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| ## THE ROBINSON HOUSE             | ## Ar                             |
|                                   | cheology and Ethnography Program  |
| ## \<[**http://www.cr.nps.g       |                                   |
| ov/aad/robinson/**](http://www.cr | ## National Park Service          |
| .nps.gov/aad/eam/landmarks.htm)\> |                                   |
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## 

# The Robinson House

\"The Robinson House is used as a Yankee hospital. In a visit there this
morning, I found 100 of them \[Yankees\] packed in the rooms as thick as
sardines\.... The wounds of the majority were undressed, the blood had
dried upon their persons and garments, and altogether there the most
horrible set of beings it has been my lot to encounter.\"

*Felix Gregory de Fontaine, Charleston Daily Courier, September 11,
1862.*

# Setting the Scene

# James Robinson

On July 21, 1861, as the First Battle of Manassas raged around the
Robinson House, James Robinson sent his family to safety at a nearby
home. Unable to join them, Robinson hid under a bridge, emerging after
the battle to find 13 Confederate soldiers lying dead in his front yard.

Barely one year later, in late August 1862, the Robinson House served as
a shelter for Union dead and wounded during the Second Battle of
Manassas. Despite the ravaged landscape, James Robinson and his family
found the spirit to overcome the war's destruction and to fashion for
themselves an identity that was uniquely African and American.

For nearly a century, the Robinson House, located in what is now the
Manassas National Battlefield Park in Manassas, Virginia, was home to
the descendants of James Robinson.

Born a free African American in 1799, Robinson served a short indenture
as a young man before working in a Virginia tavern where he earned the
\$484.94 needed to purchase 170 acres of land near Bull Run. In 1842, he
built a small log cabin, which was enlarged and renovated several times
over the years.

Through hard work and perseverance, the Robinson family turned the
surrounding land into a prosperous farm, making James Robinson the
wealthiest African American in the Manassas area in the mid-19th
century.

Archeology

Preservation and Protection\
Very few pre-Civil War free African American homesteads exist for
archeological study, making the Robinson House unusual. According to the
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, federal agencies must
properly maintain historical and cultural resources located on lands
they manage or own. Therefore, the home\'s location within the Manassas
National Battlefield Park prevented it from being torn down.

The historic house was occupied by Robinson's family until the early
20th century, eventually becoming the victim of arson in 1993. The
family, which maintained a deep connection to the site, was
understandably disturbed by the home's near-total destruction. Sensitive
to their feelings, park officials contacted the Robinson family after
the 1993 fire in order to reach a consensus about what to do with the
site.

Park officials and family members were faced with two choices: stabilize
the still-standing parts of the house and rebuild the portions that were
destroyed by the fire, or tear down the remaining structure and conduct
archeological and architectural studies of the material remains.

Rebuilding the house would reestablish a visual memorial to the family
and other African Americans, but archeological research could reveal new
insights into the changing lifeways of free African Americans. It could
also provide a more deeply researched commemoration of their lives.

Working together, park officials and family members decided to proceed
with the archeological research, which included excavation,
architectural studies, and oral history interviews with James Robinson's
descendants.

An Amazing Find\
While dismantling parts of the house for excavation and architectural
study, an incredible find surfaced. Wedged behind the insulation in the
attic wall, awaiting discovery, were dozens of Robinson family account
ledgers, letters, bills, and invoices -- some dating back to the 1830s.

Despite being worn and yellowed by time, the documents provide
invaluable information about James Robinson's business transactions.
These papers, often referred to as the Robinson Papers, supply evidence
of the ways in which free African Americans negotiated their difficult
social and economic circumstances and attest to the strength and
resiliency of the human spirit.

Shaping Identity

Consumer Goods

The things we buy and use express who we are, often revealing and
reinforcing our cultural or ethnic identity. Archeologists studying
material remains from the Robinson House gained insight into the ways in
which family members expressed their identity while negotiating their
position as African Americans during the turbulent 19th century.

Similar to people today, they expressed themselves in a variety of
ways---from clothing style and language to material goods and
architecture. Ceramic sherds and broken glass, for example, provide
clues to the family's economic strategies and social aspirations by
indicating to archeologists the things they bought and used.

Like other 19th-century American families, the Robinsons followed the
dominant dining standards of the time. Rather than buying entire china
sets, they used a few refined ceramic dishes in the latest style, and
purchased similar pieces to complement them.

Architecture

Like the goods we buy, the way we organize our houses and the space
around them may also be an indicator of cultural identity. Aspects of
African heritage can be seen in the manner in which African Americans
constructed their homes and used the surrounding space.

Many African peoples, both enslaved and free, lived in small houses that
opened onto communal areas or yards. While their homes were used for
storage and sleeping, the communal spaces, yards, and porches were used
for cooking, household chores, and other domestic activities.

These external spaces were considered extensions of the house, serving
as places where family members could socialize with others in the
community while they worked. In this way, social ties with other African
Americans were strengthened and their sense of community was reinforced.
This may have been the Robinson family practice as well.

One of the most noticeable features of the original Robinson House was
its small size - only 1½ stories with 400' of living space and a porch.
According to 1850 census data, nine people lived in James Robinson's
small home.

While the choice to build such a small structure may have been governed
in part by socioeconomic constraints, cultural ideas regarding what
constituted a proper homestead were probably as important as economic
considerations in determining the layout and size of the structure. It
is believed that the Robinson family chose to keep a small home, despite
having the means to construct a larger house, in order to remain
unobtrusive and guard their privacy in a predominantly white community.

