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Jane Oliver was born in Mississippi. She moved to Arkansas when she was young along with her master. Jane’s mother died when Jane was young and was buried on the day that her freedom proclamation was read. 

Straight Outta Bradley County Arkansas, Jane took on the Post Civil War south. Once off of the plantation, Jane worked hard to overcome all that the New South set before her. Her former Master, Lucy Rawls, had called young Jane a fool, however, young Jane went on to learn to read but not write. 

Jane worked hard and saved her money. Once the Wright Plantation came up for sale in Pine Bluff Arkansas, Jane used her savings and a loan for the opportunity to purchase it. The Wright Plantation had once been the home of other African American souls held in bondage during the brutal days of slavery. The Wright Plantation was also a Confederate Campsite during the Civil War. Confederate soldiers lived there and some died and were buried there. Now, Jane Oliver, a former slave, owned the very soil where they lay; the very soil where they had fought and died to defend the brutal system that had enslaved people like Jane. 

Jane Oliver, along with other former slaves, worked for themselves and prospered over thirty years on the site of the Plantation where freedom was only a dream for slaves that worked there for years before them. A Black cemetery was also established on Jane Oliver’s property close to where the Wright family cemetery was located. Now African American souls, white plantation owner’s souls, and confederate army soldier’s souls all laid together in the same soil. Currently, the souls all lay on the property of The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff; Arkansas’ largest Historically Black College.