Looking at Space: Identifying Activity Areas with GIS
One of the major components of understanding the lives of slaves and tenant farmers at St. Mary’s Manor is understanding how they used space before and after Emancipation. This is something that we have examined on multiple scales, such as how their homes were organized on the plantation, or how they traversed the landscape outside […]
It’s Maryland Day at Historic St. Mary’s City!
Each year, the State of Maryland celebrates Maryland Day, which commemorates the landing of the first European settlers on the province of Maryland. At Historic St. Mary’s City, this is one of our biggest days of the year, considering those settlers landed here, and founded St. Mary’s City, Maryland’s first capital in 1634. To celebrate, […]
Landscapes of Slavery and Freedom at the Wye House Plantation
Archaeologists and historians throughout the United States conduct research about the transition from slavery to freedom. Occasionally, we will be featuring guest posts from these researchers to demonstrate ways that these transitions occurred throughout the country. This post was written by Beth Pruitt, a graduate student at the University of Maryland. She works with Archaeology in […]
Panel on Race Relations in the 20th Century at Historic St. Mary’s City
This Thursday, February 28th, Historic St. Mary’s City is hosting a panel discussion on race relations in St. Mary’s County during the 20th century. The panel will be monitored by Meredith Taylor, and will include Alanzo Gaskin, Ernie Bell, and Everlyn Holland. The panel will also include Ms. Emma Hall, the inspiration for the title […]
The Initials in the Lintel
It is not often that archaeologists are able to examine writing in the material record. Most of the time we are dealing with broken plates and bottles. Very rarely do we have an instance where we excavate an object that has been written on by hand. When we do, it is even more rare that […]
A Research Trip to the US National Archives
Over the holiday break, I visited the United States National Archives in Washington, D.C. for a short research trip. The Archives are home to a seemingly unlimited amount of documents and resources accumulated by our government over the past few hundred years, and because it is our government, we (read: citizens like you and […]
The Society for Historical Archaeology Conference
In addition to sharing their research with public audiences and site visitors, researchers at Historic St. Mary’s City also make important contributions to their professional communities. In addition to contributing articles to journals and chapters for edited book volumes, giving presentations at professional conferences is one of the ways that researchers make these contributions. These […]
Understanding an African American Community in Gloucester County, Virginia
Archaeologists and historians throughout the United States conduct research about the transition from slavery to freedom. Occasionally, we will be featuring a guest post from these researchers to demonstrate the ways that this transition was experienced by African Americans throughout the country. This post is written by David Brown and Thane Harpol, co-directors of the Fairfield […]
An African American Family Escaping North During the Civil War
This photo is part of the Library of Congress collection, and appears on their Flickr page. When used with a special viewer, the image would have appeared in 3D. The picture itself was taken shortly after the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation, and shows a former slave family passing into Union lines. Throughout the war, […]
Preserving the Duplex Quarter: Current Condition and First Steps
This year, Historic St. Mary’s City received funding from the Maryland Commission for African American History and Culture to convert the still standing duplex slave and tenant quarter into a interpretive exhibit. The quarter has been modified, preserved, and moved a number of times since it was initially built in the 1840s, but this will […]