April 12, 2012

Behind the “Big Houses

Joseph McGill, a Civil War re-enactor who has gained attention in the past year for his "Slave Cabin Project," will visit Marshall County in April to discuss his efforts to honor slaves by sleeping in slave cabins across the South. He will present talks as part of a public program funded by the Mississippi Humanities Council.

"Preserve Marshall County and Holly Springs, Inc. recognizes the value of all historic resources in our community and too often those slave buildings and histories ahve been overlooked and undocumented in our cultural and architectural narrative," wrote Chelius Carter, president of Preserve Marshall County and Holly Springs, Inc., which is hosting the program. "We wish to provide a meaningful forum open to the public to interpret this significant chapter in the American experience by using the actual historic sites as a highlight to that narrative."

According to Carter, McGill's "Slave Cabin Project" is an effort to make a tangible connection between the extant architecture and lives of the former slave inhabitants, as well as their contributions to the larger picture.

In McGill's words, "for so long folks have been visiting the plantation and going into the big houses, and without those structures (the slave cabins), the big house could not have existed."

McGill will present several lectures between April 12 and 15, 2012. There will also be daily tours of several slave dwellings, along with flat-panel history exhibits and takeaway materials.

Multiple locations, Holly Springs, MS

No cost

Sponsored by Preserve Marshall County and Holly Springs, Inc.

For more information:
Chelius Carter, 901-336-4090