History Matters: Enslaved dwellings in the First State

Ross Mansion in Seaford is home to Delaware’s lone remaining dwelling that was once inhabited by enslaved people.The number of these dwellings nationwide is dwindling in part because they were made with shoddy materials and in part because there has been little effort to preserve them until recent years.But historians say these spaces are incredibly valuable as they provide a window into enslaved people’s inner lives, which is often neglected or difficult to learn about.In this edition of History Matters, Delaware Public Media’s Abigail Lee traveled to Ross Mansion and the John Dickinson Plantation in Dover to see these spaces and speak with experts on the lasting significance of them.