THE WEST WING
The
original kitchen built by Thomas Stone burned and was replaced in the 1840's.
It was built by Stone decendents and is much larger than the original. Some
of Thomas' 30 slaves would have worked in this kitchen. They would have used
this solid silver coffee pot and creamer to serve the Stone family.The pot and creamer also tell us something about plantation life. Plantation owners like Thomas Stone were very dependent of England for finished goods. International trade was alive and well, with the colonists trading raw materials - mainly tobacco - for items like these. This made the Revolution doubly risky as the colonists were dependent on England for their government, and for their economy.
The large fireplace seen here gives us an idea of day-to-day life in colonial America. Cooking on a large fireplace like this one generally started at about 2 a.m. in the morning, so that there would be enough food for the big meal at about 3 p.m. in the afternoon. With eleven family members and nearly thirty slaves living with him, Thomas had a small village to feed.
Slaves
were a vital part of plantation life. It was they who performed the labor,
both manual and skilled. Some of Thomas's slaves were skilled carpenters and
probably helped to build the house. Others worked in the house cooking, cleaning,
and attending to the family. Still others worked in the fields tending to
live stock, and planting and harvesting crops. On plantations, slaves traditionally
lived about two hundred yards away from the main house in three or four small
shacks. Living conditions for them were much different than for their masters.
This relative isolation and village-like lifestyle on plantations bred an independent nature in the owners. Colonists looked less and less to the British government and looked more to themselves.
By practicing law, Thomas earned enough money to purchase nearly one thousand acres in and around Haberdeventure. With the help of his brother-in-law, Dr. Gustavous Brown, Thomas began to prosper; rising in stature in Southern Maryland. But while Thomas was doing well, relations between Great Britain and the American colonies were deteriorating.
The "Intolerable Acts" raised the colonists taxes and their ire. All taxes but one were repealed. In protest of the remaining tax on tea, a group of Patriots in Boston staged the Boston Tea Party. The King of England responded by sending troops into Boston, and repealing much of Massachusetts self government. Many colonists, like Thomas Stone, were alarmed and feared that if the King could take away Massachusetts' government, governments of the other colonies could be taken away as well. Thomas joined the a network called the "Charles County Committee of Correspondence" to spread information about what was going on in the colonies. At that time, Thomas was all of 30 years old.
