The African American Cabin Project, titled “From Slavery to

Freedom: A Testament of Time,” began at Magnolia Plantation

and Gardens in January 2008, with efforts to preserve and restore

cabins on the property that were occupied from 1850 well into the

late 20th century. The “street” of cabins at Magnolia Plantation

include a total of five structures: four former slave cabins that were

originally built in the 1850s and one cabin that was built in the

early 1900s. Each of the five cabins reflect a different period of

occupation including slavery, Reconstruction, the Jim Crow Era

and the 1960s Civil Rights Era. Cabin A represents a slave cabin

from around the year 1850 when the cabins were built. Cabin B

represents a Gardener’s Home from around the year 1930, from

which a garden that is still worked and used today can be seen out

the back window. Cabin C represents the Leach family home from

the year 1969, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement

which greatly affected the city of Charleston. Taking a step back

in time, Cabin D represents a Freedman’s home from around the

year 1870 during the times of Reconstruction in the South. Finally

Cabin E reflects a Gardener’s home from around the year 1900,

when this particular cabin was built about 50 years later than the

other four. This project is unique because the cabins have been

both been preserved to maintain the building in the current state it

was in when the project began in the late 2000s, as well as restored

to how the building would have looked during the specific time

period it reflected. Cabins A and B especially have been divided

into two major sections, one side showing the restoration process

and the other showing the preservation process. Before

restorations even started, two years of research and archeology

were conducted on the cabins and the surrounding areas.

Archeologists found a number of colonial artifacts such as dice

and buttons, some of which are now on display in the cabins

themselves, showing just how long people have lived in the area

where these cabins are located. Completed in February of 2009,

this historic preservation project shows how Magnolia Plantation

was connected to African American History beyond the years of

slavery, as well as set a new standard for the interpretation of

African American history on Southern Plantations.

Cabin B, also known as the 1926 Gardener’s Home, was built

sometime in the early 1850s. The right side of Cabin B was

preserved to illustrate how these cabins appeared when this project

began and to illustrate the cabin’s evolution through time. While

the left side of Cabin B has been restored to reflect its appearance

in 1926.

Right Room: Preserved

As with Cabin A, the only work done in this room was repair, cleaning,

and structural support. An Additional support beam was added along the

center axis of the building to reinforce the floor.

The firebox, chimney, and chimney cap in Cabin B comprise the only

complete, original chimney system in any of the cabins. Because it is

original to the 1850 structure, it was used as a blueprint to restore Cabin

A’s upper chimney and chimney cap was copied in its entirety for the

restoration of Cabin D. As in Cabin A, the original wood lintel was

replaced with an old train rail during a repair to the firebox sometime in

early 20th century. One interesting feature of this firebox is the wooden

mantel. This mantel dates to the 19th century and is completely hand-

planed. You will also note a hole in the center of the chimney: most likely

added in the early 20th century, this hole, known as a “thimble,” once

seated a pipe to a wood-burning stove.

Left Room: Restored

Very few original 1926 News & Courier newspapers survive; the wallpaper

you see was created from scans of microfilm copies held in the archives

of the Charleston Post & Courier. Because collecting enough newspaper

to wallpaper a cabin took weeks, the newspapers were likely brittle and

yellow by the time they were put on the walls. To illustrate the aging

process, each reproduction newspaper was individually soaked in hot tea

and dried.

It was tempting to hang the newspapers right side up, neatly laid out for

reading purposes. However, the people living here in 1926 needed the

paper for much-needed insulation, not entertainment. The newspapers

are therefore hung in a haphazard fashion that reflects the room’s 1926

appearance.

A reproduction potbelly cast iron stove was installed in one of the thimble

openings on the chimney. The corrugated tin roof was added to the cabin

sometime in the early 20th century.

The last known inhabitant of this cabin was African-American gardener

John Frederick, who moved out sometime in the 1960s.

1930 Era Cabin: Segregation

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens

3550 Ashley River Road

Charleston, SC 29414

“From Slavery to Freedom: A Testament of Time”

A Celebration of the Award-Winning African American Cabin Project at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens

Interior of Cabin B (Original 1850s chimney) View of Cabin B from the front

Beginnings of Jim Crow

The systematic practice of favoring or promoting the segregation of Negro peoples, also known as the Jim Crow laws, was a tactic of southern landowners to

bypass the basic rights given to African-Americans by the United States Constitution.

(Pictured above) The name and character of “Jim Crow” originated

with a minstrel singer/ dancer who was obedient, docile, and never

questioned authority. Popularly regarded by the southern population,

the “Jim Crow” concept was the model in which they thought all

African-Americans should exemplify.

