Source: indiegogo.com/projects/saving-prospect-hill
Prospect Hill Plantation, which stands in crumbling isolation in Lorman, Mississippi, has a sordid history, the kind that arguably made the Southern Gothic novel possible. Its history features an abolitionist owner, though the kind who believed freed slaves should be sent to Africa. There was also a disagreeable grandson, who thought his granddad's ideas were folly. And because the grandson defied his grandfather's willed instructions to sell the plantation in order to fund the freedom of its slaves and their journey to a colony in Liberia, there was a slave uprising, in which the plantation was burned down. The grandson did not die in the fire, but his six-year-old niece did.
Nowadays, the only creature living at Prospect Hill is a peacock named Isaac. He guards the disintegrating plantation, the second iteration that was built to replace the one burned during the uprising, from his favorite seat in an old wicker rocking chair on the front porch. If the Archaeological Conservancy cannot raise funds to replace the roof on the structure, Isaac will likely be its last resident.
Typically, standing structures of historic provenance (or in this case, a barely standing structure) are not the purview of archaeologists. But in the narrative that accompanies an Indiegogo webpage established to raise funds for the new roof, Jessica Crawford, southeast regional director for the Conservancy, explained that they bought the plantation and its 23.3 acres in 2011 in order to save the "foundations for the kitchen and laundry buildings, slave houses, a cotton gin, and other outbuildings." It was also a measure to try and buy time for the house until a buyer could be found who would agree to restore the plantation. "In this way, we could achieve our mission to protect the archaeological resources with an archaeological easement allowing for research and preventing the destruction of buried plantation features," she writes.
Through the efforts of volunteers and donors, the house has been kept standing, mainly by stemming roof leaks with tarp. They've pulled vines and briars from the house, removed fallen limbs and trash piles from the yard, emptied the house of rubbish, and cleared the old carriage road and cemetery.
A critical impasse, one that could spell good fortune, has been reached. A buyer has stepped forward who is willing to spend the over $1 million dollars it would take to restore Prospect Hill, but only if monies for a new roof can be raised, at a cost of $125,000. The Conservancy managed to obtain an emergency grant from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, which they have matched to the tune of $40,000. Crawford is attempting to raise the $35,000 balance via an Indiegogo campaign.
If ever there were a demonstration of private and public cooperation, this would be it. The preservation model is particularly interesting and valuable because of the protective easement that the Archaeological Conservancy will retain, ensuring that the full history of the plantation—and of plantation life in general—can be brought into accurate focus. This effort is one meant to elucidate, not glorify, this region’s history, saving a historic structure in the meantime.
The full story is offered at indiegogo.com/projects/saving-prospect-hill along with a fascinating video. The fundraising campaign ends on September 10, 2015, and with twenty-three days to go as of publication, the Conservancy has reached only sixteen percent of its goal. They could still use your help.
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IN OTHER ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS: Louisiana is now home to one of the United State's twenty-two World Heritage Sites.
