{"id":7110,"date":"2013-02-01T22:00:14","date_gmt":"2013-02-02T03:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=7110"},"modified":"2024-12-04T17:43:26","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T22:43:26","slug":"roswell-roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=7110","title":{"rendered":"Roswell Roots"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"01<\/a>Linda Burton posting from Atlanta, Georgia <\/i>\u2013 February is Black History Month. A check of city calendars across the country reveals concerts, lectures, and special events scheduled from Annapolis, Maryland to Salem, Oregon, and all points between. I\u2019m in Atlanta now, so I decided to head for Roswell, a community 20 miles to the north, to learn about Roswell Roots<\/i>, the largest and most comprehensive celebration of African American history and culture in the state of Georgia. Roswell is known for its focus on history; it is an outstanding example of what a city can do for preservation, with the now-city-owned \u201cTrilogy\u201d of Barrington Hall, Bulloch Hall, and Smith Plantation open to the public year-round. Barrington Hall (1842) sits on 7 acres in downtown Historic Roswell; known as one of metro Atlanta\u2019s \u201cMost Beautiful Homes\u201d it offers visitors a glimpse of the only antebellum garden in the area, and numerous original outbuildings. At Smith Plantation (1845) visitors can see the original \"01<\/a>farmhouse and ten original outbuildings, once part of a 300-acre cotton farm. Bulloch Hall (1839) has a unique claim to fame \u2013 it was the childhood home of Martha \u201cMittie\u201d Bulloch, whose wedding to Theodore Roosevelt Sr took place in the front parlor in 1853; Mittie became mother to Teddy Roosevelt (26th<\/sup> President, 1901-1909) and grandmother to Eleanor Roosevelt (First Lady 1933-1945). This month, however, the emphasis at Bulloch (photo right<\/em>), and elsewhere in Roswell, is Roswell Roots<\/i>. <\/p>\n

\"01<\/a>Sharing the Story of Slavery<\/i> is a month-long exhibit at Bulloch Hall; each room in the house displays tasks and chores of the Bulloch slaves, with discussions of the important role these enslaved people played in the Bulloch household, and throughout the South. According to the 1840 US Census, Major Bulloch owned 43 slaves; field slaves lived near the cotton fields; house slaves lived in the two dogtrot cabins in the service yard. Archaeological\u00a0findings show that the cabins measured 16 x 40 and had glass windows. A reconstructed dogtrot cabin is open to visitors; family letters and records tell of Daddy William, the butler; Maum Rose, the cook; \"01<\/a>Maum Grace, the children\u2019s nursemaid; and Maum Charlotte, who ran the household. Daddy Luke was a literate slave, he often read to the children. He continued to be supported by Mittie and her sister until his death at 105 and is buried with the Bulloch family. Daddy William (right<\/em>)\u00a0and Maum Grace (left<\/em>)\u00a0are in the photo taken on the front steps of Bulloch Hall when President Roosevelt (2nd from left<\/em>)\u00a0visited in 1905. Bulloch Hall http:\/\/www.bullochhall.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Members of the Family\u2026?<\/i> is the month-long exhibit at Barrington Hall; it uses documents and photographs of the owners referring to the enslaved married couple Abram and Flora as \u201cmembers of the family\u201d and traces their lives over a period of twenty years. Slave Life on the Plantation<\/i> at Smith Plantation focuses on work, food, and everyday tasks of a slave\u2019s life; exhibits are in the barn and the slave cabin; most artifacts are from the original Smith family collection.<\/p>\n

\"01<\/a>Special One-day Events at the Three Historic Homes<\/p>\n