Sources:

Arnold, Sara A. and Stephen G. Hoffius The Life and Art of Alfred Hutty: Woodstock to Charleston (University of South Carolina Press, 2012); Hubbert, Julie Jenkins Orphanage (University of South Carolina Press); http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/1998/edu/jimcrow.htm; www.awesomestories.com/famou-trials/crow-laws/now-what; http://old/post-gazette.com/printer.asp; www.archives.gov; www.history.com; www.pbs.org, Johnnie Leach (retired horticultural superintendent

for Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, SC), interview by George McDaniel, Jay Millar, Joe Schmitt, Toni Carrier, and Robin Foster, May 18, 2012 at Drayton Hall; Magic Magnolia, Filmed by Harry Lee Harllee, 1928.

Red states pictured above adopted the “Jim Crow” laws.

Unbalanced Education

One of the leading factors for forced segregation and demeaning of African-Americans became apparent from within the educational system. Black segregated schools often

received leftover funding from the white schools which left these institutions no choice but to purchase inadequate supplies. African-American teachers had insufficient educational

training compared to white teachers. On average, black teachers received roughly ten weeks of training as opposed to two years for white teachers. Also, black teachers were highly

underpaid as opposed to their white counterparts. For example, on average a white teacher earned around $878 versus $297 on average for a black teacher. Due to overcrowded and

insufficient buildings for schools, some black families would send their children to private schools in the north. It was a costly investment, so most black families had to settle with

public education for their children.

Penn Center in Beaufort County was founded on St. Helena Island by two Quaker women, Laura Towne and Ellen Murray. The creation of this industrial school would benefit the

African-American populace located on the island in finding jobs locally and in nearby Charleston, South Carolina (SC). At an industrial school like Penn Center, students would

receive a combination of schooling in trades and academics based on their gender. For example, African-American girls learned domestic sciences in order to become laundresses

and seamstresses, as well as other industrial trades. For boys, their educational experiences at Penn Center focused more on manual training such as basket weaving, wheel writing,

masonry, cobblers, etc. Also, non-students learned how to weave and quilt.

Problems with Employment

In regards to employment under the Jim Crow laws, African-Americans were restricted to jobs of servitude or menial labor.

Many fairer skinned African-Americans would attempt to pass for a white person in order to get better opportunities of work.

The ‘great migration’ had begun to take place and by 1920 in South Carolina, the percentage of black men working in a

skilled/semi-skilled manufacturing or mechanical position had dropped 38% in 1920 from 54% in 1910. The reason for this

gradual drop resulted from African-American males looking for better employment and opportunities to improve their lives and

the lives of their families.

African-Americans and the Prohibition

The federal prohibition of the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors took effect in January of 1919 (18th

amendment) and was repealed in 1933 (21st amendment). To help enforce the prohibition, the Volstead Act was passed in

September of 1919. As a direct result of the alcohol ban and due to the unwavering need of Americans to drink, speakeasies ran

by organized crime began to pop up throughout the country. In order to gain entry into a speakeasy establishment, an individual

was required to speak softly or whisper a password. Speakeasies were usually located underground, operating under a façade of

preexisting legitimate businesses. During this time and in these environments, jazz flourished as a way to get people into certain

speakeasy establishments and the first jazz record was recorded by Mamie Smith, an African-American singer, in 1920.

1920s Women’s Suffrage

Passed in 1920, the 19th amendment granted white women the right to vote. However, ratification was delayed in many southern

states due to the overwhelmingly white male fear of white superiority being threatened by women’s emotional attachment to the

“less fortunate.” For example, the state of segregation of African-Americans in the South.

Economics: The Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties economy transitioned slowly back to peacetime after World War I. Labor unions, which had grown strong

during the war fought to maintain their power through a series of strikes. However, by 1922, the economy was booming, a

pattern it would follow continuously until the Great Crash of 1929. The Roaring Twenties were a great time to be rich. Mass-

production industries fueled by the spread of technologies such as electricity and the assembly line provided ample

opportunities for profitable investment. Money was being spent on more frivolous items and the 1920s were a great time to be

apart of the middle-class, too. By the time of the Great Crash of 1929, ordinary folks in America’s cities and towns could expect

to be able to own a car, a washing machine, a refrigerator, a radio, and a host of other modern conveniences that improved the

quality of life. Unfortunately, for the large minority of Americans who made their livelihoods in agriculture, the decade roared

only with the agony of a prolonged and inevitable depression. While the Great Stock Market Crash of 1929 itself directly affected

only the tiny minority of prosperous Americans who owned stock at the time, the descent from the Roaring Twenties into the

Great Depression was steep and tumultuous.

