Expanded Content Coming Soon!
Please check back for more information about the slave culture of Spring Island
Slave Settlements
Dozens of buildings on sea island plantations housed enslaved workers and their children. These were organized into "slave rows," or quarters, often located in close proximity to the planter's home. One such settlement lay to the east of this sign.
In the early 1990s archeologists studying a quarters located in the Bonny Shore area of Spring Island discovered Colonware pottery artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries. These were crafted from local clays. Some artists' incised geometric designs on their vessels. These may be Bakongo-inspired cosmograms reflecting a continuation of West African religious beliefs.
Access to potable drinking water factored into the location of the "Old House" quarters. Artesian-fed springs running in a line from the oak allée behind the tabby ruins to Betsy's Pond would likely have supplied cisterns with fresh water.
Slave houses were usually constructed of locally harvested wood and hand-made bricks, possibly resting on tabby foundations. Buildings usually housed one to two family units. Interiors comprised single or double rooms, with fireplaces and sometimes a loft.
An Emerging Culture
Enslaved laborers worked Monday through Saturday. Sundays offered a day of rest from exhausting labor and some time for family or community activities—gardening, fishing, craft making, storytelling, singing and worshiping. Most all these pursuits occurred in the quarters or at praise houses.
Folkways in the quarters were drawn from West African cultures, over time becoming part of Gullah traditions. Tales of Brer Rabbit are thought to come from various West African stories, including "Lapin (rabbit) and Bouki (stupid hyena)" from Senegal. They reflect a worldview where good and evil are not absolutes, a belief expressed by the wise trickster-hero, "Ananse (spider)" of Ghanaian folklore. Here's part of a story recounted by Peter McQueen of Wilmington Island, GA:
"Bruh Rabbit and Bruh Wolf wuz alluz tyin tuh git duh best uh one anudduh. Now Bruh Wolf he own a hoe an it work fuh crop all by itsef. Bruh Wolf jis say, 'Swish,' tuh it. Den he sit down in duh fiel an duh hoe do all duh work.
"Bruh Rabbit he wahn dat hoe. He hide behine bush an watch how duh wolf make it wuk. One day wen duh wolf away, bruh Rabbit he steal duh hoe. He go tuh he own fiel an he stan duh hoe up an he say, 'Swish.' Duh hoe start to wuk. It wuk and it wuk. Fo long duh crop is done finish. Den rabbit want hoe tuh stop, an he cal out and he call out, but hoe keep right on wukin…"
"The Old Plantation" Painting
This historic painting is the only known depiction of plantation life actually dating from the 18th century. Very recent research has revealed that John Rose was the painter. He owned a plantation on the Coosaw River near Beaufort. The exceptional level of detail in the painting tells us something of plantation life in the 1700s. Such moments are described in contemporary diaries and letters.
The work brings to mind the eye of a keen observer. The narrative reflects the artist's point of view, as do his choice of subject matter, composition and colors. Its subtext signifies the power of a plantation owner and his authority over human beings held in bondage.