In 1879, African American Al Freeman opens a boot and shoe store on 1st Avenue in Seattle. His advertisement states, "Boots and shoes of all kinds made to measure at reasonable prices. Repairing neatly, cheaply and promptly done." Al Freeman is the son of Thomas P. (T.P.) Freeman who is the proprietor of the nearby Pioneer Variety Store.
He made boots and shoes for miners and loggers and also sold fancy alligator boots and corksoled shoes made in the East. In her Seattle's Black Victorians, Esther Mumford writes:
"Mr. Freeman's success soon raised the racial bugbear. In the early 1880s the Intelligencer carried ads from a store which specifically stated that its boots and shoes were made by white labor, and solicited purchases on that basis, at the same time it carried Mr. Freeman's ad."
In 1882, Freeman moved to a smaller shop at 1st Avenue and Columbia Street. His business, insured for $800, burned down in the Great Seattle Fire of June 6, 1889. Al Freeman moved to Black Diamond in 1891 and by 1900 was living in Portland.
