Lectures

Lecture – Documenting the Domestic Architecture of Chesapeake Slavery

47600 Mill Field Drive
St. Mary's City , 20686

16 Nov 2023

Google Calendar|iCal

7:00pm - 8:15pm

301.994.4370

info@hsmcdigshistory.org

Lectures

Lecture – Documenting the Domestic Architecture of Chesapeake Slavery

47600 Mill Field Drive
St. Mary's City , 20686

16 Nov 2023

7:00pm - 8:15pm

Overview

Speaker: Dennis J. Pogue, PhD

Associate Research Professor

University of Maryland, College Park

About the lecture:

The generic image of the housing for enslaved Blacks living in the American South is of small wooden cabins aligned in rickety rows along the margins of plantation society. The problem with this vision is not that it is inaccurate as much as it is incomplete, biased toward conditions that existed on elite plantations of the type most often found in the Deep South during the decades preceding the Civil War. An ongoing effort co-directed by the author seeks to identify and document the diminishing number of surviving slave houses, and those findings testify to the diversity in the character of slave housing in Virginia and throughout the region. Single-family cabins were only one among a variety of quartering schemes that were available, and large plantations often incorporated a mixture of options. The size, arrangement, and type of construction of housing changed over time, reflecting local conditions as well as regional social and demographic trends and economic factors. With more than 120 buildings in Virginia documented so far over the 15-year duration of the project, Pogue will place the findings within the broader context of slavery in the region and detail the processes of documenting and interpreting the structures.

Bio: Dennis J. Pogue, Ph.D., has more than 45 years of experience as an educator, archaeologist, historic site administrator, and historic preservationist in Maryland and Virginia. He holds a Doctorate in Anthropology, with an emphasis in historical archaeology, from The American University, in Washington, DC. Dr. Pogue taught at UMD for eight years and for three years was interim director of the Historic Preservation Program. After his retirement from teaching, his focus is on consulting with historical and historic preservation agencies, museums, and private citizens in studying, interpreting, and preserving their historic resources. During his 25 years working at George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate, Museum & Gardens, he founded and directed the archaeological research program and oversaw all preservation-related activities on the property. Dr. Pogue’s scholarly interest lies in tracing the development of American society during the Colonial and Federal eras, with an emphasis on the plantation culture of the Chesapeake Bay region. Studying the material culture of Chesapeake slavery, and especially documenting variability in the character of the habitations of the enslaved, is an ongoing focus of his research. He co-directed an NEH-funded two-year project to record more than 30 houses of the enslaved from around the state of Virginia, and as President of Virginia Slave Housing, Inc., the number of buildings recorded now exceeds 120. Dr. Pogue has published extensively and lectured widely on a broad range of topics relating to historical archaeology, vernacular architecture, early American history, George Washington, and Mount Vernon. His book, Founding Spirits: George Washington and the Beginnings of the American Whiskey Industry, was published by Harbour Books in 2011, and received a silver medal in regional non-fiction in the 2012 Independent Publishers Book Awards. His essays have appeared as chapters in numerous collected volumes, and as articles in professional journals such as Historical Archaeology, Winterthur Portfolio, and The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, and in popular outlets such as American History, Early American Life, and The Magazine Antiques.

This lecture will take place in Cole Cinema, located at the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Campus Center, 47600 Mill Field Drive, St. Mary’s City, 20686.

has been added to your Favorites.

has been removed from your Favorites.

