From Saint Domingue to Frederick, Maryland: Tracing Architectural Detail

Summary

Recent excavations at Monocacy National Battlefield in Frederick, Maryland, revealed slave quarters associated with L’Hermitage, an 18th-19th c. plantation. L’Hermitage was owned by the Vincendière family, who settled in Maryland after having abandoned their plantations in Saint Domingue (present-day Haiti) to escape increasingly urgent slave rebellions. A careful study of these dwellings provides an opportunity to illuminate two important aspects of the built environment. First, I will explore the extent to which the construction and layout of the quarters reflects the influence of the Vincendières' former home, Haiti, and their adaptation to the local climate, environment, and styles of northern Maryland. Second, I will address how the spatial arrangement of the dwellings was deliberately manipulated to enforce social order and make it clear to enslaved workers that there was no room for the kinds of rebellion that drove the Vincendières from Saint Domingue.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeologies of Workers’ Housing   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2017

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 184