Author Margo Lee Williams’s From Hill Town to Strieby tells a sweeping story of a Black community in post, Civil War North Carolina that found strength through faith, education, and family. The book traces the evolution of Hill Town and the nearby Lassiter Mill settlement, communities founded by free and formerly enslaved African Americans under the shadow of the Uwharrie Mountains. At its heart is the life of Reverend Islay Walden, a man born into slavery who fought blindness and hardship to return home as a minister and educator. Through meticulous research and family genealogy, Williams captures the interwoven lives of the Hill and Lassiter families, showing how their legacy shaped the creation of Strieby Church and School, a hub of spiritual and educational hope for generations. The narrative moves through centuries, from emancipation to civil rights, offering both history and homage.

Reading this book felt like sitting on a front porch, listening to someone who not only knows the history but lived its echo. Williams writes with a reverence that’s contagious. Her attention to names, deeds, and census records could have been dry in another writer’s hands, but she turns them into a living map of resilience. I found myself pausing often, thinking about what it meant for a man like Walden to walk north on faith, then return to teach others to read and dream. The writing has a rhythm that feels intimate, almost oral, as if the voices of the ancestors rise through every paragraph. Sometimes the detail gets dense, the endless generations and property records can slow the flow, but even those moments carry a sense of duty, a need to set the record straight for families long overlooked by mainstream history.

I liked how Williams weaves emotion into documentation. She doesn’t just present facts; she reclaims stories. Her reflections on Strieby’s survival, even after the school closed, made me think about how heritage lives on in memory and ritual. I admired how she connected the local with the national, the way a small rural church in Randolph County linked to larger forces like the American Missionary Association and Howard University. The writing feels humble but powerful. It’s the kind of storytelling that makes you look at a dirt road or a worn gravestone and see history breathing there.

From Hill Town to Strieby feels like both a love letter and a ledger. I think it’s about what education and faith can build when the world offers nothing but obstacles. I’d recommend this book to readers who care about African American history, genealogy, or Southern heritage, and to anyone who values stories of perseverance.

Pages: 452 | ISBN : 0939479095