Willy Nilly Friday 5 No. 87

click on photos to enlarge
I am so sorry to be late with Willy Nilly this week. We had a huge storm last night and lost power here and there. I wish I had thought to take pictures as the sky was so lit up with lightning, more than I think I have ever seen! So anyways, here we go...back to Stagville...

1)

A barn near the Bennehan home I've shown you this week. The tour is divided into 2 parts, the Bennehan house and Horton Grove, which you need to drive to. The bricks I showed you on Tuesday were from there, the rest, including today's are from the first part of the tour, around the Bennehan house. Horton Grove consists of slave cabins and a great barn, which I will show you next week! Confused yet? lol

2)

The kitchen garden which grows original herbs and plants...I want a garden just like this!

3)

Tobacco barn

4)

Slave quarters foundation...these slaves would have worked in the "big house" as it is situated near-by. Unlike the field hand slaves, the domestic slaves were on call 24/7.

5)

Walking back to the main house I spotted this Honey Locust tree...I don't think there is any historical significance attached to it but holy moly...look at those thorns! Ouch! After this we met up at the visitor's center to join the tour group...Next stop, Horton Grove!
For more info on Stagville, you can visit their website HERE

And here's a few links I have found this morning on Stagville that I thought were interesting!
HERE is a blog with beautiful photographs of Stagville
HERE is a nice little article about the history of Stagville
HERE is a ghost story of Stagville


So that's my 5 this week! I hope you will join in! Post 5 randoms, link back and visit others! Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to all you daddies!


I'm linking up with Amy :)
and also with Denise's Today's Flowers (you will have to zoom in to the garden shot there ;) )

Ancient Fingerprints

click on photos to enlarge

On Saturday we drove down to Durham, NC to tour Stagville Plantation. In its day Stagville was the biggest plantation in North Carolina with 30,000 acres and 900 slaves. The slaves made their own cabins and the bricks for their fireplaces. In the photo above you can see fingerprints where the slave picked up the brick which was not yet entirely hardened...

another...

and another...

Now this one...can you make out the little tiny toes...it appears a toddler ran over the top of this brick while it was still hardening...this one steals my heart...

You can see the chimney there that I took these photos from.

For more info on Stagville, visit their website HERE

More pictures to come!

Linking with Tom's Tuesday's Treasures

Willy Nilly Friday 5 No. 75

click on photos to enlarge

1)

Etzler Road . Troutville

Last sunday the boys had plans to go play basketball with some friends at Greenfield (their elementary school)...it rained quite a bit but that didn't stop them. Rather than hang around and crimp their style, I drove around and snapped a few pics.

2) Of course I had to go over to Greenfield and take a look at the hill and the slave cabins/kitchen. Remember the whole debate about this? If not you can read about it HERE

Here's the hill where the slave dwellings were built. Here's the hill now void of the dwellings because the Botetourt Board of Supervisors took it upon themselves to move the structures without even once communicating with those who were trying so valiantly to save them. Dispicable.

3) I had to drive to the other end of Greenfield to see where they were now:

The slave cabin, which now looks bowed in the middle, due to its harsh move.

The old kitchen.
These buildings, according to the Board of Supervisors are supposedly going to be restored but since the Board of Supervisors were bent on moving these historical buildings it sure doesn't look like they are going out of their way protecting them. The group is still trying hard to save the old hill that the buildings were built on, which the Board of Supervisors want to level to build a shell building on. Since we seem to have lost the fight of relocating the buildings, I sure hope we can save the hill.

4)

Flag at Camping World . Roanoke

This has nothing to do with 1-3 but it's my favorite sight heading down 81! Yesterday after Braden and Dalton's track meet I had to stop at Gander Mountain (across the street from Camping world) where Christian works to pick up a baseball glove from him. Isn't that flag beautiful?!

5) A few weeks ago I watched Changeling on Netflix. It's based off a true story. Wow, it's just unbelievable what happens. Angelina Jolie stars and does a super job. I really like her! Be prepared to cry though.

That's my 5 this week! I hope you will join in! Post 5 randoms, link back and visit others! That's it! Thank you for playing along and have a great weekend!


Linking with Cath's Fun Friday Favourites!

Tuesday's Treasures - Saving Greenfield Preston Plantation I

click on photos to enlarge
These were taken in June of 2012:

This is the little road that leads up the hill to the slave cabins & kitchen which our greedy Botetourt Board of Supervisors are bent on ruining. Please see Monday's post for important information regarding this....

I have been digging through all my archived photos for every picture I have taken at Greenfield. Had I known that we could stand to lose it, I would have taken so many more but I thought these buildings would always be here, right on this beautiful hill where they were built.

I always wondered how long these tracks have been here. Were they made by wagon wheels way back when the Preston's lived here or are they more modern? That is the slave cabin building to the right.

The slave cabin. The structures are safe. They will be restored, BUT the Board of Supervisors have made a deal to move them, then level this hill, then sell this land and build a shell building for a prospective new business to move in. This area is huge. I believe I read somewhere that there is over 900 acres so why this hill? Land is not in short supply here. And why won't the Board of Supervisors listen to the public they represent?

This view! This is the view from the cabin. Isn't it spectacular?! I saw it written on one of the signs at the protest on Sunday that "Greenfield is the Soul of Botetourt." I do believe this is true.

Inside the cabin. We've never been able to get inside as the cabin and kitchen have always been locked up and the windows covered with wire. I took these through little nooks and crannies of the cabin so they didn't turn out real well but you can at least get an idea of what it looks like inside.

My boys...look how young they look 3 1/2 years ago!

Several feet away from the cabins sits the kitchen. I showed you this on Monday but it was loaded up on a trailer waiting to be taken to it's new home :( The citizens of Botetourt & beyond are making enough noise to try and stop this nonsense so it sits, waiting...hopefully to be put right back on it's original spot. Although they have already ruined much of the area's beauty already with their relocation project. It just sickens me.

The old kitchen's chimney. Look at that beautiful stone & brick work!

Please stop by Friends of Greenfield Preston Plantation's Facebook page for more info on this situation and ways you can help save this historical site!

And the day comes to an end...I am so happy to call Botetourt County my home.

I am linking with Tom's Tuesday's Treasures ...I know, I know, it is Wednesday...running late here! We ended up with some snow on Sunday night/Monday morning...lost power sometime in the night Monday but Appalachian Power was quick to get it back on for us...internet went down too, Comcast wasn't as quick...anyways, today is gorgeous, sun is shining, birds are singing, it will warm up and is just like spring outside, expect for that blanket of snow that covers the yards! Snow day again today for us...I guess some of the roads are still bad...ended up with 10+ inches...that was kind of a surprise!