Unearthing the Past: An In-Field Journey Through Springs Plantation
Between 2013 and 2015, I conducted archaeological fieldwork at Springs Plantation—a site layered with stories of labor, survival, and the complex relationships that defined plantation life. On April 4th, 2025, I returned—not to excavate, but to share that history directly on the land where it all happened.
Nearly 20 descendants—both Black and white—gathered with me to walk the grounds, listen, ask questions, and reflect. I reconstructed the original excavation grid and placed artifacts back where they had been found. The group moved with me through the landscape—past cabin sites, work yards, and kitchens—encountering the stories of those who lived and labored there.
The Land Speaks
At each grid point, I shared artifacts recovered during the dig—iron tools, nails, ceramics—and explained the context of each space. We also discussed the history of the 1882 jail built on the property to hold and lease out convict laborers. Springs Plantation is a site that tells not one story, but many—and some of those stories have been buried for generations.
What unfolded was an emotional and reflective experience. Participants stood in the very spaces their ancestors once occupied. Some came to learn more. Some came to honor. All came to bear witness.
Restoring the Lives Behind the Artifacts
This research is about more than objects. It’s about people—real people whose names and lives were flattened by the violence of slavery and the passing of time. This work is about restoring their presence.
Nathan, the blacksmith, was known far beyond the plantation. His skill was so exceptional that he was leased out to neighboring plantations. He was a respected and well-known figure in the area. Nathan remained at Springs after emancipation, choosing to stay on the land where he had lived and worked.
Betty, his wife, raised the enslaver’s children and managed domestic tasks in and around the main house. She, too, remained on the plantation after freedom. Betty’s presence in the archaeological record appears through everyday items—objects that speak to a life lived in the center of household and family activity.
Wheeler, the coachman, held a position of visibility and responsibility. He managed horses and was charged with transporting the family. While no personal effects tied directly to him were recovered, his role was significant within the plantation’s social and logistical structure.
Nancy, the head cook, was trusted by the plantation owner and favored in the household. She had at least eight children, including Charley. According to family records, the enslaver told his granddaughter that Nancy’s children were “of good blood.” When that granddaughter asked for Nancy’s newborn baby, he agreed. The main kitchen was attached to the big house, but Nancy had her own cabin down the hill. Her presence looms large—both in the material record and in oral tradition.
Charley, Nancy’s son, was taken as a personal servant by the enslaver’s granddaughter. His childhood was shaped by proximity to the family that enslaved him. His story reflects the layered complexities of status, separation, and identity within plantation life.
A Legacy Shared
The descendants stood in quiet reflection as the stories unfolded. There was connection, recognition, and a deep understanding that this history doesn’t live in textbooks—it lives in the land, in memory, and in us.
This wasn’t a tour. It was a return. A reckoning. A commitment to truth-telling and to preserving stories that were nearly lost.
How CHRIS Can Help
April 4th reaffirmed the mission of CHRIS: to help communities recover, document, and protect their cultural heritage. Whether it’s through archaeological surveys, historic research, or community-based education, CHRIS supports efforts to bring the past into the light with care and accuracy.