slabtown
“Where Shall We go?”: Race, Displacement, and Preservation at Slabtown and Yorktown Battlefield, Virginia
Master’s Thesis 2019
Yorktown, VA
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Slabtown was a community descended from escaped slaves and freedpersons that existed until the 1970s when it was intentionally demolished by the National Park Service. Credited with “winning America’s Independence” as the location of the final battle of the American Revolution, Yorktown Battlefield does not tell the full story of its cultural landscape. Following Colonial National Park’s creation in 1930, National Park Service staff began actively acquiring the land within Slabtown for restoration. By the 1970s this “editing” removed any discussion of Slabtown’s existence or its legacy. This study examines the many narratives of Slabtown and its demolition for a cleaner and clearer interpretation of Yorktown Battlefield’s Revolutionary and Civil War heritage. It tells the story of Slabtown’s creation and destruction; the lives of its residents, their displacement, and dispossession; and ultimately, highlights the state of National Park Service preservation of Slabtown with a series of recommendations.