Farmside Digital Exhibit: Who Lived Here

This exhibit allows for the exploration of Hampton's farmside while vital preservation work is underway. It focuses on the stories of families and individuals that lived and worked here, which have been hidden for far too long.

Learn about the preservation project happening at Hampton!

This exhibit explores stories from Hampton National Historic Site's museum collections, the enthnographic study, and continuing research. For the longest time stories of families and individuals that lived and worked here were under represented. Now we can learn more and understand who lived here?

Without the wide range of people and their contributions, Hampton would not have existed at all. Interpreting all the people of Hampton helps connect all aspects of the site, from the buildings to the grounds to the experiences across time of enslaved, indentured and free people.

 

Historic photo of the Hampton Mansion

1870, NPS

Two Worlds: Side by Side - One of the largest industrial and agricultural plantations in Maryland during the late 18th and early 19th century, Hampton owed its prosperity to the labor of many individuals, most of whom were enslaved African Americans.

The Ridgely family mansion was only a few minutes’ walk from the quarters of those who made the family’s wealth and lifestyle possible. The enslaved, along with indentured and paid servants, labored on the farm, at the Ridgelys’ iron furnace and forges, and in the mansion and its surrounding gardens and orchards. Enslaved people performed most of the work required to run this enormous enterprise.

 

View of home farm from current location of St. Francis Road

1910, NPS

The Home Farm, one of a number of separate agricultural properties owned by the Ridgely family, encompassed about 2,000 acres of fenced farmland. By the mid-19th century, structures included the log cabin, the adjacent stone and nearby wood quarters for the enslaved, the Overseer's House, Dairy, and numerous other farm buildings. Some still exist, but others are long gone.

 

Who Lived Here Exhibit

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  Preservation at Hampton

  Funded by the Great American Outdoors Act of 2020, an effort is underway to protect historic structures at Hampton National Historic Site.

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  Buildings on the Home Farm

  Learn about the buildings on the home farm side of Hampton. From the overseer's house, quarters of the enslaved, to the dairy.

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  Individual lives in focus

  Learn about how each person was still a unique individual with their own story and experience.

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  Chattel Slavery at Hampton

  From the colonial period through 1864, the Ridgelys enslaved over 500 people. Enslaved people, from young children to the elderly

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  Freedom Seekers

  Learn all about people that would seek their freedom from Hampton.

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  Facing the Challenges Ahead

  Learn about how although free, African Americans still had many challenges ahead.

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  Changing Landscapes & Lives

  While technological advancements improved lives, racist policies and laws created different challenges.

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  The Value of a Person

  Enslaved people were considered chattel - or property - and were often valued according to their age, gender, or skill level.

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  Tenant Farming & Farm Laborers

  Learn about Tenant Farming & Farm Laborers at Hampton

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  Types of Labor

  Enslaved laborers and indentured servants performed the grueling work required to run this operation.

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  Toward the Future

  Education is the way to the future, but there were unique difficulties set in place for Black people because of a system of racism.

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  Enslaved People

  Hampton was the second largest plantation in Maryland. Learn about the struggle, hardships, and lives of the enslaved.