Water At Montpelier: Creating And Controlling A 19th Century Plantation Landscape

Author(s): Erica G Moses

Year: 2017

Summary

In the early 19th century, James Madison's plantation in Orange County, VA was undergoing a number of dramatic changes as the house and grounds were extensively modified. At some point during this period, an unusually complex water supply system was constructed in what is now called the South Yard, an area near the main house where enslaved families lived and worked. This paper examines the evidence for this system, along with other water sources within the formal grounds, to consider not only the practical choices made by the Madisons and their enslaved laborers but the way these water sources reflect the increasingly controlled and manipulated landscape at Montpelier during this period of change.

Cite this Record

Water At Montpelier: Creating And Controlling A 19th Century Plantation Landscape. Erica G Moses. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435519)

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 651