Mr. Crenshaw's Yard: Investigating a Pre Civil War House & Yard
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ก.ค. 2024
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"Legend and fact are so intermingled that a true separation is impossible."'
Brinkman, Grover. Grover Brinkman's Southern Illinois. Pg. 99. House on Hickory Hill.
This house in Gallatin County, Illinois, occupies an interesting place in the memories of many southern Illinoisians. For generations, starting in the 1920s, the owners opened it to the general public, giving tours and talking about its original owner, John Hart Crenshaw. He reportedly kidnapped free African Americans and sold them into slavery, the tour guides said. The backdrop for the dramatic stories was the third-floor attic decorated to look like a jail. The historical investigation suggests the rooms date from the Crenshaw era, but they may have been constructed to accommodate railroad passengers. Crenshaw planned to build a railroad that would pass beneath this house, according to one researcher. But the plan fell through. An architectural study determined the space once appeared as nice accommodations with freshly plastered white walls. The last owners allowed the space to deteriorate into a dark, forbidding space, then added bars and other props to suggest it was used to hold African Americans who would be sold into slavery.
For 70 years, the family hosted tour buses, school field trips, and individuals passing through, including author and Nobel Laureate Saul Bellow. On Halloween 1996, the State of Illinois bought the property. As of today, 2023, the house remains closed and in disrepair. Yet, in 2010, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency contracted with Southern Illinois University’s Center for Archaeological Investigations to study the house and yard. CAI contracted with my company, Oakview Road Media, to document the excavation and create this video.
The house is a remarkable structure. As written in the narration, Hickory Hill survives from a pre-Civil War chapter of Illinois history. It’s a simple timber structure covered with clapboard siding, yet it has a certain appeal because of its location on a hill overlooking the Saline River floodplain.
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Richard Kuenneke is a media producer living in southern Illinois. His company, DeepRoar Content, helps organizations use video to reach audiences for just about any need. For more information, visit deeproarcontent.com
00:00 Introduction
02:00 Artifact of Lessor Known Illinois History
03:13 Investigation Begins
06:11 Attic Names
07:50 First Yard Feature Found
08:59 Crenshaw Kidnapping
10:25 Walkway Feature Found
10:51 Charles Swedlund Visits
11:32 New Yard Features & Historic Flood
13:48 Artifact Processing
14:22 Flood Waters Recede - Digging Begins
16:53 The Facts Behind Uncle Bob
18:02 Excavation Nears Conclusion
20:33 Crawl Space Investigation
22:44 Looking for the Summer Kitchen
23:35 Artifacts Tell a Story
25:32 Back to the House & Yard
27:06 3D Rendering of the Attic
27:53 Conclusion
28:34 Credits
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No mention of a Creshaw Family Cemetary back a ways behind the Main House...My Brother & I visited the House back around 2002 but it was closed & there was a chain put across the driveway with a sign that stated the State of Illinois had purchased the property...We went back up the road leading to the house & then we made a left turn at the first biggest road we came to & seen a small dirt road immediately to the left so we drove up into it just a little ways & found the Graveyard...It was badly over grown so we didn't go any further...There were several old headstones with the name Crenshaw & one female with the name Taylor which may have been his wife or sons wife...She may have been a relative of mine in someway because my last name is Taylor and my Grandparents & Parents were from Southern Illinois...Very interesting!!!
Thank you so much for posting. I am happy to know this place is being researched. I and a couple of my friends happened upon this place thirty-five years ago. We stopped and it was not open, however, there was a man there that either owned it, or worked there. He gave us a tour of the place. He showed us the room where allegedly Lincoln slept while on his first campaign trail. He also showed us a hideous device used to ensure male slaves could not breed. He took us to the stalls/rooms in the attic and showed us which allegedly belonged to "Bob". It was a very memorable visit that left quite an impression on three young men. I hope much success on your research.
Thank you for your comment. I've heard similar stories about those property tours.
Wow, yet another “supposed” site where Lincoln slept. 😂
It never hurts to have a giant around.
