Little Dixie Slave Cabins
Published in Missouri Life magazine. Feb 2012.
Published in Missouri Life magazine. Feb 2012.
The Little Dixie region is a little known area that hides the history of slavery in Missouri. Although slavery was widespread in the south, it was also prominent in the Mid-West. Lacking the legislation to protect this piece of Missouri's past, many of the slave cabins have been damaged, torn down or repurposed; effectively burying evidence it existed at all. Some small plantations in the area have tried to preserve the stories though, and by their own ambition, attempt to shed light on the history of slavery in Missouri by interpreting, and preserving the privately owned slave cabins in the Little Dixie. This photo essay follows the reporter as she tours recognized slave cabins in the area.
Report for Missouri Life, Porshe, holds a doll as she contemplates what life would have been like for the slaves of Burwood Plantation.
The slave quarters at Pleasant Green have been modernized with electricity and running water and, like most others, repurposed. One side is an artist studio and the other is filled with antiques and turned into a guest house.
The slave quarters at Pleasant Green have been modernized with electricity and running water. The property owners have decorated the rooms with antiques in an attempt to interpret what it would have looked like at the time they were occupied by slaves.
The porch to Burwood's barricks style slave quarters behind the main house. One of the rooms of the at Burwood has been modernized with electricity and running water while the others are in various states of repair.
The barracks style slave quarters at Burwood has three rooms. The last has been left in it's original, deteriorating, condition.
Remnants of the original wallpaper can be seen on the walls in the Burwood slave quarters.
The door to the slave quarters shows evidence of repurposing. This one has been used as storage since a fire destroyed part of the main house on Crestmead Plantation.
Many slave quarters have been repurposed as tool sheds or small rooms. This one has been used as storage since a fire destroyed part of the main house on Crestmead Plantation.
