Petersburg in Dinwiddie County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Plantation Time Management

— Tudor Hall Plantation —

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, September 21, 2024

1. Plantation Time Management Marker

Inscription. Plantation owners found it necessary to convey time to their enslaved workers, who usually had no access to or knowledge of clocks. An audible device — usually a bell or a horn — most often served this purpose, regulating the workaday lives of the plantation labor force. These auditory signals told slaves when to awaken, when to break for meals, and when to cease work for the day.

Plantation bells came in all shapes and sizes and hung in diverse ways. Whether high up on a large platform or low on a single pole, bells created the sounds that slaves often associated with the compulsion to perform labor, or suffer the consequences As one field slave remembered, "We were awakened by a large plantation hell which rang every morning at four o'clock. The bell called out and said 'get up I'm coming after you..."

Erected by Pamplin Historical Park.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Agriculture.

Location. 37° 10.915′ N, 77° 28.692′ W. Marker is in Petersburg, Virginia, in Dinwiddie County. It can be reached from Boydton Plank Road (U.S. 1) 0.2 miles south of Duncan Road, on the left when traveling south. Marker is within Pamplin Historical

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Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6125 Boydton Plank Road, Petersburg VA 23803, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont,

in Southside Virginia,

and specifically in Central Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Field Quarter Outbuildings (within shouting distance of this marker); Tudor Hall Field Quarter (within shouting distance of this marker); The Plantaton Landscape (within shouting distance of this marker); The Big House (within shouting distance of this marker); Tobacco Barn (within shouting distance of this marker); Tudor Hall (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Kitchen Garden (about 400 feet away); The Military Landscape (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Petersburg.

Plantation Bell image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, September 21, 2024

2. Plantation Bell

The marker is placed about 10' in front of this mounted bell at the Tudor Hall Field Quarter. Bells like this are the devices referenced in the marker.

Tudor Hall Field Quarter with Bell image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, September 21, 2024

3. Tudor Hall Field Quarter with Bell

This is the view from the marker, showing the plantation bell at left, with two replicated slave dwellings at center and center right. The small structure within the fenced area is a chicken coop. This section of Pamplin Historical Park is focused on the plantation history - namely the experience of slaves - of this portion of the property.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 2, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 2, 2025, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 47 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 2, 2025, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.