By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

VACHERIE – Oak Alley Plantation staff opened a new exhibit called “Slavery at Oak Alley” in July that provides some background on the lives of actual slaves of the Roman family plantation
The exhibit consists of six re-constructed slave cabins. The cabins themselves were built as closely as possible to their original locations and carefully whitewashed using period techniques. Individual exhibits inside the cabins include: an exploration of the process of purchasing slaves, complete with examples of real prices, a detailed explanation of 1800s medical care and how slaves dealt with illness, punishment and confinement, the dangers of sugarcane farming, historic fragments excavated from the site of the cabins and more.
Two of the more interesting exhibits tell the story of Zephyr, the only slave on the plantation to be freed, and Antoine, the inventor of the “paper-shell pecan” tree. One of the cabins also holds a list of names of the slaves who lived on the plantation.
The exhibit was two years in the making. Vince Yardas, a historian at the plantation, said it has always been a goal to share the history of slavery on the plantation in a way that would be educational and engaging, without sacrificing accuracy.
The historical information was painstakingly reconstructed using purchase records, burial records, baptism documents and other first-hand sources from the Historic New Orleans Collections, Tulane Special Collections and St. James Courthouse. Furnishings for the cabins were collected from across the United States.
Visitors to the exhibit said they learned quite a few things about slave life that they hadn’t known before.
Curator of Collections Laura Kilcer said:“‘Slavery at Oak Alley’ takes an often-generalized and difficult chapter in American history and makes it specific and approachable. We can never relate the horror of this institution, but by exploring it through familiar lenses such as family, religion and life, we can gain a deeper understanding of its human impact. (The exhibit) is as much about people as it is about slavery.”
Hilary Loeber, the director of sales at Oak Alley, said the plantation is excited to debut the exhibit because they have waited for a long time to find the manpower and expertise to build the exhibit accurately. Loeber also said it is important to remember that the exhibit is specific to the lives of slaves on Oak Alley Plantation, not slave life in general.
“We want it to be respectful. It’s done in the best fashion possible and they’re not used as a prop. You have this grand home and this big alley, but that’s not all that we’re about. We want to make sure we tell the complete history,” said Loeber.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Oak Alley Plantation staff at 225-265-2151, or visit www.oakalleyplantation.com
It has always been our goal to share the history of slavery, and to do so in an accurate and complete way that would be educational and engaging. – See more at: http://www.oakalleyplantation.com/new-exhibit-slavery-at-oak-alley#sthash.ITrHqcjx.dpuf