Our conversation today with Shannon Moeck from Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park, Nathan Stalvey from Clarke County Historical Association, and Kristen Laise from Belle Grove Plantation gave details for The Slave Dwelling Project.
For the sixth year, Belle Grove Plantation and Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park will host The Slave Dwelling Project for Inalienable Rights: Free and Enslaved Blacks Crafting a Life in the Shenandoah Valley featuring talks and living history demonstrations. This year's event, which takes place November 10-12, 2022, will also involve the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Clarke County Historical Association, and Blandy Experimental Farm.
The schedule for all the events is listed below. Activities will be hosted in-person, with two options for joining remotely.
The event will begin on Thursday, November 10 at 7pm at St. Thomas Chapel in Middletown with "Serena Spencer at Cedar Creek." Kenyete Spencer Mills, descendent of free Black potter Abraham Spencer, will read her ancestor, Serena Spencer's remembrances of the battle in Middletown from the 1915 book Battleground Adventures by Clifton Johnson. Shannon will discuss the Battle of Cedar Creek's larger impact on the civilian community. The event is free, but registration through the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley is requested: https://www.themsv.org/events/serena-spencer-at-cedar-creek/
On Friday, November 11, 10am - 3pm, the Burwell-Morgan Mill of the Clarke County Historical Association will host hearth cooking demonstrations and discussion about the people enslaved in Clarke County. It will feature Joseph McGill Founder and Executive Director of The Slave Dwelling Project, based in Charleston, South Carolina. One part of the organization's mission is to "support and encourage individuals and organizations to preserve and mark sites related to the institution of slavery and the legacy of slavery." Terry James and Cheney McKnight, living historians who work with the Slave Dwelling Project, will interact with visitors about the process of cooking and their work as interpreters. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. The Bank of Clarke County Foundation is sponsoring this programming.
At 7pm on Friday, November 11, 2022, Blandy Experimental Farm will host a panel in their library moderated by Jonathan Noyalas, Director of the McCormick Civil War Institute, Shenandoah University. Panelists Joseph McGill (Slave Dwelling Project), historian and storyteller Tammy Denease (Hidden Women Stage Company), Dave Carr (Director of Blandy Experimental Farm), and Adeela Al-Khalili (Vice-President of the Josephine School Community Museum) will have a conversation about the lives of enslaved people and the visible legacy of slavery on Blandy's grounds. The event is free, but registration through Blandy is required: https://blandy.virginia.edu/news/story/8201
On Saturday, November 12, 2022, from 10am - 6pm Belle Grove Plantation will offer complimentary admission and special programming on the African American history of the site and of the Shenandoah Valley with speakers and special guests from The Slave Dwelling Project and Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. Visitors are welcome to come by throughout the day for the talks and to tour the 1797 Manor House and new exhibit "Unearthing Enslaved Lives," about the archaeology done at the Belle Grove quarter site of the enslaved community.
The talks will also be broadcast via Zoom (registration before November 11 is required: https://bellegrove.org/calendar/inalienable-rights. The Slave Dwelling Project's participation at Belle Grove is made possible by Crescent Cities Charities and Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park.
10am: Following the Footprints of Slavery presentation by Joseph McGill, Founder of the Slave Dwelling Project
11am: Kneading in Silence: A Glimpse into the Life of Enslaved Cook Judah, by Shannon Moeck, Park Ranger, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park
12pm: Lunch break for presenters (guests may choose to tour the Belle Grove Manor House and Unearthing Enslaved Lives exhibit.)
1pm: Storytelling presentation about Elizabeth Keckly by Tammy Denease, Executive Artistic Director of the Hidden Women Stage Company
2pm: Let's Talk About Slavery with Cheney McKnight, founder of Not Your Momma's History, historical interpreter, and YouTuber, who will provide a safe space for guests to ask questions about the experiences of those enslaved in North America.
3pm: Presentation by Terry James, Slave Dwelling Project Board Member
4pm: Upper level of the Manor House closed for touring. The Freedom Seekers from Belle Grove Plantation by Kristen Laise, Executive Director of Belle Grove. The site is now on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
5pm: Free at Last: The Complicated Road to Freedom for the Jackson Family by Shannon Moeck, Park Ranger, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park.
About Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park: Cedar Creek and Belle Grove commemorates a nationally significant Civil War landscape and antebellum plantation by sharing the story of Shenandoah Valley history from early settlement through the Civil War and beyond. The Park Visitor Contact Station is located at 7712 Main Street in Middletown and more information may be found at nps.gov/cebe.
About the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (MSV)—A regional cultural center at 901 Amherst Street, Winchester, VA, the MSV includes a galleries building displaying permanent collections and changing exhibitions, seven acres of formal gardens, the Glen Burnie House dating to 1794, and The Trails at the MSV—a free-admission park with miles of trails.
About Clarke County Historical Society—Founded in 1939, the Clarke County Historical Association is a 501c3 non-profit whose mission is to help preserve the historical resources and records of Clarke County and to foster their use, understanding, and enjoyment through stewardship and education. Their offices are in the historic Coiner House at 32 East Main Street in Berryville, Virginia along with the History Center and Archives
CCHA also owns and operates the Burwell-Morgan Mill, a fully operational 18th-century grist mill located in Millwood, Virginia just off Route 50. The Mill grinds a variety of grains and tours of this historic site take place every Saturday from May through November. (The mill is closed from after Thanksgiving through the end of April). To learn more, visit clarkehistory.org.
About Blandy Experimental Farm—Blandy Experimental Farm is a research field station owned and operated by the University of Virginia and affiliated with its Department of Environmental Sciences. Blandy's mission is to increase understanding of the natural environment through research and education. Blandy is also home to the State Arboretum of Virginia, which contains 5,000 woody plants from around the world. More information can be found at https://blandy.virginia.edu/
About Belle Grove—Belle Grove Plantation is located off Route 11 at 336 Belle Grove Road just south of Middletown, Virginia 22645 and is conveniently located to I-81 (use exit 302) and I-66. Belle Grove Plantation has been a non-profit historic house museum since 1967 and is a National Trust for Historic Preservation historic site. Belle Grove is also one of the partners in Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. More information may be found at bellegrove.org or facebook.com/BelleGrove.
