The Library of Congress has conducted many research trips throughout its history, quite a few in the post-Civil War South. The Historic American Buildings Survey, photographs of which are online at the Library of Congress website, contains information about historic homes around the United States. Many of these old homes stood on cotton, rice, or tobacco plantations that employed slave labor, and the slave quarters also still stood, at least at the time that the survey was made.
If you are able to identify the owner of an enslaved African-American, and can discover the plantation on which he or she worked, it would certainly be worthwhile to check the Library of Congress website, to see if the plantation was included in the Historic American Buildings Survey. The easiest way to do this is to simply search for the name of the plantation.
Whether you find the slave quarters for the specific plantation on which your enslaved ancestors worked or not, viewing these photographs will still provide you with a new perspective into their lives.
The following slideshow depicts slave quarters from around the South, as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey. Please be aware that these photographs were taken between the 1930s and 1950s. The conditions of disrepair probably worsened over time, and may not reflect the actual condition of the homes during the times of slavery.
In order, these photographs depict the slave quarters lying on the following plantations:
1. Hopsewee plantation; Georgetown, South Carolina
2. Kingsley plantation; Jacksonville, Florida
3. Melrose plantation; Natchez, Mississippi
4. Mansfield plantation; Georgetown, South Carolina
5. White Haven plantation; St. Louis, Missouri
6. Old Beersheba Inn slave quarters; Beersheba Springs, Tennessee
7. McLeod plantation; Charleston, South Carolina
8. Northcut plantation; McMinnville, Tennessee
9. “Old Quarters,” Wisconsin Avenue and Route 193; Bethesda, Maryland
10. Prospect Hill plantation; Trevilians, Virginia
11. Sotterly plantation; Hollywood, St. Mary’s Co., Maryland
12. Captain Barton Peck house; Goliad, Texas
13. Melford plantation; Mitchellville, Prince George’s Co., Maryland
14. Oakland plantation; Bermuda, Natchitoches parish, Louisiana
15. Waldwic House; Gallion, Alabama
16. Whitehall plantation; Sutherland Springs, Texas
17. Oakleigh plantation; Mobile, Alabama
18. Liberty Hall plantation; Crawfordville, Georgia
19. Causey House; Milford, Delaware
20. Wickland plantation; Bardstown, Kentucky
The Historic American Buildings Survey contains many more photographs than those contained here. There are over a thousand results in a search for “Slave Quarters,” though some photographs are also held in other collections of Depression-era images.
Copyright and Restrictions
The Library of Congress is providing access to these materials solely for educational and research purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other rights holders (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.
The records in HABS/HAER were created for the U.S. Government and are considered to be in the public domain. However, occasionally material of a historical nature is copied for the Survey or Record and it may be necessary to receive permission from the owner of such material before it can be published. In all cases the courtesy of an acknowledgment is requested if material is used in a publication. Again, users are reminded that it is their responsibility to make an independent legal assessment of an item and to secure any necessary permissions for any further desired use or reproduction.
Comments
What family owned "Oakdale Plantation", Mobile, Alabama? Looking for near Mobile site of "Milford" (Plantation?) where Mrs. Mary S. Malone died 1838 and husband Thomas Malone, Sr., died 1850. Possibly Malone's Landing/Malone's Bridge? Malone came from Raleigh, N.C., with many slaves to 1805 Ft. St. Stephens, AL, as US Land Office Agent, US Magistrate, Asst. US Indians Agent. Originally from Malone's Mill Creek, Warren Co., N.C. So Mobile slaves orgin may be Warren Co., N.C? Malone's trip with slaves (some lost to Indians) is in Pickin's AL Bio. Jim Miller, Southport, N.C.
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