Dec. 22,
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Robert Maslowski will present “Plantation Archaeology, Industrial Slavery and the Glenwood Project” in the Archives and History Library at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston, on Tuesday, Jan. 5. The program begins at 6 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Slave-based agriculture and the salt industry were two of the most important economic pursuits in the early history of West Virginia. Plantation slavery differed from the industrial slavery of salt manufacturers because many of the slaves in the salt trade were leased on a yearly basis from plantations. Most of the leased slaves came from the eastern plantations, although some did come from local plantation owners.
Maslowski will discuss and compare the results of archaeological excavations at the Jenkins Plantation on the Ohio River, the Reynolds home and slave cabin at the Marmet Lock Replacement Project, and the Glenwood Estate and Walnut Grove Plantation, owned by George Summers, who also leased slaves to salt manufacturers.
Maslowski is a retired archaeologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Huntington, W.Va. He has done extensive archaeological work in the Ohio Valley on prehistoric and historic sites as well as work in Trans-Pecos Texas, Israel, Cyprus, Vietnam and Laos. He is teaching Appalachian courses at Marshall University Graduate College in South Charleston.
Maslowski was the executive producer for three award-winning films: Red Salt & Reynolds (2003), Ghosts of Green Bottom (2005),and Secrets of the Valley: Prehistory of the Kanawha (2010). In addition, he is the former editor of the journal West Virginia Archeologist. Maslowski holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Holy Cross College in Massachusetts, and received his doctorate in anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh.
The new bus turnaround is open and there are handicapped spots available there. Others can park in the regular visitor parking area. All visitors should enter the doors at the front of the building.
For additional information about the Archives and History lecture series, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts with Kay Goodwin, Cabinet Secretary. The division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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2015