Plantation chapel

This little chapel was moved from it's original place on a plantation near Gulf, NC.  It has been moved to the Mordecai historic park.

Built in 1847 by enslaved workers, it held religious services for the plantation owners and their enslaved workers.  The enslaved people were not allowed in the pews, but stood up in the balcony.

 

Theme Day: Wood

The theme for August is "wood".  So here you have wooden shingles,

And the gnarly trunk of an Osage orange tree.

 

If you can't stand the heat...

This kitchen was the birthplace of Andrew Johnson, 17th president in 1808. (see here).  In those days, kitchens were outbuildings, not in the house, due to the heat and the frequency of fires from the hot cooking fires.  The downstairs was one big open kitchen with a sleeping area upstairs.  This building was moved from it's original place behind a tavern in downtown Raleigh to the Mordecai historic park.

 

Perspective

The image of the ideal plantation life is put to rest with this chilling interpretive sign at the Mordecai historic park.  The owner of the plantation bought Primus and bound him in "body and mind and soul for the rest of his life."

It sounds like a deal only the devil would make.

 

Plantation house

The Mordecai house is the oldest structure in Raleigh still in it's original location.  It was the home of the Mordecai family.  This was the biggest plantation in Wake county and enslaved hundreds of workers. (see here for history of the home.) It is now a historical park with many historic buildings that were moved to this location.

 

Plantation church

This little church was built on a plantation outside of Raleigh.  It was moved to the Mordecai Historical Park.  It was built by slaves and used by the entire population of the plantation.  Both the owners and their slaves worshiped together, however the slaves had to stand in the balcony while the owners had pews on the main level.  I like it's simplicity.

Mordecai House

The Mordecai House is the oldest house in Raleigh still on it's original foundation.  Other houses have been moved to make room for growth, but since 1785 this house has stood in the same place. It was the home of a very wealthy plantation owner.  A large part of what is now Raleigh was part of the plantation land.   It is now a City of Raleigh historic park.  The right side of the house in this picture (the back end) was the original and was added onto as the Morticai family grew in size and wealth.

I wanted this side view of the house because of the blooming redbud and dogwood trees. 

It was painted yellow because color denoted wealth.  It cost more to paint your house a color instead of white.