Revisiting the demise of the tenant cabin!
If you were raised in the South, you need no explanation of their style structure. Tenant houses served in an agricultural society, in much the same manner as did factory housing, in an urban setting. Don’t make the mistake so many do, and think that tenant houses were somehow remnants of slave cabins, instead remember that many tenants were proud farmers representing a diverse culture both of Anglo Saxon and African American decent. As one historic preservationist noticed on several occasions, even good historic museums are often too quick with their declaration that these structures are in some cases ante-bellum when architectural forensics say otherwise.
We are all too quick to raze these dwellings once unoccupied. Though they were uninhabitable, it killed me to burn down two of the remaining tenant houses on my own farm. But over the past twenty-five years, a number of former occupants, both tenants and share croppers, have visited with fond recollections. One young man, of Anglo Saxon decent, came to gather pears from his “grandmother’s” tree. A retired African American teacher, explained she had picked cotton for Mr. Ed on my farm. She said, “each of her siblings received a higher education from the proceeds of their combined family labor in the cotton patch.” A third visitor enthusiastically explained, “your son’s horse stables, are constructed on the site of her parent’s old home.” All of these recollections reminded me of my own grandparent’s farm in Calhoun County. They allowed their one and only employee, whose family resided in a modest house on their farm, to also grow cotton which was used as seed money for the higher education of their own children. I too picked cotton a few hours with these children, my summer playmates, until I was beckoned to dig peanuts for my grandmother. To my knowledge, all of the employee’s five children completed college and I never tried picking cotton again!
Figure 1 – An early 20th century tenant house in Chester County, SC.
Figure 2 – An abandoned tenant house in Fairfield County, SC.
Figure 3 – A major misconception is that tenant farmers were only African American.
Or visit these rural sites:
- Saluda Road Houses
- Gray Court Farm Images
- Chappell Farm – Richland Co SC
So, not only are tenant houses interesting architecturally, they hold strong ties to the land and homeplaces of millions of families who were economically and socially linked to rural lifestyles. One user of R&R even gathered the names of all the known share croppers on her family’s farm to be posted on the site, as she said, “it was also their homeplace.” Subsequently, a number of those individuals have acknowledged their associated history. Perhaps we should rethink demolishing these simple dwelling until a few good examples can be preserved. Bluffton, S.C. artist, Pierce Giltner, knows a thing or two about salvaging materials from abandoned tenant houses. He successfully remodeled one cabin into an artistic work that is cherished by the doctor who had the foresight to preserve it. Besides, these small dwellings are easily moved and add character to nearly any historic setting. But please don’t go overboard, they were never elegant or romantic, few had plumbing and fewer still had modern utilities. A minimalist would say they remain a highly functional house plan, one worth remembering.
R&R Notes: Thanks for the updates to numerous sites this past week. A number of new documents and images have also been added to sites such as the Liberty Hill Community, thanks to the generous donation, by members of the Richards-Roddey Family. And an extended R&R family member brought in a large box of receipts and records associated with Anderson, S.C. No telling what will arrive next week but we can’t wait to examine it!
From the Porch – Blog @ RootsandRecall.com – 5.25.17