Frank Benton & Martha Freeman Benton

In 1870, the Benton family’s patriarch, Frank Benton purchased 80 acres of land for $300 on Big Texas Valley Road & Fouche Gap Road in Rome, GA. Frank was a farmer, registered voter, homeowner, and entrepreneur. Martha took care of the children and their home. 

Frank and Martha raised their 12 children and several of their grandchildren on their family farm. The older children worked on the farm in different roles to help the family business generate income. Frank taught them entrepreneurship and Martha taught them other skills that they could use throughout their lives. Most of them got married and started their own families. Some of them built homes on the land with their spouses. As Frank and Martha's children grew older,  Mead, Mary, Louvenia, and Anthony stayed in the Rome area or the adjacent counties in Georgia or Alabama. Frank Jr. moved to Chattanooga, TN,  Sanford and Cebron migrated to Conway, Arkansas. The other children migrated from Rome to other cities in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas for career and educational opportunities. Martha passed in the late 1890's. Frank continued to live on the farm in Rome, GA with his grandchildren. He passed in 1901, in Chattanooga, TN. 

After his death, The Benton Estate was inherited by his children. His land was passed down throughout the family over the years. In 1991, over 121 years after the original purchase, his heirs George and John Adams subdivided the land into 33 parcels and sold his land. The proceeds from the land sales were dispersed to over 40 of Frank's known heirs. 

Today, Frank Benton’s Estate is a subdivision in a mixed middle-class community on Big Texas Valley Road and Fouche Gap Road in Rome, GA. Frank Benton's name will forever be embedded on that land. The Proctor Farm purchased 24 acres of the land and has preserved its beauty as a well known wedding venue in Rome, GA

Many of Frank and Martha’s descendants have successful careers including lawyers, community activist, doctors, engineers, military professionals, ministers, educators, entrepreneurs/business owners, corporate leaders, Chief of Police, and a United States Federal Judge.

Frank’s story is one of hope to remember for the rest of my life. Frank, Martha, and 8 of their children's journeys began in enslavement. After emancipation, Frank became lifelong entrepreneur and never working for the man another day of his entire life. Martha and Frank created a path for many of his successful descendants. Frank and Martha Benton faced immense obstacles and faced them with courage and determination. This is a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit. The fact that they were able to overcome such obstacles and provide a better future for their descendants is a source of inspiration and a reminder of the incredible power of perseverance.

The Benton family’s history is connected to Freemantown and other notable families such as the Freeman, Montgomery, Rogers, Chubb, Jones, Johnson, and other black families from the Rome, GA area.