The system of Plantation in the United States has always had a double connotation attached to it. There are those who look at this time and are reminded of an old America, plentiful with agricultural life where large and green sprawling plantations developed a romanticized rich and elegant socio-economic culture that translated a European way of life in the new world. However, there are those that regard these columned edi-fices and sprawling agricultural lands as reminder of the dark history of slavery that used to exist within the fields and homes of these European mock ups. Geography takes these two distinct lifestyles and creates a setting for them that the edifice’s program and exterior must adapt to in order to function accordingly. However, it is through architecture that one truly sees a blend of not only the privileged cultural lifestyle and its romanticized connotations but also a sight into the dark lifestyle that was slavery while creat-ing an adaptation to the geography of each given plantation.

While it is uncommon to hear about slave plantations in the North it is important to realize that slavery in the New England colonies was very much present until the early 1800’s. One of the most prominent Northern slave plantations of this time was the Royall House located in Med-ford, Massachusetts. Slavery was prominent in this plantation for 150 years and the architectural remnants of this time demonstrate the intertwined lives of both slaves and plantation owners. The Royall house was first built in 1732 but for many years, the terrain in which it stood, had already been owned by Gov. John Winthrop who had built a 2-1/2 story house with 1 room in depth. For this reason when observing the interior of the home one notices that the dimensions of the first entry rooms are smaller while the renovated rooms are bigger in size.

ARC337Prof. MasseyLeandro Cortez

Architecture of Equality

One can observe the incorporation of the original structure built by Gov. Winthrop into Royall’s 1732 expansion. ( Hugh, Howard)

You can observe the proximity of the plantation to the ocean while not evident is the proximity to the Mystic river. The Figure was created by Leandro Cortez.

It was Isaac Royall, slave trader, rum dis-tiller, and wealthy merchant who purchased the 504 acres of property and enlarged the already existing home by doubling the depth of the house and add-ing a third floor. Moreover, in the façade he encased the east façade in clapboard and decorated the exte-rior with architectural details and continuous strips of spandrel panels. The facades were a response to the context of the site, as the home‘s Northwestern façade faced the Mystic river and thus had the most elaborate decoration because this was the side that most visitors from England coming from the dock nearby would see first. The South Eastern façade on the other hand was less elaborate as this was the side where wagons would come deliver merchan-dise from other colonies and then depart. It is also important to note, that 28 feet behind the South Eastern façade was where the slave quarters resided as it was common for the slaves to unload the mer-chandise and take it inside but also the placement of the quarter was given the backside as it was gener-ally considered the unimportant part of the house.

Royall extended the brick end walls and placed two twin chimneys at the end of the house while adding two Doric pilasters in each corner. The addition or corner quoins and the arrangement of the windows one on top of another resulted in a Georgian style plantation home that was actually quite close in style “to the homes that were be-ing built in London in the 1730’s”(Royall House). Furthermore, the siding in the South Eastern façade utilized a method of wood panels “that made illicit the stone siding formal qualities of English hous-ing”( Royall House). This result is not at all sur-prising as Royall sent decorative façade construc-tion documents from London to his brother who was in charge of the construction process in New England. Moreover, Royall’s ideals of loyalism to the king and his patriotism for his home country led him to bring this new world translation of English architecture into the sprawling fields of Medford, Massachusetts.

South Eastern Facade of the Royall House ( Manegold, C.S)

North Western Facade of the Royall House ( Manegold, C.S)

North Western Facade of the Royall House ( Manegold, C.S)

Isaac Royal built a separate slave quarter for the Royall Plantation House in 1733 to house the 27 slaves that he had newly acquired from Antigua. Some of the slaves lived in the main house attentive to their owners desired needs. Massachusetts was the first slave holding colony in New England. Interestingly enough the two story brick and wood panel construction is considered “the only such structure in the U.S” (Manegold) for the reason that the housing component was actually “quite rudimentary in accommodations” but very complex in terms of its construction. Bricks were utilized effec-tively in the construction of the walls and as a form of insulation while wooden beams were used for the gener-al structural layout. Half of the building was covered in wooden panels to resemble the exterior condition of the Royall house itself and in itself blend the slave quarter within the main house. The reason for these complex slave quarters was that it was quite expensive to import slaves from the Caribbean so it was important to give them amenities to protect them from the cold and harsh weather of the Northern colonies. For this reason when one looks inside the slave quarters one will find a large hearth being the main component of the edifice while less attention is given to other program such as rooms and the kitchen. Furthermore, careful attention is given to insulation by creating a well enough thick brick wall that can insulate the cold while containing enough oper-able windows that can be opened in the Summer.

“In the Ten Hills Farm (Royall plantation) slaves produced wool, cider, and hay while tending livestock.” (Slavery in Massachusetts)Some of the slaves worked in the fields while others had “higher status” jobs as boatmen, domestic servants, cooks, valets, and maids. However, the region’s mercantile economy “meant fewer slaves were required to plant single cash crops like tobacco, or rice to plant and harvest”(Hugh How-ard) As result, most slaves learned a specific trade and many became shipwrights, carpenters, tailors, printers, blacksmiths, bakers, or coopers. It was of advantage for the masters of Royall house to have a slave with a skill because that meant that they could be hired out and in turn earn more money. The slaves in the Royall planta-tion were a common presence in the household in com-parison to slaves in the South. Some Royall plantation slaves slept in the kitchen while others in an upstairs designated room and others in the attic. The rest slept in the slave quarters on hay that was laid on the floor.

The slave quarters share the same materiality as the Main house but lacks amenities wh it comes to inside living conditions.

Slaves sleeping within the slave quarters. ( Manegold, C.S)

Even though both Slave quarters and the “main” house in the Royall plantation had such big dif-ferences in cultural lifestyles it is architecture that materialistically brings them together. It is but the mere wooden siding on the slave quarters followed by a brick exterior that connects the house to the quarter. Although materialistic this architectural connection that happens as result of materiality demonstrates the only element that gave, the slave and plantation owner lifestyle, a form of equality within this 1700’s society.

________________________________________Bibliography

Manegold,C.S. Ten Hills Farm. Princeton: Princenton Uni-versity Press, 2010. Print.

Hugh Howard, US Slave , Slave Quarters in Medfrod Mas-sachusetts“. Google. Web. 9/24/12.

“Slavery in Massachusetts” slavenorth.com. np,Web. 7 Mar. 2007.

“Royall House” www.bobvilla.com Youtube. 3 Nov. 2012. Web.