Slave Cabin

This replica building on the Farm shows the conditions under which much of Mount Vernon's enslaved laborers lived. The wooden cabin depicts the home of an enslaved family who lived at George Washington's Dogue Run Farm. Joe, a ditcher, lived in the greenhouse slave quarter on Mansion House Farm. His wife Priscilla, a field worker, lived in a cabin at Dogue Run Farm with their six children. Joe could only visit his family on Sundays and holidays. Sometimes he may have walked the three miles to Dogue Run after sunset, returning in time to begin work the next morning. Washington occasionally complained that his enslaved workers were fatigued from this “night walking” to visit their families.

Firsthand accounts indicate that the cabins were sparsely furnished and that the adults slept on a bed described as a “mean-pallet.” A small table and some cooking utensils, as well as some clothing and blankets, would be present. The floor was clay, and the hearth provided the family with a cooking area, heat, and light.