I grew up in Jefferson County. I remember my father taking me there when I was young. That would probably in the 50's. I barely remember what the inside looked like. My great great grandfather and his son, my great grandfather, both fought out of Illinois in the Civil War .
Saw this place in the early 90’s. Took quite a few photographs. I hope you find the answers to bring historic facts to light about this property and what occurred there.
Thank you for your comment.
When i was there last back in the early 90s the old Beechnut tree was still there. A placard said the tree came from a cutting of a tree that grew on Mt. Vernon, George Washington's estate. That tree was massive!
This project is observably well planned, organized, clear focus goals, and moving along with highly precise Dig Protocol and Ground Management. Impressive efforts, and the era is fixed/known, so they won't be required to "date and create", they already know what the property was used for: (housing and administration for his Business).
Yet there's much to gain from the efforts of establishing what the artifacts and property reveal, and any potential letters, journals, diaries, that may still be on the property or in the community.
I'd be interested in the project's: full findings, details, and Outcome Completion Statement.
Beth Bartlett
Sociologist/Behavioralist
and Historian
NW Tennessee
(ground 0, New Madrid Faultline)
I will share your comment with the chief investigator, Mark Wagner. Thank you! I'll also see about obtaining a final report to share.
Went there twice in the late 80s and twice in the early 90s always enjoyed the history of the place. You can really tell the state of Illinois owes it by the way it is taken care of!
Yes I visited that house in 1984. Good work thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
We toured the house in the 70s. It was so interesting! I was looking it up today to see if it was still standing because go I ng through pictures I found the pamplet I got while there with much history printed on it. So glad I found this site to follow the excavation! Hoping you find much history buried!
We were driving back from the Garden of the Gods and were just exploring and stumbled upon this property a few years ago. We did some googling and were fascinated with what we found on the property.
I haven’t finished the video yet, but I stopped to take a look at your channel, liked what I saw, so I became subscriber #109. Now I’ll be able to say I got in before everyone knew about you! 😉 I can’t wait to not only finish this lesson, but to continue through what all you’ve already produced, and hope you continue to put out quality content for a long time! 👍🏻
Hello Christophermckinney984: Many thanks for your kind comment. It's very much appreciated. I have lots of other stories in the works, so stay tuned. Again, thank you for taking the time to offer your kind words.
You're video just popped up. I enjoyed watching the video. I am subscribing!!
Very interesting and a joy to watch, I love these kinds of videos, Just finding your channel so will subscribe hoping to find more like this! Thank you for the time to make this!
Hello - many, many thanks for your comment, howspecial5841! I've got more projects in the works, so I'm glad you're here.
Such important, painstaking work. Fascinating to follow the incredible knowledge and dedication involved in discovering history.
John Crenshaw is my third great grandfather. His son-in-law (my 2nd great grandfather) was Brigadier General Michael Kelly Lawler for the North of the Civil War.
Don't forget about your other relative serial killer joe ball . The Alligator man.
The Meakin mark dates to after 1891 based on the use of the country name ENGLAND. In 1891 the McKinley Tariff Act required imported manufactured goods to be marked with the name of the country.
Makers mark.
Very interesting program. Thank you for sharing.
They need me to metal detect the whole yard😊😊😊
New subscriber here. 😊❤. Enjoyable and interesting content . Look forward to new and exciting videos, as well as, watching what you have created already. Thank you.
I visited the house in the late 70s - there were quite a few people there that day and a man I perceived to be the owner was talking to folks here and there. I believe the owner and his family lived in the back part of the house - there was a modern swing set out back.
At one point I saw a small crowd gathered in.front of the house, I wandered over to see what was going on and to my disgust the owner was holding an old iron thing which he informed his audience was a torture contraption for male genitalia. He was laughing and joking about it. I walked away.
I'm very glad this house and surrounding land are being studied. I think most of what went on there was foul. I do think there was effort later to develope a tourist
venue which fell flat - seeing the owners disrespect turned my stomach and I know some others there were equally sickened by his attitude.
Thank you for the comment. During the production of the video, I heard from two different people about inappropriate comments from the tour guide.
