Sweet Briar Plantation Slave Cabin

Sweet Briar Plantation Slave Cabin. African-American Heritage at Sweet Briar College. , Historical and architectural evidence suggests this cabin house enslaved and free African Americans both before and after the Civil War. It has been in continuous use since it was constructed around 1840. More than two dozen cabins once stood on the property; this is the only one that remains. Originally painted blue, this 12' × 8' cabin is one room with a loft, clapboard siding and an open hearth., In the late 19th century, the cabin was occupied by Logan Anderson, the overseer employed by College founder Indiana Fletcher Williams. It then became the home of Sterling Jones and his wife Aurelia and some of their children. Sterling and his father, Daniel, made bricks for the College buildings. By 1930, the cabin was modernized with running water and electricity and served as the first headquarters of the Sweet Briar Alumnae Association. Later the cabin was used as a classroom, a meditation chapel, a student clubhouse and a museum displaying farm tools related to the College's agricultural past. Today it contains an exhibition about African-American families who lived and worked at Sweet Briar.