Gov. Mark Sanford Applauds McGill’s Slave Cabin Project
September 14, 2010
CHARLESTON, SC – September 14, 2010 – Gov. Mark Sanford has encouraged Civil War re-enactor and historic preservationist Joe McGill to “keep up the good work” as he raises awareness of endangered slave cabins in South Carolina.
Since May, McGill has slept in six dwellings that were once the homes of enslaved people.
In a recent letter to McGill, the governor wrote: “I read about how you were bringing attention (to) our state’s history by sleeping in slave cabins, and I just wanted to say how much I admire your creativity. It’s incredibly important that we both understand and appreciate our past as South Carolinians, and for your efforts on that front, you have my thanks.”
McGill said, “It was a pleasant surprise to receive a letter of support from Governor Mark Sanford. This is a testament that this project has statewide significance.”
The next stop in McGill’s slave-cabin project is a Saturday, Sept. 25, sleepover at Mansfield Plantation on the Black River at Georgetown. Mansfield Plantation, which dates back to 1718, is recognized as one of the most architecturally intact rice plantations in the state.
At this early stage in the project, this could be the strongest possibility that McGill will be staying at a former plantation that held some of his ancestors in bondage because the Black River flows through his hometown of Kingstree in Williamsburg County.
McGill is a program officer with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
He is expanding his efforts beyond South Carolina to include two locations in Alabama. He also will lecture at Clemson and Greenwood in South Carolina and Austin, Texas.
The remainder of McGill’s schedule includes:
- Old Alabama Town, Montgomery, Ala., Thursday, Oct. 7.
- Riverview Plantation, Montgomery, Ala., Friday, Oct. 8.
- Lecture, Clemson University African American Studies Program, Thursday, Oct. 21.
- Lecture, National Preservation Conference, Austin, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 27.
- Lecture, Greenwood Historical Society, Sunday, July 31, 2011.
Since May, McGill has spent the night at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens and McLeod Plantation, both near Charleston, the Heyward House in Bluffton, Goodwill Plantation near Columbia, Hobcaw Barony near Georgetown, and Morris Street in Anderson.