Penn Center in Beaufort, South Carolina

What was it like for a Magnolia gardener in 1926? In the 1920s, Magnolia’s

gardens were open to the public for only two to three spring months, during

the peak azalea bloom that made Magnolia famous. However, Magnolia’s

garden staff worked year round. Magnolia’s male gardeners planted new

seedlings, maintained existing plants, cut dead wood from the gardens,

mowed the plantation lawns and hand-dipped duckweed from the blackwater

ponds to keep the mirror-like surfaces clear. Women shared planting tasks

and were responsible for sweeping the garden paths clean- which they did

with ‘broomstraw’ collected from the woods. Although the Hasties brought

their domestic staff to town when they came to stay at Magnolia, the

inhabitants of Cabin B, also known as the 1926 Gardener’s Home,- in

addition to their garden duties- probably did some work directly for the

Hasties while the family was in residence.

A reproduction potbelly cast iron stove was installed in

one of the thimble openings on the chimney. Cast iron

stoves were much more practical than an open firebox

for both heat and cooking; the stove style selected was

one of the most popular and affordable iron stoves

available to the 1926 market. (Pictured far top right)

The left room has been restored to reflect its

appearance in 1926. Beginning in the early 20th

century, it became common practice to wallpaper the

cabin interiors with newspaper. You will note the torn

remnants of these newspapers on the walls and the

ceiling.

The papers- primarily Charleston’s News & Courier

as well as a few copies of the New York Times- all

date from 1926, which is why the cabin was restored to

this year. The New York Times probably came from

the 1926 owner at Magnolia Plantation- C. Norwood

Hastie, his wife, and his children- who lived at

Magnolia in the winter and spring of each year.

It was not until 1921 when the first black man, Willie Leach, was paid here at

Magnolia Plantation and its Gardens. There was also a company store at Drayton

Hall which Magnolia Plantation’s employees used a path that connects the two

plantations together. Religious practices and constant church attendance was the

center of black families on Magnolia Plantation. Most African-Americans regularly

attended Springfield Church, Bull Chapel, or St. Philip Church, AME.

Pathway that connects Drayton Hall and Magnolia Plantation

Photos courtesy of Magnolia Plantation Archives

Cabin B: Left Room Restoration

Cabin B: 1926 Gardener’s Home

Magnolia Plantation during the 1920s- 1930s

The Charleston Renaissance (1920s- 1945) Regarded as a modern artistic southern legacy, the Charleston Renaissance spearheaded Charleston’s transformation from a

faded southern port city to a premier tourist destination through the collective image making of native and national artists.

Master painter such as Alfred Hutty painted evocative landscape portraits of the Carolina topography. Hutty’s main focus of

inspiration was to depict the city’s surviving colonial and antebellum architecture, its rural environments, and its African-

American population. Upon arrival to Charleston, Hutty wrote a letter to his wife in New York proclaiming, “Come quickly, have

found heaven.”

“Come quickly, have found heaven.” - Alfred Hutty

In Magnolia Gardens by Alfred Hutty.

Charleston, South Carolina

Jenkins Orphanage Band

In 1891, Reverend Daniel Jenkins, a pastor of a small

African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina

established Jenkins Orphanage for orphaned black youths.

Although it was a success in terms of its mission, the

Reverend needed to raise money in order to pay for the

property to erect his solution to rid the city of its

“roaming, thieving wild children.” He settled on raising

money by assembling a brass band and tour the northern

states in search of support and sponsorship.

While Jenkins was successful at forming a small

proficient band, he was not immediately successful at

raising money to cover the orphanage’s expenses. After

raising meager sums of donations playing in the Streets

of Charleston, Jenkins decided to take his group on the

road. The band toured the USA from coast to coast and

even crossed the Atlantic ocean to play in Paris, Berlin,

Rome, London and Vienna.

From pre-colonial days, South Carolina was one of the

most active participants in the slave trade importing

slaves from all over the West African continent and

Caribbean plantations in the West Indies. Charleston was

one of the nations largest ports throughout the 17th and

18th centuries and became the center for the forced

African mass migration. With a unique sound, their

music reflected a mixture of African, Caribbean and

western influences due to South Carolina’s long-standing

interaction with the slave trade. Fast forward to the

1920s, the Jenkins Orphanage Band did more than

produce some of the best talent that served the most

famous jazz bands and dance orchestras, they appear to

have instigated a musical trend.