I don’t often think about the names of the streets I drive down. I type an address into Google Maps (or Apple Maps if I want to get lost) and simply follow the directions, only glancing at street names to make sure I’m headed the right way.

But street names often carry history. Some honor figures long remembered, while others preserve names that deserve a second look. Having a street named after you is proof that your name meant something, right? That you left your mark on history.

There’s a steep, winding road that begins near the courthouse in Downtown Fayetteville. The stretch of road connects College Ave with S School Ave before it intersects with Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.—who by the way has nearly 1,000 streets named after him in the whole U.S.

The road used to be named Archibald Yell Blvd. When driving up and down that stretch I used to give little thought to the deeds of the former Arkansas Governor from whom is got its name. I honeslty just thought “Archibald” was a fun name to pronounce.

But in 2021, Fayetteville changed the name of that street, replacing it with someone whose story had been buried for too long.

A man whose fight for freedom rippled far beyond Arkansas, forcing governments across North America and Britain to confront the contradictions of their own laws. His name may not be as well known as others who fought for freedom, but his story helped redefine what it truly meant.

This is the story of Nelson Hackett.

Fayetteville On The Frontier (1840)

In 1840, Fayetteville was a small frontier town comprised of roughly 425 residents—120 of those being enslaved people.

At the forefront of the town’s rugged reputation were the Wallace brothers: Willis, Alfred, and Riley. This trio was notorious for violence. For instance, Willis reportedly murdered a groom at the altar in Georgia, then fled with the help of two enslaved men.

In Fayetteville, his violent impulses ignited what became known as the Fayetteville War when he stabbed a Cherokee man passing through town on the Trail of Tears—an act he may have repeated. In response, minister-turned-lawyer Alfred Arrington led a force of over 30 men to bring him to justice. The Wallace brothers fortified their grocery store, even wheeling out the town’s cannon. The confrontation ended without bloodshed, but tensions with the Cherokees simmered for years.

Such violence was common on the frontier and rarely made headlines beyond the region. But around the same time, another story was unfolding in Fayetteville—one that would reverberate far beyond Arkansas, even as far as the royal courts of Britain.

Enslaved in Fayetteville (1840-1841)

While little is known of his life before, Nelson Hackett found himself in Fayetteville around 1840 serving as the butler and valet of Alfred Wallace. Nelson was described by locals as a handsome, well dressed Negro of around 30 years old. Slavery in Fayetteville looked different than the plantations of the Deep South, but his life was still held under strict control. Fine clothes or not, he was still property.

Since the town was still young, all of Fayetteville’s enslaved population had formerly lived elsewhere, bringing with them stories and rumors of places like Canada where slavery was outlawed. Stories like these must have stirred in Nelson’s heart a desire for freedom.

A Daring Escape (July 1841)

In mid-July 1841, Alfred Wallace and Nelson Hackett traveled to attend a horse race in Central Arkansas. At some point, Alfred instructed Nelson to take his horse and a few items back to Fayetteville.

Alone on the road, Nelson must have realized the rare opportunity before him. Here he sat on a fast horse and his master wouldn’t return to Fayetteville for another week. If ever he was positioned to make an escape, wasn’t this it? He’d even been given a beaver fur overcoat to take home, perfect for the cold winters of Canada.

Differing accounts of the story have been told, but perhaps it was a moment just like this that made Nelson think, “It’s now or never.”

Maybe he found himself at a crossroads. Turn west toward Fayetteville, or keep moving North.

He spurred the horse on, making fast for Canada.

The Journey to Freedom (Summer 1841)

Hackett’s journey to Canada was grueling. He traveled 360 miles northeast across Missouri, navigating slaveholding territory while likely avoiding main roads and surviving on whatever food he could find—perhaps with help from antislavery sympathizers.

By late July or early August 1841, he reached Marion City, Missouri, a known hub for abolitionist activity. There, free Blacks and sympathetic whites helped ferry fugitive slaves across the Mississippi River into free soil. Hackett made the crossing into Illinois and continued north, likely passing through Indiana or Ohio, searching for the safest route to Canada.

Six weeks after his escape, in late August 1841, Hackett crossed into Canada West (now Ontario) near Sandwich (present-day Windsor), just across the river from Detroit. From there, he traveled 50 miles inland to Chatham, a growing Black community and a refuge for those who had fled slavery.

For the first time, Nelson Hackett stood on free soil. He believed British law had secured his freedom, and that his master’s reach had ended.

But his respite would be painfully brief.

Captured in Canada (September 1841)

When Alfred Wallace discovered Nelson had fled, he was furious. He quickly employed the help of George C. Grigg to pursue Hackett, following rumors that led him all the way to Chatham.

On September 6, 1841, Wallace found Hackett and, with the help of a Canadian deputy sheriff, had him abruptly arrested. The charge? Theft—Wallace claimed Hackett had stolen the very items that aided his escape: the horse, saddle, gold watch, coat, and coins.

The arrest must have been a crushing blow. Hackett had reached what he believed to be free soil, yet now found himself shackled once more. Hauled before two justices of the peace, he reportedly confessed to taking all but the coins. Later, however, he insisted that this confession had been coerced when the deputy had beaten him with a whip butt and a heavy stick.

