A night in Hidden Town
Last week, students from Walkertown High School ditched their smart phones, laptops, iPads, and other high tech devices, and spent a night in Old Salem’s Hidden Town, an initiative created to research and reveal the “hidden” community of enslaved and freed African-Moravian people of Salem.
In a three-part series last summer, The Chronicle unveiled the findings of Old Salem Inc. centered on the Hidden Town Project and the untold narratives of Africans in Salem. In the early stages of research, the committee found out that Old Salem’s Hidden Town Project might be one of the most important archeological sites of the urban enslaved in the country.
During their stay in Hidden Town, through hands-on and immersive activities, the Walkertown students learned what life was like for the African people of Salem.
The day in Hidden Town for the 22 students and 10 chaperones began at St. Phillips Moravian African-American Church with a brief introduction.
After a tour of a few interesting spots along the way including the Doctor’s House, and Christian David’s house, it was time to prep for dinner. Students, parents and teachers harvested herbs and vegetables in the gardens while others made potato fritters inside.
After that, the group walked to the Tarvern for an outdoor fireside conversation led by Joseph McGill, founder of the Slave Dwelling Project, and representatives from Old Salem Inc.
Old Salem Museums and Garden’s Hidden Town Project is an initiative created to research and reveal the history of the “hidden” community of enslaved and free Africans and African-Americans who once lived in Salem, North Carolina. The Hidden Town Project will track the effects and legacy of enslaved people from the inception of Salem itself through the Jim Crow Era and into the 21st century
The Slave Dwelling Project’s mission is to identify and assist property owners, government agencies, and organizations to preserve extant slave dwellings. Its goal is to bring historians, students, faculty, writers, legislators, corporations, artists, and the general public together to educate, collaborate, and organize resources to save the important collectibles of our American history.
