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What We Know from Albany, Georgia’s Historical Records

1. Albany’s Courthouse Hosted Major Slave Sales

 A recent historical project, The Resistance Trail of Southwest Georgia, documents that Albany’s courthouse was the site of the second‑largest single sale of enslaved Africans in U.S. history.

This confirms that public auctions of enslaved people did occur in Albany, not just on plantations but in central civic spaces.

2. Southwest Georgia Was a Major Slave‑Trading Region

Contemporary accounts describe slave auctions in town squares across Southwest Georgia, where families were separated and sold to the highest bidder.

Albany, as a major commercial hub in the region, participated in this broader slave‑trading economy.

3. Context Within Georgia’s Slave‑Trade History

Georgia legalized slavery in 1751 and became deeply tied to plantation slavery.

While the most famous sale (“The Weeping Time”) occurred in Savannah, Albany’s courthouse sale ranks among the largest documented auctions in the state.

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