Behind the Big House Tour

We have a quite an active program this year, as Culinary Historian Michael W. Twitty will be returning for his sixth year to conduct antebellum cooking demonstrations, following his recent publication: The Cooking Gene – Michael’s well-received work, earning the 2018 James Beard Awards’ Book Of The Year.

All historic interpreters will be set up in the side lawn of the Hugh Craft House. Here, Michael will conduct his antebellum cooking demonstrations from Friday – Saturday (April 21 – 22)…and if you are lucky enough to time your visit well, he will be pleased to share with you some of the delicious samplings from his cooking pot!

Mr. Twitty is at the forefront of reviving traditional African American foodways through seed-keeping, growing heirlooms and heritage crops, raising heritage breeds and sustainably gathering and maintaining wild flora and fauna that our ancestors relied upon.  Responsible exploration of  Southern food heritage demands that the enslaved people charged with cooking for antebellum America be honored for their unique role in giving the Southland her mother cuisine. Honoring food’s history – all while serving up, as Michael calls it “culinary justice.”

From Thursday through Saturday, Dr. Carolyn Freiwald and Dr. Jodi Skipper, from the University of Mississippi’s Department of Sociology & Anthropology will be on site with their student volunteers. They will guide tours and conduct an active excavation in the slave quarters and kitchen areas. Docent volunteers will be on hand with table exhibits of past excavation finds at this site to help interpret the lives of the enslaved people who lived and worked here as property of the Craft family.

Joseph McGill, founder of The Slave Dwelling Project, Inc., is returning for his tenth year with the Behind the Big House program and will be stationed within the slave quarters & kitchen of the Hugh Craft House. He will be on hand to discuss the lives of the enslaved people who lived and toiled on this site, like countless other slave-related sites across the United States highlighted through his work. In a 2010 interview with NPR’s Michele Norris, McGill conveyed his realization that,

“For so long folks have been visiting the plantation and going into the big house, and without these structures, the big house could not have existed.”

Local artisan, Dale DeBerry will be on site with his colleague Wayne Jones, giving talks about 19th century brick making and will have on hand some of his own artworks in clay for your purchase. They will be on site from Thursday through Saturday.

Historic interpreter and professional storyteller, Tammy Gibson is joining our program once again to demonstrate and discuss the role of an enslaved laundress during the antebellum era, from Thursday through Saturday.

On Thursday night  (April 20th) from 5:00 – 7:00 PM, please be our guest for our Welcome Reception at Coffee In Holly, (no cost) at 144 S. Memphis Street; this is an annual and quite popular social event.

This year’s Behind the Big House events will be hosted by Preserve Marshall County and Holly Springs, Inc. North Mississippi Roots & Wings, and The Rosa Foundation.

Tours at Hugh Craft House: 184 S. Memphis Street Hugh Craft House & Slaves Quarters/Kitchen – PMCHS Volunteer Docents Participating historic Interpreters:

• Joseph McGill: Slaves Dwelling Project
• Tammy Gibson, Historic interpreter: enslaved person role as a “Laundress”
• Wayne Jones & Dale DeBerry: Brick Makers exhibit 

Tours at Hugh Craft House: 184 S. Memphis Street Hugh Craft House & Slaves Quarters/Kitchen – PMCHS Volunteer Docents Participating historic Interpreters:

• Michael W. Twitty: cooking demonstrations
• Joseph McGill: Slaves Dwelling Project
• Tammy Gibson, Historic interpreter: enslaved person role as a “Laundress”
• Wayne Jones & Dale DeBerry: Brick Makers exhibit 

Tours at Hugh Craft House: 184 S. Memphis Street Hugh Craft House & Slaves Quarters/Kitchen – PMCHS Volunteer Docents Participating historic Interpreters:

• Michael W. Twitty: cooking demonstrations
• Joseph McGill: Slaves Dwelling Project
• Tammy Gibson, Historic interpreter: enslaved person role as a “Laundress”
• Wayne Jones & Dale DeBerry: Brick Makers exhibit

**SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE**

 Co-sponsored by Preserve Marshall County & Holly Springs, Inc., The Rosa Foundation, and North Mississippi Roots & Wings.

Partially Funded by The Mississippi Humanities Council, The Mississippi Hills Heritage Area Alliance, The Mississippi Arts Commission and The David B. Person Memorial Fund.

We hope to continue this project and begin open conversations about this shared history that we hear little hear about. If you wish to help, please email us at info@preservemarshallcounty.org.

Can’t make it to this year’s Behind the Big House program? Please consider a donation to PMCHS to help support this and other preservation initiatives: http://preservemarshallcounty.org/donate-today/

Visit us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PreserveMarshallCounty

Preserve Marshall County & Holly Springs, Inc.

Chelius H. Carter, President

P.O. Box #787

Holly Springs, MS 38635

*Historic photos courtesy of The Collection of Chesley Thorne Smith and the Library of Congress.