Black pioneers fleeing threats to their freedom in southern slave states settled in Grant County by the 1840s. With other free and formerly enslaved families who arrived over the following decades, they cleared and drained the forested, swampy land to establish productive farms. The self-sustaining community called Weaver Settlement grew to over 3000 acres by 1860. Weaver men served in the U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War and held local political power by 1870. The settlement included schools, churches, stores, a horseracing track, and home for the elderly funded by Masons. While some left for job opportunities, Weaver prospered into the 1930s. Pettiford-Weaver descendants have reunited annually for over 100 years.