Before tractors mules provided the power for plowing the fields.
NPS
The Mule Barn was built in the 1820s as a smoke house, but was adapted to house mules after the original barn burned. Pigeonniers or pigeon houses served to emphasize the wealth of the plantation owner, and served a practical purpose, as young pigeons were eaten as a delicacy called "squab."
NPS
The Store opened after the Civil War and sharecroppers, tenant farmers, and locals continued buying supplies until the early 1980s. The Bermuda Post Office, located inside, was in operation until 1967.