Historian’s project aims to increase knowledge about slave quarters and their residents

A void. It means something is missing. It implies a sense of emptiness, nothingness; that something is forgotten.

Joe McGill, Jr., creator of the Slave Dwelling Project, wants to fill the void when it comes to the public’s knowledge of slave dwellings and the people who lived in them.

Through engaging educational programs inside old slave quarters throughout the country, his goal is to bring students, legislators, local governments, artists, educators, writers and the general public together to collaborate so that these rare collectibles of American history can be preserved.

McGill, of Ladson, South Carolina, is a field officer at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a non-profit organization that is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with field offices in major cities including Boston, New York City, Charleston, Nashville, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Boise, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Canby and Seattle.

He is employed as a history consultant at Magnolia Plantation in Charleston, SC.

The project’s mission is to assist property owners and government agencies/organizations in their efforts to preserve surviving slave dwellings under their care.

To raise awareness of the enslaved population, McGill, a descendant of slaves, stays overnight in privately-owned or government-owned slave dwellings and invites others to join him.

On May 15, McGill came to the stone slave quarters on the grounds of Grace United Methodist Church in Manassas; formerly, the property was Clover Hill Farm. The church hosted a dinner and invited members of the Johnson family, former owners of Clover Hill.

After dinner, McGill presented his program at 7 p.m. to a crowd of about 35 people inside the slave quarters. Then, he stayed overnight there with other members of the Slave Dwelling Project. 

The evening of May 16, McGill’s second stop in Manassas was at Ben Lomond Historic Site about two miles south of Manassas National Battlefield Park. Again, he slept that night in slave quarters at Ben Lomond, which resembles the Clover Hill slave dwelling.

Built around 1832, the Ben Lomond slave quarters are constructed of locally-quarried red sandstone, with stairs leading to a loft.

The two-story Federal-style manor house, also made of red sandstone, circa 1832, was built for Benjamin Tasker Chinn. Prior to the Civil War, the Pringle family operated the farm, which used slave labor to harvest corn and wheat and raise almost 500 Merino sheep.

On May 17, he presented programming inside the slave quarters to the public between 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The manor house at Ben Lomond Historic Site was also open to visitors.

Bill Backus, historic interpreter for Prince William County Historic Preservation Division, explained that the Ben Lomond property had an enslaved population for roughly 80 years, from the post-Revolution era to the 1860s. “After the Revolutionary War [1775-1783], about 20 enslaved people were here,” Backus said. “In 1830, 10 to12 slaves were at Ben Lomond; other slaves from nearby plantations were rented out to work here.”

McGill’s first overnight stay in a slave quarters was in 1999 at Boone Hall Plantation in Mt. Pleasant, SC.

“I was part of a History Channel documentary called ‘The Unfinished Civil War.’” McGill was already a reenactor, portraying a Union soldier so he was used to sleeping in Civil War reenactment camps. He is a founder of the reenactment regiment of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the troop of African-American soldiers portrayed in the movie “Glory.”

After the overnight experience at Boone Hall, he decided to take that concept and stay overnight at other slave quarters.

“The overnight experience takes it to another level,” he said. He thought it would be an adventurous, creative way to get youth involved since youth are invited to stay, accompanied by chaperones.

Since 2000, McGill has visited dozens of slave dwellings in 12 states, mostly in the South; his visit to Manassas was the first time in Northern Virginia. His time at Ben Lomond brought his total overnight stay to number 56.

McGill has stayed in slave quarters as far north as Connecticut and Pennsylvania and has had up to 25 people overnight at one time. May 2-3, he stayed for the first time at a National Park Service property, Magnolia Plantation in the Cane River National Heritage Area in Natchitoches, LA.

“The project has gotten so popular that people have waited in line to get the chance to stay,” McGill said.

Part of his intent is to highlight the fact that property owners of existing slave quarters are doing the right thing by restoring them.

“I come in peace. They’re being good stewards of our history. When you think about it, if not for the people in these slave quarters, you wouldn’t have the ‘big house,’ the manor house on these historic properties. What this project is doing is helping African Americans identify with a place because most African Americans can trace their ancestors to a plantation.”

Prinny Anderson of Durham, NC, is a descendant of President Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. president. She stayed overnight at the Clover Hill slave quarters on May 15 and is a member of the Slave Dwelling Project.

Why? “It’s one way of honoring people’s ancestors; to pay respect for what they endured for generations,” she said. She’s part of another historical organization that has as one of its pillars, a call to take action. “Staying in slave quarters is one way to bring public attention; it’s a way to take action in a meaningful way for me.”
When a group of people stay overnight, sometimes, they sit around talking about the reasons for being there. Sometimes, they cook. Sometimes, they share their own history. For one man, identifying with slaves means wearing shackles.

“Out of 25 nights, he’s stayed in slave quarters, he’s worn shackles 24 times,” McGill explained. Others have confessed they are descendants of white slave owners, while others have been descendants of white slave owners and their black slaves. “I’m kind of a vessel for them to unload. But, basically, it’s about respecting the space,” McGill said. 
 
Anderson added, “After all, they’re the ones who made living in those big houses possible, and it’s great when a group of students and teachers stay overnight. They can take in history with an experience that will stay with them forever.”

By sleeping in surviving slave quarters and delivering messages to the public, McGill hopes these events will be a humble wake-up call and fill the void that often exists regarding these structures and the people who lived inside.

Interested people who want to overnight in a slave dwelling are encouraged to become members of the Slave Dwelling Project, which is operated by donations and membership. More information and an itinerary of future dates and locations are listed on the website.

The first Slave Dwelling Project conference will be held September 18-20 in Savannah. Stewards of slave dwellings and anyone interested are invited to learn best practices and share the history of these structures.

For more information on various membership levels and an itinerary for upcoming overnight stays and to read the project’s blog written by McGill and overnight guests, readers can visit http://www.slavedwellingproject.org or check out the Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TheSlaveDwellingProject  .

Grace United Methodist Church is located at 9750 Wellington Road in Manassas. Its phone number is 703-361-7800 and its website is http://www.umcgrace.org.

Information on Ben Lomond Historic Site, located at 10321 Sudley Manor Road, can be found at http://www.pwcgov.org/benlomond or by calling 703-367-7872.