Discover Worcester County - We Shall Overcome: Slavery
Former Slaves at Beverly
(John Value Dennis) |
The lower Eastern Shore, initially laid out as Somerset County in 1666, was settled by a diverse group of immigrants that included free white and black planters, indentured white and black servants and slaves. The earliest free settlers, white and black, endured endless struggles under harsh conditions that included high rates of disease and early deaths.
Beginning with the earliest colonial settlement of the lower Eastern Shore and stretching across more than three hundred years, blacks have had pivotal roles in the building and development of the agricultural and industrial economies that have served the Delmarva peninsula.
Beverly Entrance Arch
c. 1910 John V. Dennis |
Although scores of lower Eastern Shore black families can trace their ancestry back to early free black settlers, the majority of black residents today are descendants of slaves who worked lower Shore plantations during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They performed a multitude of tasks; from backbreaking labor in tilling fields of tobacco or corn to the endless chores associated with the daily operation of the plantation.
Slaves were trained in a host of traditional crafts within the construction trades, and they were surely involved in the assemblage of Worcester County's great 18th and early 19th century plantation dwellings. Beverly, located on the Pocomoke River, stands as one of the county's most elaborate and best preserved colonial dwellings.<
Merrill Farm Slave House
Pocomoke City vicinity |
Erected during the 1770s the large brick house is distinguished by many unusual features. Attached to the south end of the house are the kitchen and colonnade, which would have been the working and living domain of several domestic slaves owned by the Dennis family. One of the most distinguished architectural features is the wrought-iron arch that accents the riverside entrance. Dennis family tradition holds that the decorative iron arch, featuring griffin heads, was made by Haitian slaves on the property in an attempt to ward off evil spirits that would endanger the plantation family.
By the mid 19th century, John Upshur Dennis owned 160 slaves who worked his numerous properties. Historically, Worcester County had a large number of slave-holding planters who erected an assortment of dwellings to house their slaves. The Merrill farm slave house, erected of hewn logs enclosing a single room, is one of the few examples of slave housing that has survived to modern times.
Copywriting by Paul Touart
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