Tenant House

Tenant House. . Throughout the early 20th century, Oak View operated under a tenant farming system. From 1890-1940, the Wyatt family owned Oak View but did not live on the farm. Instead they hired a farm manager who lived in the main house. This manager hired other workers to help him with the work, and these workers were provided houses as part of their wages. , An estimated four to six tenant houses existed on the property throughout Oak View's history. Unfortunately the last of these homes were torn down in the mid-1980s before the property became a park. Before you is a tenant home moved here from Wendell, N.C., stylistic of the tenant homes that would have been here in the 1900s. , [Captions] , . Left: Wake County moved the tenant house before you from Wendell, NC, to its foundation here in Raleigh at Historic Oak View County Park with the help of a skilled moving crew, a large semi-truck, and a bright yellow Oversize Load banner. The 11-mile, two-hour long trip started early on a Saturday morning, so as to block as little traffic as possible. The restored building now serves as exhibit space and programming space to help teach People about North Carolina's diverse agricultural history. , . Top right Pictured above, a 1980s aerial of the Oak View property. To the left are 3 barns or sheds. In the middle is the carriage house roof. The other buildings to the right and in background are 3 of the tenant houses that used to reside on the property. Notice the skyscrapers off in the distance, an encroaching Raleigh. , . Bottom right: The Pellagra Plaque In an attempt to make the most amount of money possible, many farmers planted cotton right up to their front doorsteps. This left little land to farm for food to eat. The combination of a low family income and minimal food supplies often led to a diet of cornmeal, fat back, and molasses. This and similar malnourished, unbalanced diets led to an epidemic of the disease known as pellagra. The articles to the left from early 1900s newspapers discuss the symptoms, causes and cures to the horrible disease.