Spring Hill 1842 - Negroes for Sale Auction Broadside Historical Poster

This stark historical broadside announces a public auction scheduled for Friday, January 28th, 1842, in Spring Hill, Hempstead County, advertising the sale of "15 young and valuable Slaves" on twelve months' credit. The document lists men, women, and children by age and assigned labor roles, including "9 superior Men & Boys, between 12 and 27 years of age" and women described by their domestic skills.

The advertisement's detailed inventory reveals the brutal calculus of the slave trade: people categorized by age, gender, and economic utility, with women valued for skills like washing and cooking, and a young mother listed alongside her three children. The inclusion of livestock, plantation tools, and a gin stand in the same notice equates human lives with farm equipment and property.

Historical Context: This 1842 auction likely resulted from an estate sale or debt settlement, common reasons for slave auctions in the antebellum South. The practice of offering credit terms made slave ownership accessible to a broader class of buyers, fueling the expansion of slavery westward. Hempstead County, Arkansas, was part of the cotton-growing region where the demand for enslaved labor drove a thriving domestic slave trade. Documents like this provide undeniable evidence of slavery's legal and commercial framework.

This poster preserves a critical piece of primary source documentation that honors the memory of those fifteen individuals and countless others whose lives were reduced to auction notices.

Available in multiple sizes with your choice of black or natural wood frame, or unframed for custom display.