Wye House Slave Quarters

Wye House Plantation is directly associated with Frederick Douglass in the 1820s. Archaeology in Annapolis members excavated seven slave quarters there, analyzing food remains, African American religious objects found in the buildings, and ceramics and household goods. Tenant farmhouses were also excavated.

Two homes owned and lived in by free African Americans were excavated in Annapolis. One dates from 1820 and another from 1846. African Americans bought or built these houses and owned them. One was owned through the 1980s. Another is still in the original African American family's hands.

The remains reveal foods, recipes, proportions, tools, cooking vessels, and tableware. The houses also offer insights into members of M.E. and A.M.E. churches. How are African Americans establishing free and independent lives from 1720 to 1980? How are they establishing and keeping cultural integrity, avoiding racism, and keeping African practices over the long-term?