About the Talk
“Between the Mansion and the Quarters: How Agriculture and Landscape Defined Colonial America in the South,” explores how the physical environment and agricultural economy shaped the social, economic, and cultural structures of the colonial South. Focusing on the spatial relationship between the plantation “mansion” (or manor house) and the enslaved people’s quarters, the lecture examines how land use, cash crops like tobacco and rice, and geographic conditions such as fertile river valleys influenced settlement patterns and labor systems. It highlights how agriculture was not only an economic foundation but also a force that structured daily life, reinforced racial hierarchies, and physically organized space to reflect power and control. Through maps, historical accounts, and visual reconstructions, the lecture reveals how landscape and labor were deeply intertwined, ultimately defining the character and legacy of Southern colonial society.
About our Speaker
Michelle Seddon is the Community Engagement Coordinator and Historian at Patrick Henry’s Red Hill. She graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a B.A. in American History and an M.A. in Public History. She was a Park Ranger-Historian with the National Park Service, stationed at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Ohio, before coming to Patrick Henry’s Red Hill. Her work experience has covered multiple disciplines related to the profession of public history, land conservation, historic preservation, and museum-collection care and management.