Related Events

Outdoor Exhibits Open for the Season

Historic St. Mary's City

Tue, Mar 17, 2026

10:00 AM - 04:00 PM

Events

Spring Scavenger Hunt

Historic St. Mary's City

Sat, Mar 21, 2026

10:00 AM - 04:00 PM

Events

Spring Saturdays at Historic St. Mary’s City

Historic St. Mary's City

Sat, Mar 21, 2026

10:00 AM - 04:00 PM

Events, Tours

Little Explorers: Maryland Day

Historic St. Mary's City

Wed, Mar 25, 2026

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Workshops

Homeschool Day

Historic St. Mary's City

Fri, Mar 27, 2026

10:00 AM - 04:00 PM

Events, Maryland Dove

Spring Saturdays

Sat, Mar 28, 2026

12:00 PM - 02:00 PM

Events, Tours

Spring Break – Breakfast with the Animals

Godiah Spray Tobacco Plantation

Tue, Mar 31, 2026

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Events

Fire Making Workshop

Godiah Spray Tobacco Plantation

Wed, Apr 1, 2026

10:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Events, Workshops

Junior Architects: Part I

Historic St. Mary's City

Thu, Apr 2, 2026

01:00 PM - 02:30 PM

Events, Workshops

Sew Far, Sew Good! Sewing Workshop

Historic St. Mary's City

Fri, Apr 3, 2026

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Events, Workshops

Little Explorers – Favorite Colors

Visitor Center

Wed, Apr 8, 2026

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Events, Workshops

Book Club – “James”

Visitor Center

Wed, Apr 8, 2026

02:00 PM - 03:30 PM

Book Club, Events

Homeschool Workshops – Spring 2026

Historic St. Mary's City

Wed, Apr 15, 2026

10:00 AM - 02:30 PM

Events, Workshops

Lecture: The American Revolution and the Fate of the World

Visitor Center

Thu, Apr 16, 2026

07:00 PM - 08:00 PM

Events, Lectures

Little Explorers – Funny Figureheads

Waterfront

Wed, Apr 22, 2026

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Events

Plant Swap

Margaret Brent Pavilion

Sat, Apr 25, 2026

09:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Events

MarylandFest

(Reconstructed) State House of 1676

Sat, May 2, 2026

11:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Events, Fundraiser

Little Explorers Our Five Senses

Visitor Center

Wed, May 6, 2026

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Events

Maryland Dove Passenger Sail

Waterfront

Sat, May 9, 2026

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Events, Maryland Dove

Dairying Workshop: Season’s Eatings (Spring)

Godiah Spray Tobacco Plantation

Sat, May 9, 2026

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Events, Workshops

Book Club – “The Lost Apothecary”

Visitor Center

Wed, May 13, 2026

02:00 PM - 03:30 PM

Book Club, Events

Mother Goose

(Reconstructed) State House of 1676

Fri, May 15, 2026

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Events

Little Explorers: Counting Long Ago

Town Center

Wed, May 20, 2026

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Events

Breakfast with the Animals

Godiah Spray Tobacco Plantation

Sat, May 23, 2026

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Events

Book Club – “The Little Liar”

Visitor Center

Wed, Jun 10, 2026

02:00 PM - 03:30 PM

Book Club, Events

Li’l Pirates I (for ages 3-4)

Waterfront

Thu, Jun 11, 2026

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Events, Maryland Dove

Li’l Pirates II (for ages 5-7)

Waterfront

Fri, Jun 12, 2026

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Events, Maryland Dove

Tidewater Archaeology

Historic St. Mary's City

Sat, Jun 13, 2026

10:00 AM - 04:00 PM

Events, Tours

Book Club – “A Gentleman in Moscow”

Visitor Center

Wed, Jul 8, 2026

02:00 PM - 03:30 PM

Book Club, Events

Book Club – “Kin: Rooted in Hope”

Visitor Center

Wed, Aug 12, 2026

02:00 PM - 03:30 PM

Book Club, Events

Book Club – “The Splendid and the Vile”

Visitor Center

Wed, Sep 9, 2026

02:00 PM - 03:30 PM

Book Club, Events

Book Club – “The Last Suppers”

Visitor Center

Wed, Oct 14, 2026

02:00 PM - 03:30 PM

Book Club, Events

Book Club – “The Antidote”

Visitor Center

Wed, Nov 11, 2026

02:00 PM - 03:30 PM

Book Club, Events

Book Club – “The Housemaid”

Visitor Center

Wed, Dec 9, 2026

02:00 PM - 03:30 PM

Book Club, Events