Menokin Ghost Structure: Memoria and Kairos
May 7-11, 2018 |
WORKSHOP DETAILS
This structure will be 15ft x 25ft. The enclosed wall surfaces will be transparent and developed in the future for educational interpretation.
Participants will spend the week learning wood working and joinery techniques that were used in the 18th century. Based on information derived from archaeological excavations, we will be recreating the framework of a dwelling that would have been lived in by Menokin’s field slaves.
Can’t stay for the whole week? Choose one of the 2-day participation options located on the registration form.
Limited Group Lodging is available for $50 per night per person. These cabins have 2 bedrooms, kitchen/sitting room and full bath. They are located at the nearby HQ of the local US Fish & Wildlife Refuge. Available on a first come, first served basis.
Or, you can visit the Northern Neck Tourism website for information about nearby lodging and dining options. Follow this LINK for reservation information.
BACKGROUND NOTES
When the Menokin Foundation (established in 1995) chose a location to build the Martin Kirwan King Visitor Center on the Menokin property in 2002, archaeological test-pits were dug to check for critically sensitive areas and artifacts. The tests revealed soil markings indicating the location of several buildings. These structures were likely former dwellings of enslaved people.
A new location for the Visitor’s Center was chosen and the archaeological site was filled back in to protect the evidence and artifacts. It remained unfarmed and uninterpreted for many years.
As an institution where teaching and building arts come together, the Menokin Foundation is excited to begin exploring ways to meaningfully and respectfully interpret the story of its enslaved population in earnest.
In keeping with our educational goals, and in response to our local community, we are starting this endeavor with the interpretive recreation of a slave dwelling from the known styles and construction methods particular to the Tidewater region.
The size of the building is known from the archaeological evidence. However, because there are no photographs of it, we are recreating only the timber framing of the structure, which will be clad in a transparent sheath. We are calling this building the Ghost Structure: Memoria and Kairos.
In doing so, we add the stories of the enslaved, an important part of Menokin’s history, to the narrative of all those who lived and worked on this land. True to our unique vision, we are not creating a reproduction of a slave dwelling, but instead a constructed form that will generate dialog about our past, with the flexibility to garner new knowledge, awareness and understanding. Once completed, this structure will be used as an educational classroom, and will serve as the centerpiece in telling the African American story – both past and present – in Richmond County, Virginia and beyond.
ABOUT THE CREW
Founded in 2001, Salvagewrights Ltd. concentrates on early American architecture from around 1750-1850 of timber frame or hand-hewn log construction.
Though they specialize in dismantling, moving, and reconstructing original buildings, their portfolio includes structures built with new as well as antique salvaged materials.
Their extensive portfolio includes the recently completed slave quarter duplexes and smoke houses in the South Yard at James Madison’s Montpelier. (View more images.)
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Website:
tinyurl.com/yd4lrurt |
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| Location Information |
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Menokin |
4037 Menokin Road
Warsaw, VA 22572 |
| Website:
www.menokin.org |
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| Contact Information |
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Alice French |
| Email:
afrench@menokin.org |
| Phone:
804-333-1776 |
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