Woman Sees Her ‘Slave Cabin' Birthplace in African-American Museum
The two-room "slave cabin" in the African-American history museum was home to a family of 11
By Darlene Aderoju ••
A cabin that housed enslaved people starting in the 1853 was restored and installed in the National Museum of African-American History and Culture — and on Tuesday a woman who was born there saw her former home in a museum exhibit.
A cabin that housed enslaved people starting in 1853 was restored and installed in the National Museum of African-American History and Culture -- and on Tuesday, a woman who was born there saw her former home in a museum exhibit.
Isabell Meggett Lucas, 87, was amazed to see the two-room wood house where her family of 11 had lived on Edisto Island, South Carolina.
"I never knew this all would come to pass," she said. "Everybody is excited and happy."
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Isabell Meggett Lucas visited the museum with her extended family, to learn about their history and make new memories.
The Point of Pines Cabin "slave cabin" was the only remaining cabin of 10 that were built in a row along the same patch of land. It originally was owned by a landowner named Charles Bailey, who acquired his wealth through slavery, said Nancy Bercaw, a curator at the museum.
The cabin is on display in the slavery and freedom section of the museum, but Lucas said she didn't know while growing up that slaves had lived there. To them, it was just home.
Lucas spoke with News4 and Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the museum, to share her childhood memories of the house.
She said she slept in one room with her nine brothers, and her parents used the other room.
Photo by Alan Karchmer
With thousands of artifacts, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture highlights four centuries of black life in America. The museum will open to the public Sept. 24. Take a look at what's in store at the newest museum on the National Mall.
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A combination of video screens, printed information, photographs, posters and other artifacts fill the "1968 and Beyond" History Galleries. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Erica Jones
A statue depicts the famous Black Power salute at the 1968 Summer Olympic games.
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A pair of slave shackles are on display in the Slavery and Freedom Gallery. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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An early log cabin that housed freed slaves (C) and a preserved slave cabin are on display. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Journalists tour the David M. Rubenstein History Galleries on the lower levels of the museum on Sept. 14. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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A spiral staircase moves visitors from the main floor to the lower levels of the museum. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Erica Jones
This museum display features glass shards from the 1963 Birmingham bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which killed four young African American girls.
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One of retired U.S. Army Gen. Colin Powell's uniforms is on display in the Military History Gallery. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Photographs show influential women including feminists Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman-Hughes.
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This panel shares statistics about the slave trade in colonial America.
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A combination of video screens, printed information, photographs, posters and other artifacts fill the "1968 and Beyond" History Galleries. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Civil Rights pioneer Rosa Parks' dress is on display in the concourse galleries. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Erica Jones
Slave ships traveled across the Atlantic from Africa to the Americas in what was known as the "Middle Passage." Many Africans died on the journey across the sea, as they were subject to horrific, overcrowded and filthy conditions.
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A dress belonging to television pioneer Oprah Winfrey is on display in the "1968 and Beyond" History Galleries. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Barack Obama campaign buttons, one of Michelle Obama's dresses, historic front pages and more are featured in this display on the first black president.
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A museum exhibit features this line from James Brown's 1968 anthem "Say it Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud."
Erica Jones
A museum exhibit on slavery in America includes a reminder of cotton's influence in its growth.
Erica Jones
This exhibit wall features a quote from Delia Garlic, a Virginia slave who was sold to the Deep South.
Erica Jones
This exhibit on African American athletic achievement features Gabby Douglas' leotard, other Olympic uniforms and more.
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Sneakers with the hand-painted images of President Barack Obama by artist Van Taylor Monroe are on display. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Journalists arrive in the museum's Oprah Winfrey Theater on a media preview day. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Chuck Berry's famous red Cadillac is on display.
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Steel and glass create patterns and reflections inside the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture during the press preview on Sept. 14. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Photo by Alan Karchmer
Inside the museum.
Photo by Alan Karchmer
An exterior shot of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Erica Jones
The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture will open to the public on Sept. 24.
Photo by Alan Karchmer
The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture is the newest addition to the National Mall.
"When I was a child, we'd get out and play, and climb trees," Lucas said. "I remember my grandmother cooking and feeding us."
Lucas was raised by her grandmother, who she thought was her mother. She found out who her mother really was after her grandmother died.
Her paternal grandparents lived in the same community, in separate cabins.
The kids spent most of their time outdoors, doing chores, playing games or being chased by the family horse.
The cabin never had electricity, so fetching wood for the stove was among the chores the Meggett kids did. It also did not have a refrigerator, bathroom or running water.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture tells the powerful story of the African-American experience every day, but it still has exhibits planned to honor Black History Month. News4’s Kristin Wright reports.
They had a garden behind the house where they grew okra and beans, and they raised chickens and hogs for meat.
Lucas said even though the house did not have much, the family was happy.
Lucas' mother, who also was born in the cabin, moved out in 1981, when the owners sold it.
The cabin was given to the Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society and eventually passed on to the Smithsonian. It was was taken apart piece by piece and reconstructed exactly as it stood when it was moved to the museum.
Bercaw said people like Lucas are crucial to the museum. Lucas and her family are living history.
"This is the most beautiful thing that could've happened -- the Meggetts coming forward and visiting us and sharing these stories with us," the curator said.
