The Hutchinson House: Restoring a Freedman’s House to Serve as a Heritage Center on Edisto Island, SC

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "First Steps on a Long Corridor: The Gullah Geechee and the Formation of a Southern African American Landscape" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Hutchinson House on Edisto Island, constructed in 1885 by Henry Hutchinson, stands as a testament to the perseverance of African Americans who asserted their independence from White control after the Civil War. Henry Hutchinson’s father, James Hutchinson, was born into slavery on Edisto, and organized land cooperatives among freedmen during Reconstruction. Consequently, Henry Hutchinson prospered as a landowner and farmer when many freed people struggled economically.

The Hutchinson family lived in the house until the 1980s and owned the property until 2016. Today, the Edisto Island Open Land Trust owns the property and collaborates with the Hutchinson family to restore the house and land. The EIOLT and the family promote the project through community forums, webinars, a traveling exhibit, and extensive media coverage. Ultimately, the property will serve as a heritage center where visitors will learn the history of Edisto Island through the story of one African American family.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• First Steps on a Long Corridor: The Gullah Geechee and the Formation of a Southern African American Landscape   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology