MAIN HOUSE
The Mendenhall Plantation was built circa 1811 by
Richard Mendenhall, a Quaker. The Mendenhalls were
originally from Pennsylvania, but settled here in the mid 1700's. Richard's grandfather
James was one of the first settlers, and it is from James that our village gets
its name. The plantation is the interpretive center of the "Other
South," in other words, the south of non-slave holding landowners.
The house has two
levels and a basement. The original house had one major modification and that was done around 1840.
OLD KITCHEN
In use since 1812
when Richard Mendenhall brought the bride, Mary Pegg,
to his new house. The house was lived in until 1957. Though plumbed and
electrified by the Chadwick family (second owners), it is interesting that the
kitchen was never really modernized. It is now very much as it was when the Mendenhalls lived here. Try to imagine yourself trying to
prepare three meals a day under these circumstances. Remember, the family held
no slaves. All the work, house and farm, had to be done by the family
GATHERING
ROOM
This is part of the
1840's addition. We think it was formerly a kitchen garden. It has stone walls
below the walls on either side. Simplicity is the prevailing word for Quakers.
No ostentation allowed!
NEW PARLOR
This was part of the 1840
addition. With seven children and many wayfarers and visitors, Richard felt he
had to expand the original house.
In this room is a
portrait is of William G. Ragsdale who bought the house from the Chadwicks in 1957 in order to preserve it. His widow, who
is our benefactress, gave the property to the Historic Jamestown Society in
1985. Mary Pegg Mendenhall's quilting frame is now on
display here.
DOWNSTAIRS PARLOR
This room is part
of the original house. This room has wide plank floors, original glass in the splayed
reveals (windows), arches over the windows and doors, thick outer walls and
thin inner ones. Secrets could not be told in this room. One of the many tasks
of the women of the house was the making of cloth. After the thread was spun on
the spinning wheel it was then put in the weasel (skein winder) in this room.
When the weasel was full, it made a popping sound, which is where we get the
song, "Pop Goes the Weasel".
OLD HALL
PARLOR
This was the first
parlor. Chair pegs are on the wall and the quilting frame was suspended from the
ceiling. Mary Mendenhall would lower the frame when she wanted to quilt, and
raise it when she finished. Stairways were considered a waste of space, thus a
narrow, curved one.
MASTER
BEDROOM
The rope bed in
this room was a Mendenhall bed. The tool on top was used to tighten the ropes
when they became slack. The ticking was often filled with straw or sawdust, so
when Mama said to the children, "Sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs
bite," she wasn't kidding. The half door was used to bring in furniture
hoisted up on the outside since furniture could not be brought up the winding
stairs.
MIDDLE
BEDROOM
This room was
possibly the nursery since there is a little niche in the wall to the left of
the fireplace for a candle. The sealed window is a mystery. Why it was sealed
in such a manner has never been discovered. This room is at the end of the
original house, so the window looked outside.
GARRET
We don't know what
this room was used for - perhaps the boys slept here, dormitory style. There
are hand-hewn beams overhead. The east wall brick is the exterior of the
original house before the exterior was painted many years ago. This is a fine
example of Flemish Bond bricklaying. All of the bricks used in the house were
made here by hand!
BASEMENT
The basement has
several rooms. Richard is said to have lived in these rooms while building the
rest of the house. Local legend says that runaway slaves were hidden here.
This, of course, cannot be verified since there were law against helping runaway slaves and no written records kept of
such activity.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 required the return of runaway slaves, but in 1850 the law was made stricter. The Fugitive Slave Law said any person aiding a runaway slave by providing food or shelter was subject to six months' imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. Mendenhall
Plantation - 603 W
Main St - Jamestown, NC 27282