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Education and Evangelism
From Hill Town to Strieby explores the life of Reverend Islay Walden, a man born into slavery who overcame blindness and hardship to return home as a minister and educator, and the legacy the Hill and Lassiter families left on the community. Why was this an important book for you to write?
As descendants of the original families that helped found the church and who continue as trustees today, we worried as we watched the last of the generation before us pass away that our history would be lost if we did not make a concerted effort to preserve, share, and uplift it. As the writer in the group, they looked to me to help that happen. In addition, just as other African American community descendants are concerned about erasure, not just benign neglect, we wanted to do all we could to be certain that the history of the church, school, community and its founder, Rev. Islay Walden, would always be an acknowledged and celebrated part of Randolph County, North Carolina history, and be part of the broader American History of African Americans and the rural South. I didn’t want anyone in Randolph County to ever say again as someone once had, “Strieby? Never Heard of It.”
With regards to Islay Walden himself, I had come to realize, as I researched his life, that in his lifetime, he was not an obscure poet, as some had portrayed him. In addition, I realized that none of the biographical essays about him had really understood that his passion was not poetry, regardless of his success. His passion was education and evangelism. No one had reflected on that in writing about him, so I wanted to pay homage to him as a 19th century African American poet, but even more important for me to elucidate was his legacy in education and ministry.
How much research did you undertake for this book, and how much time did it take to put it all together?
At the time that I made the decision to finally write the book, I had been researching the community for over twenty years and had already written a book about the history of one family, the Miles Lassiter family. At the same time as discussions about writing the book, family members were also asking about historical preservation. As part of that, I prepared an extensive, documented history of the church, historic school, and cemetery in application for the county’s Cultural Heritage Site designation, which we received. That application became the first draft. It took two more years of research and writing before the book was completed in 2016.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
The level of educational excellence that the school stood for had been praised and celebrated at every turn by the entire community. This was a community with nearly 100% literacy in the early 1900s, when that achievement was rare for any community in the rural South. This community had placed a high premium on education, and members had gone to great lengths to seek additional opportunities, even leaving the community to do so, yet always returning to share love and encouragement with the next generation. In fact, this community had produced at least one young teacher by 1900, and several more soon followed.
What is one thing that you hope readers take away from From Hill Town to Strieby?
I hope readers see that rural communities of color have been seeking the same things that their urban siblings have been seeking — opportunity. They seek educational opportunities, which they hope, like everyone else, will provide them with other opportunities, including economic security, whether they leave the countryside or not.
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From Hill Town to Strieby: Education and the American Missionary Association in the Uwharrie “Back Country” of Randolph County, North Carolina
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
LITERARY TITAN 