Stagville, NC

April and Valerie


Such a beautiful smile!

Big Hugs

Kaden, handsome little thing!

There were three slave row house

You can still see the thumb prints in the brick

Share Cropper's house

We went down to to Durham to see April and Matt during Easter Weekend. Although we had an awesome trip, being that was a holiday weekend, a lot things were closed. But we did manage to tour Duke University and the Chapel and to historic Stagville and plantation. Once the history buff in me kicked in and I had a great time roaming around the ruins of Stagville. We spent the majority of our time in Horton Grove, the enslaved homes. This is what I learned about the unique row houses:

Constructed between 1851 and 1860, Stagville's two-story, four-room
timber-frame quarters are rare survivors of an unusual form of enslaved
homes. Throughout the South, a typical enslaved house would have been a
one-room, one-story structure. However, the number of individuals housed
in each room at Horton Grove was probably about the same as elsewhere, being
from five to seven individuals.The design of the Horton Grove slave houses
employed brick nogging, which not only provided insulation from the heat and
cold, but also deterred rodent infestation, which could have created health
problems. Family records reveal the design of these buildings was a
deliberate attempt on Paul Cameron's part to provide a healthier living
environment for his slaves. In other words, his architectural investment
protected his human investment.

Matt and April's little boy Kaden is only four months younger than Madelyn so having a playmate along was wonderful! The two played very well together, they even had a slumber party together in Kaden's room--too cute! They really enjoyed just running and chasing each other.