### Africanisms

**In the colonial era, some of the largest ethnicities to arrive in the
colonies** were peoples of West and Central Africa who were brought in
as slaves. While enslaved, Africans interacted with each other, as well
as with Europeans and Native Americans. They mingled their varied
cultural practices in creative ways that were both subtle and obvious,
and left a lasting imprint on American culture.

These imprints, often called Africanisms, are elements of culture that
are traceable to an African origin. Through these Africanisms, African
Americans maintained their unique cultural identities while also
establishing themselves as an integral part of America's cultural
landscape. Archeological evidence for Africanisms is varied and complex.
Two examples are found in colonoware and \"mancala\".

Colonoware, a well-known Africanism, is a low-fired, unglazed
earthenware produced and used in the 18th and 19th centuries. It has
been found along the east coast of the United States and in the
Caribbean. Colonoware takes many forms, including bowls, plates, jugs,
and pipes.

In the Chesapeake and Mid-Atlantic regions, these various forms have
been found at sites associated with enslaved African Americans as well
as sites where free African Americans are known to have lived. At
Manassas National Battlefield Park, archeologists have found colonoware
at several African American sites.

Archeologists often disagree about the correct interpretation of
colonoware because this type of ceramic may have been made and used by
different groups in different regions.

Some archeologists believe that colonoware represents traditional
African potting techniques, indicating the continuity of an African
identity despite enslavement. Others argue that colonoware is the
product of cultural interaction between African Americans, Europeans,
and Native Americans, sometimes exhibiting characteristics of all three
cultures. Still other experts suggest that colonoware was produced
exclusively by Native Americans and found its way into African American
hands through barter and trade.

During excavations at the Robinson House site, archeologists discovered
a ceramic sherd that may be colonoware. Given the controversy
surrounding colonoware, it cannot be conclusively identified as the type
associated solely with African American traditions. The sherd, however,
provides intriguing clues to the possibility that the Robinsons used
colonoware and were involved in its distribution among African Americans
of the time.

# Oral Traditions

**The Robinsons Remember**

Oral history is an effective research tool that archeologists use when
descendants of people who lived in the past are willing to share their
memories, family stories, and other information passed down over
generations. The information gleaned from these interviews reveals
details and provides insights into the past that documentary sources and
physical evidence alone do not offer.

Typically, archeologists ask questions which will help them interpret
the artifacts and physical history of a site, or will help them put the
time period being studied into a better social context.

In 1995 and 1996, archeologists interested in the changing lifeways of
free African Americans during the late 19th and early 20th centuries
undertook an in-depth study of the Robinson House site. A major part of
their research included oral history interviews with members of the
Robinson family who had once lived in the house or visited it as
children.

Participants included James Robinson's great-grandchildren (Edna Chloe,
Oswald Robinson, and Louie Robinson) and great-great-grandchildren
(Romaine Lewis and Richard Robinson).

Through these interviews, archeologists learned a great deal about the
physical layout of the Robinson farm during the early 20th century.

Although archeologists knew from historic maps that a number of
outbuildings comprised the Robinson homestead, they discovered the
specific functions of these structures from the interviewees.

Romaine Lewis remembered "a hen house, smokehouse, \[a\] meat house,
\[a\] corn crib, and \[a\] barn" as well as "chickens, turkeys, geese,
guineas, and ducks" that roamed around the yard. Information about the
trees, flowers, and vegetables that the Robinsons planted offered
insight into both the appearance of the landscape and the family's daily
diet.

According to Oswald Robinson, the Robinson farm workday was from sunup
to sundown and consisted of chores, school, and play. Unfortunately,
farming was not always lucrative and better economic opportunities could
be found in large urban centers like New York, Baltimore, and Detroit.
Edna Chloe, James Robinson\'s great granddaughter, remembered that some
of the Robinson men eventually gave up farming in the hopes of finding
\"decent jobs\" in the cities.

**The Drover's Tavern**

"\[James Robinson\] is a good deal of a public man, and does more
business than most people," Albert Flagler, one of Robinson's neighbors,
said in 1872.

During an oral history interview in 1982, Oswald Robinson, James
Robinson's great grandson, recalled that his great grandfather once
operated a drover's tavern on the Robinson farm. Situated as it was on
the busy Warrenton Turnpike, Robinson's tavern provided weary livestock
drovers, stagecoach drivers, and farmers traveling to market with
lodging and a hearty meal.

Some of the Robinson Papers discovered when the fire-damaged Robinson
house was dismantled support Oswald Robinson's recollections and
indicate numerous occasions between 1850 and 1851 when James Robinson
purchased items that may have been used to serve his tavern guests.

Others sources of information about the drover's tavern include a sketch
map by Beverly Robinson, another great grandson of James Robinson.
Lillian Robinson, James Robinson's great granddaughter, remembers that
the tavern, "was down on the Pike in front of \[the\] house."

Using the Robinson family's oral histories, archeologists attempted to
locate the site of the drover's tavern through a systematic metal
detector survey. After mapping the locations of various 19th-century
artifacts like hand wrought iron nails and horseshoes, the archeologists
studied the artifacts' placement and distribution to establish possible
sites for the drover's tavern. Ultimately, two promising sites were
discovered, and further excavation may conclude that one was the actual
location of James Robinson's drover's tavern.

**The Robinson House---A Portrait of African American Heritage**

Learn More

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