The 1872 map of Wilson shows Jack Williamson‘s blacksmith shop on Tarboro Street, west of Barnes Street. The approximate location is now a parking lot.
Williamson, born enslaved in the Rock Ridge area, came to Wilson shortly after Emancipation. His wife, Ann Jackson Williamson, learned blacksmithing and horseshoeing from him and worked alongside him and their son Charles Williamson.
Jack Williamson died in 1899.
Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, March 2024.