From Chatham, Hackett was sent to the district jail in Sandwich, just across the river from Detroit. As he sat behind bars, the looming question became clear: Would Canada honor an American demand to return an escaped slave, or would Hackett be protected under British law?

His fate hung in the balance, and an international controversy was about to erupt.

Legal Standoff and Extradition Efforts (Late 1841)

Hackett’s arrest sparked an unprecedented legal battle between the U.S. and British Canada. Though British law didn’t recognize slavery, Hackett was imprisoned as a thief, leaving his fate in Canadian hands.

Determined to stay free, he petitioned Governor General Charles Poulett Thomson on September 18, 1841, arguing he had only taken what was necessary to escape. Thomson seemed sympathetic, and Hackett’s supporters hoped for his release.

Then, fate intervened. A day later, Thomson suddenly died, leaving the colonial government in disarray.

Back in Arkansas, Wallace worked the system in his favor. By late November, a grand jury indicted Hackett for grand larceny, and Governor Archibald Yell—a close friend of Wallace’s—issued a formal extradition request. Armed with official documents, Wallace returned to Canada to reclaim his escaped slave.

Extradition and Secret Rendition (January–May 1842)

In January 1842, Canada’s provincial Executive Council ruled that Nelson Hackett could be extradited on the grounds of his theft, not his enslavment. Newly appointed Governor General Sir Charles Bagot sealed his fate, portraying him as a thief with “felonious intent” rather than a man seeking freedom. On January 20, Canada made it official: Hackett would be returned to Arkansas—the first and only self-emancipated slave ever extradited from Canada back into bondage.

The decision sparked outrage among abolitionists in Detroit and Canada, who had assumed Hackett was safe. Sensing mounting pressure, Canadian officials smuggled him out of the country in secret. On the night of February 7, 1842, he was gagged, bound in chains, and quietly ferried across the Detroit River to U.S. authorities.

Hackett spent two months in a Detroit jail before his captors transported him south. In May, while passing through Illinois, he made a final escape attempt, slipping into the night despite his chains. He hid for two days, but hunger forced him to seek help. A suspicious farmer turned him in, and Hackett was quickly recaptured.

Under tight security, he was taken to Missouri and then placed on a steamboat bound for Arkansas. Nearly a year after his daring flight to Canada, Nelson Hackett was back in Fayetteville—once again in the hands of Alfred Wallace.

Publicly Flogged In Fayetteville

During his hearings in Canada, Nelson had pleaded that if he were returned to Arkansas, he would “be tortured in a manner that to hang him at once would be mercy.”

Hackett’s worst fears were realized. Though he had been extradited under theft charges, he was never given a fair trail once returned to Arkansas. The legal process had served its purpose—returning him to Wallace, who wasted no time in making an example of him.

Hackett was bound and brutally flogged in front of Fayetteville’s enslaved population. Accounts suggest the beatings were so severe that, just as he had predicted, death might have been a mercy.

Meanwhile, efforts were still being taken by abolitionists abroad to rescue Nelson Hackett.

International Outcry (1842–1844)

Hackett’s extradition ignited outrage across Canada and Britain, fueling protests and legal debates. Black communities and abolitionists in Canada condemned the decision, while British abolitionist leaders, including Thomas Clarkson, pressured the government to prevent future injustices.

The case reached the highest levels of British power—Canadian legislator Sir Allan Napier MacNab personally presented a petition to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, demanding reforms. The controversy also shaped the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842, which set strict limits on extradition. Only serious crimes like murder and arson would qualify, explicitly excluding theft to prevent slaveholders from using petty charges to reclaim runaways as Wallace had done.

The impact was decisive: Canada never extradited another self-emancipated slave.

Ironically, Alfred Wallace’s extreme efforts to deter other runaways by forcing Hackett’s return, ultimately worked to secure Canada’s role as a true sanctuary for those seeking freedom.

Hackett’s Unknown Fate

Not long after his public flogging, Wallace decided to sell Nelson to a plantation in Texas, removing his influence from Fayetteville entirely.

British abolitionists, still outraged by his extradition, sought to locate him and even offered to purchase his freedom. But by the time they acted, Hackett had vanished into the vast Texas frontier. He was never found and no confirmed records have ever surfaced that hint to his ultimate fate. Most assumed that he was killed.

However, some believed in a brighter outcome. Perhaps, similar to his short-lived espace during the return to Fayetteville, he made another escape and ultimately made his way back to Canada.

We’ll never know.

A Lasting Legacy

Nelson Hackett’s struggle for freedom left a lasting mark on history, reshaping international extradition laws and inspiring others who risked everything to escape bondage.

In 2021, more than 180 years later, Fayetteville honored his bravery by renaming Archibald Yell Boulevard, once named for the governor who signed Hackett’s extradition order, as Nelson Hackett Boulevard.

The change serves as a long-overdue recognition of a man whose fight for freedom rippled far beyond his time, a reminder that even in the face of injustice, resistance can spark lasting change.

It’s a street name worth remembering when you make your way up and down it’s steep, windy curves. A name that ought to make us ask, “To what lengths would I go to ensure freedom and justice for myself and others?”

And perhaps it’s fitting that Nelson Hackett Boulevard now leads to an intersection with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard—one road to freedom crossing another. The fight for justice is rarely a straight path, but each step forward builds on the last, paving the way for those who will continue the journey a little further down the road.