African-American Heritage in the Arkansas Ozarks

"During the course of the Van Winkle's Mill archeology project, perhaps the most 'shocking' fact to visitors was the presence of enslaved African Americans in this upland, industrial setting."

In the 1980s, John Solomon Otto, a member of the earliest generation of archeologists to tackle the subjects of slavery and the African Diaspora, conducted a small historical research project in Yell County, Arkansas. Although his work was brief, he made some important, timely observations:

Since the time of his writing there have been exceptions to this rule, although slavery in the upland South and slavery in non-agricultural settings, in particular, remain grossly understudied. As late as 1995, Ted Smith would write in his study of slavery in Washington County, Arkansas that "[t]o historians and non-historians alike, the idea of slavery in the mountains has seemed incongruous, implausible or even unworthy of examination" (Smith 1995:2).

The reasons why this has become the case will be examined by other research themes, but for now it is important to note that in 1840, the first United States census for the state of Arkansas recorded over 20,000 inhabitants in the eight counties that made up the Arkansas Ozarks including almost 2,000 enslaved African Americans. Our work at Van Winkle's Mill offers an opportunity to examine the lives of both enslaved and free nineteenth-century African Americans in the Ozarks and how their story came to be forgotten by most of us.

African Americans at Van Winkle's Mill

Slave Schedules from 1860 reveal that Peter Van Winkle claimed to own thirteen human beings (although the number is up to eighteen by the time of their flight in 1862). Although it has been reported that "most of his freed slaves chose to return with him" (Elliot 1959) and that "when they were freed, Van Winkle had about thirty who were willing to stay on and help with the work" (Scott 1962:171). These are clearly exaggerations (Van Winkle never owned thirty slaves). At least two African-American families, however, did stay on at Van Winkle's Mill after emancipation. The 1870 Census lists the families of Aaron Van Winkle (whose occupation is reported as "working in the mill") as well as the family of Perry Van Winkle, a teamster.

Perry Van Winkle is no longer listed as working at the mill by 1880. Aaron Van Winkle is, however, and his household had grown to include his wife, 9 children and his 80-year-old father who was born into slavery in the "Old Dominion" of Virginia. By this time, Aaron Anderson Van Winkle (also known as "Old Rock" or "Uncle Rock") had cemented himself as a fixture in Van Hollow.

When he was about six years of age, he was brought to Arkansas in bondage from Alabama by Col. Hugh Anderson. It is unclear when Aaron was sold to Peter, but by the end of the war he was working at the mill as an "engineer." Family oral history claims, however, that Aaron had a more domestic role in the hollow: "Rock was Peter's 'manservant' and always by his side" (Hicks 1990:52).In truth, there does seem to have been 'something' that attached Peter and Aaron for in 1880, when Peter left the hollow for his Fayetteville hotel, Aaron also left the hollow and bought a sizable farm west of Bentonville.

Whatever Aaron's role at the mill, he managed to garner a great deal of respect from both the black and white communities and when he passed away in 1904, his death was mourned by both. His obituary spoke eloquently of the life of this freedman, stating: "Aaron, thy days of toil have ended and the time of rest is at hand. The tired body is sleeping in the grave but the good old man's spirit has returned to Him who gave it" (Benton County Democrat, May 12, 1904).

Why tell the story of Aaron Van Winkle here? Much of the archeological and historical evidence examined to date indicates that Feature 9 may be the postbellum household of Aaron and his family. If this is the case, then Feature 9, taken together with the antebellum slave quarters (Feature 33) has the potential to tell archeologists a great deal about the daily lives of Aaron and his family. For instance, the artifacts recovered from Feature 9 may help us understand how this newly emancipated family dealt with their new roles as consumers as well as laborers at the mill.