Last updated: June 5, 2022
Place
Oakland Square Crib
NPS Photo/Annabel Jones
Quick Facts
Location:
Natchez, LA
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
The Corn Crib or Square Crib was built by enslaved people in the 1820s of hand-hewn cypress logs with carved Roman numerals. It was a storage place for corn grown on the plantation. Cotton was the plantation’s main crop, but they grew several other fruits and vegetables, chief among them being corn. Corn was an essential part of the diet of the enslaved worker, and used as feed for livestock. Today on Cane River, corn has surpassed cotton as the main agricultural product.
Beside the Corn Crib, sits a brick cistern. The groundwater in this region was unsuitable for drinking, so the people built cisterns to collect rainwater. Cisterns can be made from brick and buried underground, or they can be constructed from wood and placed above ground or in attics. The brick cistern adjacent to the corn crib was sixteen feet deep and held almost 5,000 gallons of water.
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Beside the Corn Crib, sits a brick cistern. The groundwater in this region was unsuitable for drinking, so the people built cisterns to collect rainwater. Cisterns can be made from brick and buried underground, or they can be constructed from wood and placed above ground or in attics. The brick cistern adjacent to the corn crib was sixteen feet deep and held almost 5,000 gallons of water.
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