Sotterley's Slave Cabin

Sotterley's Slave Cabin. . , Members of Sotterley's enslaved community lived near their work. Field hands sheltered in barns or shacks near their crops or cattle; some may have lived with tenant farmers who worked on the property. Those who labored transporting goods to and from Sotterley's wharf lived in dwellings closer to the river. Cooks and servants for the Plantation House lived close to it and sometimes, inside. They slept in lofts, passageways or the kitchen so they would be available whenever they were needed., By the early 20th century, there remained at Sotterley between five and ten cabins used by slaves, of which just this one survives. This one-room house with a loft was built with pine logs between 1830 and 1850. As small as it is – only 16 x 18 feet – it would have been home to as many as a dozen persons. It was dark – windows were added only after the Civil War – and roughly furnished by it occupants, who built beds and benches with scrap wood and made them comfortable with grain sacks stuffed with corn husks. It's significant for its earthfast construction, which mirrors a West African design, and which also was used in the Plantation House's first build. This building method uses hardwood posts in the ground to stabilize a building's outside walls and keep walls straight and strong., A 1995 archaeological investigation found more than 17,000 artifacts around or under the Slave Cabin. They dated from its construction in 1830 through its final occupation as a residence in the early 20th century. The found objects tell us how the cabin's inhabitants improved and cared for their home. They used coal periodically to heat the home and oyster shells to improve drainage around its foundation. They whitewashed the walls. They replaced a ladder with a stairway and partitioned the loft. They added a brick chimney. They made these changes as they had a means to do so., In front of the fireplace was a root cellar, where the cabin's residents store food, especially produce, to keep it cool, and perhaps to conceal contraband items., This cabin was still occupied when the Satterlees purchased Sotterley in 1910. Residing there was an elderly woman, Nannie Williams, a former slave, with her son and two grandchildren., [Caption:] , This cabin was built like typical agricultural buildings constructed between the 1830s and 1850s, but these builders hewed the earthfast posts, flat on one side to prevent the 4 ½" to 5" thick plank walls from buckling. They drove pegs down through holes drilled vertically into the planks to keep them stacked. Chinking (clay and mortar) was added between the planking to protect against weather and bugs., The windows you see were not original to the cabin and were added after the Civil War. The only light in the building would have been from the open doors, fireplace or from candles. The hard packed clay floor was covered at one time with a wooden floor that was later removed. The loft had two shuttered openings.