James Madisons Montpelier We The People Spring 2015 | Page 11

SPRING 2015

SOUTH YARD
GROUNDBREAKING
On April 18, in honor of the 150th anniversary
of Emancipation, The Montpelier Foundation
hosted an emotional groundbreaking ceremony
to commemorate the beginning of a new chapter
with the reconstruction of the South Yard.
Montpelier president Kat Imhoff welcomed over
200 supporters and friends for the milestone
event, including John Franklin of the Smithsonian
National African American History and Culture
Museum and Margaret Jordan, a director of
The Montpelier Foundation Board and direct
descendant of James Madison’s personal slave, Paul
Jennings. Both spoke at the event. “All of this puts
a ‘face’ on the people who lived here,” said Ms.
Jordan. “The replication of the slave housing and
furnishings will be invaluable to their descendants,
to history, and to the public.”

The Reverend Youth Hardman-Cromwell, Ph.D., of Wesley Theological Seminary,
performed a libation at the site of the first quarter to be reconstructed.

“ ll of this puts a ‘face’ on the people who lived here,” said Ms. Jordan. “The replication of the slave
A
housing and furnishings will be invaluable to their descendants, to history, and to the public.”
Archaeological research, lead by Montpelier’s
director of archaeology and landscape restoration,
Matthew Reeves, Ph.D., coupled with the
engagement of the slave descendant community
and the Orange County African American
Historical Association, has been a critical source
of information about slave life at Montpelier. Since
2001, the Foundation has organized three slave
descendant reunions, including workshops where
participants collaborated with staff and advisors
to discuss the interpretation of the site’s African
American history. These lessons are being woven
into interpretation and restoration plans, including
the work that will transform the South Yard.
Montpelier’s staff, Board of Directors, and
descendant community have been planning this
reconstruction for more than a decade. With
David Rubenstein’s generosity and leadership, the
Foundation is finally able to make this vision a
reality. By the end of 2017, all six buildings that
make up the area will be complete.
The River Bank Choir of neighboring Culpeper County led Jordan, Franklin,
Imhoff, Reeves, and guests in song to the South Yard excavation site.

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