wrote all that stuff, it’s almost like they were boasting about my grandfather. ‘Well, we own him, he’s on our team.’”

An 1860 record from Hopewell Presbyterian showed 142 enslaved members, who were referred to as “servants.”  While enslaved people were allowed to worship at the church, they were confined to the gallery, a raised area separate from white worshipers and accessible only by a special “blind” stairwell outside to keep them out of sight. Enslaved members were also restricted from voting on church affairs, and could not serve as officers or ministers.  

Even in death, the enslaved were segregated. Hopewell’s website says the enslaved members were not permitted to be buried inside the cemetery. A history of the Hopewell Presbyterian Church online says Phifer was buried at Latta, but Ray says their family doesn’t know where the grave is.

After emancipation, the Northern Branch of the Presbyterian Church donated money so freed people could erect their own places of worship. Among the churches launched were Miranda Presbyterian Church, Caldwell Presbyterian Church, and Hopewell AME Zion Church; the latter of which is where Ray’s family are members. It is also where some of her relatives are buried. Ray isn’t just a descendant of the Phifers. The Caldwells and Pharrs were also enslaved at Latta, from whom Ray’s family is descended.  

As much as Americans know slavery is a part of the nation’s history, there is still a failure to connect the past and the present. Ray admits to being shocked when white people suggest Black people just “forget” about the history of American chattel slavery.  

“We picked your cotton, we picked your tobacco, we took care of your children, your children sucked the breast of enslaved women,” she said. “It’s hidden. We move and live every day and it was never acknowledged that this is how my family contributed to the wellbeing and economy of this area, on the backbones of my ancestors.”

When she was young, Ray and her family traveled to her grandfather’s waterfront property on Lake Norman, where he owned eight plots. After inquiring about it she found out that the property had been sold. What happened remains a mystery.  

“It should be ours,” she said.  

Another example is gentrification. Ray’s mother’s home, which was sold for $80,000, is now valued at $405,000 according to Zillow.  

“Now the neighborhood is one-third white,” Ray said. “As they moved in, the value increased. They devalue us. The thing is, they devalued my grandfather. They still devalue us.”

Today, Ray believes all descendants of Latta Plantation’s enslaved at Latta are owed the capital that was denied and later taken from them. What would make ideal compensation?

“For them to give the wages that would have been our inheritance,” she said. That’s what would satisfy me.”

This article removes a reference to Lewis Phifer's participation in building the historic stone wall at Hopewell Presbyterian Church. 

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