Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 8.07 History, Politics, and Government
Presentation #1 Title
The Grapevine Telegraph’ and cross-fertilization: the antebellum black experience at White Sulphur Springs, VA
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
As the preeminent resort in the South, White Sulphur Springs, “the most fashionable of all Virginia spas during antebellum times,” served as the mecca for southern men of ample means and political sway throughout its remarkable history. Between 1831 and 1860, five sitting presidents from Andrew Jackson forward visited, savoring the pristine surroundings, the trappings of high society, and the cosmopolitan ambience. The resort also served as the economic and social locus of the area’s slave labor force, who worked a variety of jobs within the springs’ service oriented economy. Several sources have documented the historical presence of slaves at Virginia springs and spas, in general, and White Sulphur Springs, specifically, and the unique nature of its slave community. Yet, study of the cross-fertilization between resort slaves and slave and free black visitors, and the ways they subverted their subordinate status through the construction of a counter-hegemonic culture, has been neglected. Within the particularized culture of the resort, black workers and visitors experienced greater autonomy and freedom, a web of intimate social relations that connected resort slaves with slave and free black visitors from throughout the region, the acquisition of knowledge and education through their interactions with each other and southern whites, and for many, monetary reward for their efforts. This ethos differentiated the resort slave from the agricultural-based slave who operated within a system of coercion not directly linked to monetary incentives. This presentation examines the historically unique nature of White Sulphur Springs slave community and culture.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Dr. Cicero Fain, III, received his PhD from The Ohio State University and is currently an assistant professor at the College of Southern Maryland where he teaches a variety of history classes. The publisher of several articles on the black experience in Virginia/West Virginia, Dr. Fain was a contributing historian on the 2013 West Virginia Public Broadcasting documentary “West Virginia: Road to Statehood,” commemorating the state’s 150 birthday. He is currently revising his dissertation, “Race, River, and the Railroad: Black Huntington, West Virginia: 1871-1929,” for winter submission to the University of Illinois Press.
The Grapevine Telegraph’ and cross-fertilization: the antebellum black experience at White Sulphur Springs, VA
Corbly Hall 333
As the preeminent resort in the South, White Sulphur Springs, “the most fashionable of all Virginia spas during antebellum times,” served as the mecca for southern men of ample means and political sway throughout its remarkable history. Between 1831 and 1860, five sitting presidents from Andrew Jackson forward visited, savoring the pristine surroundings, the trappings of high society, and the cosmopolitan ambience. The resort also served as the economic and social locus of the area’s slave labor force, who worked a variety of jobs within the springs’ service oriented economy. Several sources have documented the historical presence of slaves at Virginia springs and spas, in general, and White Sulphur Springs, specifically, and the unique nature of its slave community. Yet, study of the cross-fertilization between resort slaves and slave and free black visitors, and the ways they subverted their subordinate status through the construction of a counter-hegemonic culture, has been neglected. Within the particularized culture of the resort, black workers and visitors experienced greater autonomy and freedom, a web of intimate social relations that connected resort slaves with slave and free black visitors from throughout the region, the acquisition of knowledge and education through their interactions with each other and southern whites, and for many, monetary reward for their efforts. This ethos differentiated the resort slave from the agricultural-based slave who operated within a system of coercion not directly linked to monetary incentives. This presentation examines the historically unique nature of White Sulphur Springs slave community and culture.
