The Cabin at Farmington

The Cabin at Farmington. . To 1997, archaeologists from the Kentucky Archeological Survey and the University of Louisville excavated a 16x16 stone foundation documented to the Rutherford watercolor as a one-story wooden cabin. Based on artifacts recovered from the site, archaeologists believe that the building was an early-nineteenth century dwelling. It could be the site of the cabin the Speed family lived in while constructing the main house. Throughout most of its history, however, the structure probably housed members of Farmington's enslaved community. Some of the artifacts recovered from the cabin are generally associated with enslaved people, including a blue bead and a 1725 Mexican coin pierced and scratched with an "X". Archeologists believe these markings held religious significance for slaves. An 1865 site plan indicates a "Negro family house" near the site of the modern gray barn but no other information is available about the number or location of other slave cabins mentioned by son James Speed in an 1863 interview. , "We are now living in our cabins and have only as much bacon as serves until Ned returns..." , John Speed, 1809 letter to Pope. , The Filson Historical Society, "Among my father's negroes, each man and his wife had a comfortable room, with a fire in it, a bed and bed clothes, chairs, tables, and cooking utensils." Testimony of James Speed for American Freedmen's Inquiry Commission Debates and Testimony taken in Kentucky and Tennessee and Missouri, November and December 1863. , Roll 201, National Archives Microfilm Publication, No. 619