The enslaved community at Gunston Hall lived in at least six different locations. George and Ann Mason's son John remembered that the east yard included "servant houses (in them days called Negroe quarters)...masqued by rows of large Cherry and Mulberry Trees" and that slaves possessed "considerable resources within themselves." Archaeological excavations have revealed the exact location of this residential and multi-purpose landscape, just a short distance from the mansion. In their limited spare time, enslaved workers nurtured families, accomplished their own chores and household maintenance, and tended communal or family gardens.
Gunston Hall continues to learn more about the personal lives of the enslaved community from the many objects discovered at this spot. These artifacts reveal the residents' mingling of hand-made wares with discarded items repurposed from the mansion. Small objects, such as buttons and cowry shells, reflect some of the personal choices made by enslaved people, despite the harsh realities of their daily struggles.
Archaeology Offers Clues
Archaeologists discovered many pieces of pottery in pits and middens (trash deposits) inside and next to the dwellings.
For example, the site contained more than 300 fragments of white salt-glazed stoneware,
an expensive ceramic the Masons imported from England. In the 1760s they replaced this set with dishes in the latest style. It is likely the Masons' old dinner service found a new home alongside the basic wooden, homemade clay, and horn vessels used in the east yard quarters.
What Did Enslaved People Eat?
Each enslaved adult at Gunston Hall received a weekly food ration. This allotment probably included a peck of corn and a pound of salted or smoked beef, pork, or fish. Some enslaved people also added variety to their diet. They raised poultry, harvested shellfish, and caught fresh fish such as gar, which was plentiful but unpopular with wealthy white Virginians. Single-pot meals of soups or stews might simmer on the hearth, ready to be consumed once the house and garden staff completed their work and returned home.
Uncomfortable Quarters
Travelling to Virginia in the 1780s, Johann David Schoepf observed that the homes of enslaved workers were "of the structure and solidarity of a house of cards."
During the last half of the 18th century, most of these frame buildings had posts set directly into the ground. They were sided with rough wooden clapboards or hewn timbers. The drafty houses likely had hard-packed earthen floors, shuttered windows without glass, and wooden chimneys.
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