Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Allen C. Browne
Taken: May 11, 2019
Caption: Key, c. 1765-1785
Additional Description: This intact key came from a trash deposit near the east yard quarter. Its large size indicates it opened the mansion or another important structure. Homes of people who were enslaved probably did not have locks. An enslaved worker might have been entrusted by George or Ann Mason to mind the key and the access it provided to people or valuable goods. We do not know why it was lost. What were the consequences of its disappearance? Close-up of photo on marker
Submitted: June 3, 2019, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.
Database Locator Identification Number: p477865
File Size: 0.922 Megabytes

To see the metadata that may be embedded in this photo, sign in and then return to this page.