Slave Dwelling Project at Hofwyl Plantation

On May 22nd and 23rd visitors to Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation will have the opportunity to meet

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Julie Andrew Tharpe

Slave Dwelling Project Founder Joe McGill

Joe McGill of the Slave Dwelling Project. He will be on site all day Friday and Saturday interacting with visitors. McGill will be joined by Prinny Anderson, a descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Leslie Stainton, a descendant of slaveholding families from the area.  Both are members of Coming to the Table, an organization comprising descendants of slaves and slave-owners.

In addition there will be a special after-hours event on Friday night from 6:30 to 8 p.m. McGill will give a presentation on The Slave Dwelling Project, Anderson and Staiton will give a presentation on Coming to the Table and later the three will discuss life of a slave on a coastal rice plantation and share experiences from their previous overnight stays in slave dwellings. The evening will be capped by a special tour of the plantation house and grounds from a slave’s perspective.

A highlight of the weekend will be the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets for a quilt donated by the Golden Isles Fiber Arts Guild Quilt Group.  Quilting and weaving techniques can be traced back to African traditions and it is believed that some of the techniques came from that cultural heritage. Admission for this event is $15 per person and includes one raffle ticket. Additional tickets are available for $5. All proceeds go to Friends of Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation.

McGill will spend Friday night in the “Servant’s Quarters” the last standing slave structure on Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation. It was used by slaves, and later freed persons, who worked inside the plantation house. At the height of the plantation era there were 357 slaves and approximately 60 slave dwellings. 

Over the past five years McGill has travelled all over the United States visiting remaining slave structures. The focus of The Slave Dwelling Project, and McGill’s overnight stays, is to bring attention to extant slave dwellings while assisting owners in preserving these structures and serving as a clearinghouse for their identification and documentation.

Regular Historic Site hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors (62 and over) and $5 for youth (6-17). Children five and under are free.