Slave Quaters

[big rockpile]

How many own places with old Slave quaters on them?

I've had two.One was a Dairy Operation,they kept bulk of the Slaves in the Milking area of the Barn.One very large area and three small rooms.

Then the other place was just Small Cabins out behind the Main house.

Everytime I look at these places I can't help but think about all the History,no matter of right or wrong.

big rockpile

[susieM]

Pictures?

[hunter63]

Worked in quite a few old historic homes, with the "servants" stair cases and "servants"quarters in the attic.
Small, cramped, no insulation, must have been a real treat to live there.

[big rockpile]

Originally Posted by susieM

Pictures?

Got to look.I think I have couple of one place.

big rockpile

[hisenthlay]

I used to board at a barn as a kid that had a couple of slave quarter buildings. They were just little square one story whitewashed stone buildings, vacant--I don't think they even used the buildings for storage. I never went inside. They seemed spooky, haunted, and sad to me. Incidentally, the same stable had a trailer home on it where all of the Mexican workers and their families lived--maybe 10 men, women, and kids in one little mobile home--it always struck me as the modern day equivalent of the slave quarters. Those Mexican guys were great with the horses, and really nice--I used to practice my Spanish with them.

Oh, and our 100 year old house where we live now has servant's stairs--no servants to go with them, though. We use the stairs as our pantry.

Sherman burnt everything that was in the family back then. Slave quarters and all. They nearly starved to death like everyone else.

.....Alan.

[big rockpile]

Here is the Main House



Here is the Cabins in back





Sorry they wasn't any better,but this was from 25 years ago.

big rockpile

[FolioMark]

Thats a fine old house. Where was it? What part of Missouri? I've been told that though Missouri was a slave state, the slave culture was pretty much a Misssisippi River area phenomena and it never spread to the central/ western part of the state because the soil wasn't suited to large scale farming. I was told thats why the black population is so low once you get away from the river.
Just curious. Shame the house was in such bad shape. A fine brick house like that would have been rather grand in its day.

[big rockpile]

Originally Posted by FolioMark

Thats a fine old house. Where was it? What part of Missouri? I've been told that though Missouri was a slave state, the slave culture was pretty much a Misssisippi River area phenomena and it never spread to the central/ western part of the state because the soil wasn't suited to large scale farming. I was told thats why the black population is so low once you get away from the river.
Just curious. Shame the house was in such bad shape. A fine brick house like that would have been rather grand in its day.

The place in the pics was by Bunceton ,Mo.The other place I had was close to Springfield,Mo. West of town on Haseltein Road.The old Barn with Slave Quaters burned in '83.But I believe the Main House and Keepers Houses are still standing.

My ancestors freed their Slaves in Cooper County,there is several of their kin that live in the area that carry our name.

big rockpile

[FolioMark]

Thanks for the info. Sure hope someone saved that main house and restored it its a nice house of its type. Quite elegant under all those vines and scrub trees.

[BeckyW]

Thanks for an interesting thread, Big Rockpile. I've been on several properties in Virginia that had the little slave cabins - I remember them being maybe 16x16 square. Alot of history still on the ground in many parts of the country.
BW

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by A.T. Hagan

Sherman burnt everything that was in the family back then.

He left behind a string of "monuments".

[Still Learning]

Thanks big rockpile for sharing those pics. That house is beautiful, too bad someone couldn't restore it. If those walls could talk, huh?

~Ashley

[FarmboyBill]

Originally Posted by FolioMark

Thats a fine old house. Where was it? What part of Missouri? I've been told that though Missouri was a slave state, the slave culture was pretty much a Misssisippi River area phenomena and it never spread to the central/ western part of the state because the soil wasn't suited to large scale farming. I was told thats why the black population is so low once you get away from the river.
Just curious. Shame the house was in such bad shape. A fine brick house like that would have been rather grand in its day.

There was lots of slaves kept along the missouri River area in Mo, and some few in around Atchison Kans, which was founded as a slave town as a jumping off place for border raiders. Lots of small farmers, and mid sized ones also kept them for the tobacco fields, and heck knows what else. There was supposedly only one slave sale in Kansas, it occured, but union forces came and the leader told the seller what MIGHT happen to him if he ever tried to sell another one. You cant believe how barberious both sides were here on the border of Bleeding Kansas

[Ozarkquilter46]

my girlfriend bought a metal trunk at a auction. It was locked and no one could get it open. It felt like papers so no one bid on the thing. She got it for like 5 bucks. Well when we got home it was old newpaper from West Plains in the very early years. And the one thing that shocked us both was a store ledger that had food bought with credit and the slaves they owned listed as coladeral.

[Ford8N]

Originally Posted by FarmBoyBill

There was lots of slaves kept along the missouri River area in Mo, and some few in around Atchison Kans, which was founded as a slave town as a jumping off place for border raiders. Lots of small farmers, and mid sized ones also kept them for the tobacco fields, and heck knows what else. There was supposedly only one slave sale in Kansas, it occured, but union forces came and the leader told the seller what MIGHT happen to him if he ever tried to sell another one. You cant believe how barberious both sides were here on the border of Bleeding Kansas

Believe it or not Illinois kept some slaves too:
http://www.mcleansboro.net/history/oldsh.php

I remember visiting this place as a kid.
http://www.illinoishistory.com/oshpage.html

I can surely tell you that the Mason-Dixon line ran THROUGH Illinois, not around it. Southern IL is defintely southern in culture, even today, even if most people consider it to be a northern state.

[caroline00]

where exactly is the Mason-Dixon line?
thanks!

[Delinda]

In the field next to ours is a huge 3 story barn, The bottom part of the barn was where they kept the slaves, it still has the iron rings in the rock walls where they were apparently chained. My neighbor who owns it said Sherman and his troops stayed in the barn and his troops talked him out of burning it. It has the biggest timber beams I have ever seen and is the most spectacular barn you will ever see, it is still in good shape also. It was part of the old Savanna Oaks plantation which was over 17,000 acres at one time. My neighbor has 160 acres that the barn sets on(it is for sale now also!) wish I could buy it but it is way out of my price range. The old plantation house is long gone but it was located on the same parcel of land. We own a very small part of the plantation, ours was where the mule barn was.

[Mountaineer]

Originally Posted by big rockpile

Here is the Main House



Here is the Cabins in back





Sorry they wasn't any better,but this was from 25 years ago.

big rockpile

Thanks for posting, very interesting. Nothing like that out here.

Reminds me of the Neil Young song 'Southern Man', "I saw cotton and I saw black, Tall white mansions and little shacks"......

Full song here...http://www.bluesforpeace.com/lyrics/southern-man.htm

[mistletoad]

There's a good possibility that the oldest part of our house was a slave house, we do know it was inhabited in the 1870's by a freedman share cropper and his son bought it in 1910 after he got a job at the powder factory (still this county's largest employer). Most of our neighbors are descendents of the slaves (later share croppers) who lived on the original plantation that was granted in 1742 to a descendant of Governor William Stone.
The house began as a hall and parlor design with a half storey above (the stairs were outside). It was not changed or added on to until the 1940s.