Nat Turner is discovered in a wooded area of Virginia by a white man carrying a gun, 1831
I visited Southampton County to trace Turner’s steps. Given Turner's popularity and his impact on American history, I expected to find some of the houses from the rebellion still erect, and marked as historic sites. At the bare minimum, I was hoping to visit a display of artifacts from the rebellion in a nearby museum or see an official grave.
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Unlike most plantations, the Whitney functions as a museum about slavery, the only one. It opened in December 2014. The Big House (above) is said to be "one of the finest surviving examples of Spanish Creole architecture and one of the earliest raised Creole cottages in Louisiana".
My first stop of the plantation was the visitor's center. I had a few minuets before my tour began so I poked around the exhibits. Here are a couple things I find interesting:
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I’m not sure how I picked up the hobby of touring plantations. I think it started with my interest in architecture—picked up from my husband, who works in real estate—and my best friend of 20-plus years, who is an interior designer. Over the years, I’ve adopted their combined interests.
I’ve been to four plantations and an antebellum home with slave quarters over the past few months. That certainly doesn’t make me an expert on slavery or plantations. But it has given me some perspective on the popular article “I Used to Lead Tours at a Plantation. You Won’t Believe the Questions I Got About Slavery,” written by Margaret Biser for Vox.
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