James Madison's Montpelier We The People Spring 2014 | Page 17

CABIN FEVER! RECONSTRUCTING T H E P L A N TAT I O N L A N D S C A P E CAN YOU DIG IT? YES, YOU CAN! Join Montpelier Archaeology’s LEARN Program and help discover the Montpelier plantation. This year’s expeditions will focus on excavating the historic core with the goal of better understanding Mr. Madison’s Temple and the work areas south of the mansion—the possible location of the Madison dairy barn. Weeklong sessions are offered late summer through fall and include accommodations on the grounds of Montpelier in historic Arlington House. I n February, Montpelier hosted a log cabin workshop where volunteer participants worked hand-in-glove with Montpelier archaeologists and a team of restoration carpenters to reconstruct “Granny Milly’s Cabin,” a 19th-century slave cabin located during a 2010 archaeology excavation. The workshop was the first of its kind and drew together archaeological research, architectural analysis, and authentic log cabin construction techniques to recreate a historic building that was part of the early Montpelier landscape, better represent the experiences and contributions of Montpelier’s enslaved community, and give visitors a sense of plantation life during the Madison era. Among the participants was Joseph McGill, Jr., a slave descendant who has made it his life’s mission to sleep in as many American slave quarters he can find. In the past four years, he has slept in 51 slave dwellings across the United States and has recently founded “The Slave Dwelling Project,” a non-profit organization with a mission to preserve slave dwellings and raise awareness about early-American slave culture. “My goal is to save dwellings on the verge of collapse and to save them from demolition and neglect. It’s a source of inspiration for me. For an institution like Montpelier to be taking such ownership of this story is a good thing,” reflected Mr. McGill. You can follow McGill around the country in Stand alone version 2014 through his website Joseph McGill 2-color PMS 3435 of the Slave Dwelling Project. www.slavedwellingproject.org. and PMS 448 or 4-color process WE THE PEOPLE ARCHAEOLOGY 17 Reversed on single or as sta 2014 SCHEDULE August 3-9 August 10-16 August 17-23 September 7-13 September 21-27 (alumni participants only) October 5-11 (alumni participants only) October 19-25 No previous experience required. Open to participants of all ages. For more information, contact the Director of Archaeology, alone version at Matt Reeves Stand [email protected]. 1-color PMS 3435 applications or 4-color process