This year the Montpelier Foundation has finished a four-year archeological study and restoration of the 30 by 16, one and a half, three room, cabin that is believed to be the first restored freedman's house in the United States. The surprisingly well-preserved chestnut log cabin was the home to Gilmores until 1930. Using physical evidence of the site study, census records, local oral history records from the Works Progress Administration of the 1930s, and information from living Gilmore descendants, Dr. Matthew Reeves, the Montpelier Foundation's Director of Archaeology, has developed a well- rounded picture of the Gilmore family around the time of the American Civil War. The work done to highlight this family's life provides us with a way to visualize the everyday lives of typical black and white families of the period.
Records indicate that George Gilmore was born in 1810 and his wife, Polly, in 1825. Married in 1850, they had five children--three boys and two girls living with them in the cabin according to 1880 census material. The census material also indicates that the Gilmores had a horse, two cows, four pigs, chickens and a total net worth of $28. The cabin was built on sixteen acres of land leased from Dr. James Madison, the President's great-nephew.
Archeological study of the cabin and the surrounding area has turned up artifacts that add a personal glimpse of the Gilmores' life. Large quantities of beads, pins, and buttons of various kinds support the family tradition that Polly was a seamstress. Skilled wives of emancipated slaves of the time often augmented the family income with such work for hire. Also found were small hand-carved wooden animals, possibly part of a Noah's Ark toy belonging to the children.
Archeological study of the cabin's yard and surrounding area has identified the remains of the Confederate winter camp of 1863-64. Dr. Reeves speculates that the Gilmores may have used remains of the encampment for shelter before they built the cabin.
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