Excellent video. So we’ll done. What a great story. I subscribed and will watch more of your videos. Thank you 😃
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great glimpse into history. Working under a house is a little easier with plastic sleds rather than buckets. Dont ask why I know this. It's a lot of work to get a look into the actual past. Nice job.
Great point
The house should be maintained and opened up for historical educational reason... never to repeat history
You didn’t watch the video, did you?
Fascinating. I'm subscribed.
Awesome, thank you!
Thank you
Had the opportunity to tour the house with my grandmother and mother in the early/mid 1990s. Ofcourse there was the ghost stories and do remember a human skull said to belong to a slave ( I was a kid and have no idea of the truth of that story)I was a child interested in history not ghost...would like to see it opend again but for what I understand they would have to put alot of money into it to bring it up to date as a state historical site...new parking lot, handicap ramps,etc...and that could disrupt projects such as this...still would like to go see it as an adult. Do remember reading some of the book " salt,sex,slaves" years ago. May have to find a copy and read it again.
Yes. I've read the book. I agree with Herb Russell who wrote "The State of Southern Illinois: An Illustrated History." On page 83 he comments: "Slaves, Salt, Sex, and Mr. Crenshaw enjoys a provocative title and contains useful research but is confusingly written." In other words, the book needed an editor.
Nice old home but the researchers failed to confirm the original thoughts and premise that opened this vid. I enjoy seeing and listening to the regret that ensues with that kind of failure.
Crenshaw and the state have been in bed since the 1800s. A simple Google search will prove this. Don't need a court order .lol
REALLY FASCINATING!
With that house and Bob, I would next expect to see Django come riding up on his horse
“Servants” is a morally objectionable way to refer to someone who is enslaved.
Here is the definition of a servant: “a person who performs duties for others, especially a person employed in a house on domestic duties or as a personal attendant”. Notice the word “employed”.
Here is the definition of enslaved: (past tense) “To cause (someone) to lose their freedom of choice or action.”
One is correct in this circumstance, one is not, and furthermore it is offensive to those who study history, and I am sure many more.
Otherwise it was a joy to watch the archeology unfold! It would be great to see a follow up after all of the material has been thoroughly examined!
Endentured
These folks were no indentured servants. Indentured means a chance to be free of bondage after a period of time. Crenshaws enslaved had no chance of freedom. They were to be sold back into slavery when their tenure at Crenshaws was over. Indentured also means you are working to pay off a debt. Crenshaws enslaved were not working off any debt. In fact he was accused and brought to court twice for kidnapping free black people and enslaving them. These were no indentured servants. These were enslaved humans, and worse than that, likely kidnapped enslaved humans.
The Crenshaws did have a few house workers who were free. Not of the slaves. There used to be great census and slave records at the Gallatin County Court House, which have 'walked out the door' over the years.
Interesting video
Glad you think so!
I feel like this home was a safe haven loved by those who lived there , because it's one of very few that still exist .
Actually, I always got that feeling, too.
Previous owner, George Sisk, told me when his people purchased the property, the third floor was finished out like the rest of the home, with faint vines and flowers painted in the main hall. It was always thought, he said, that Mrs. Crenshaw had that built out for all the grandchildren she hoped to have in the house. Sadly, most of all her 12 children died at an early age, only a few living into adulthood. When it was clear there wouldn't be a horde of grandchildren afoot, the attic saw other uses.
Also, when I was small, the 3rd floor had transom windows, front to back, for ventilation. When it was roofed in the lat 60s or 70s they were removed and covered over. It was cheaper than working around them.
Fascinating! Thank goodness that the dig put to rest the most lurid stories related to the house. Crenshaw was an unsavory character, so it’s no surprise that bizarre and terrible stories were soon told about him. Most legends start with a tiny kernel of truth and then take on implausible proportions.
Please share more archeological digs with the public.
Lurid stories ? Better research the real truth on illegal slave owner Crenshaw. With over 700 slave's you honestly believe it was like a church camp at that slave house ? You do know the history of illinois slave's right. 5 counties in illinois was slavery st clair, Randolph, pope, Edward's and Gallatin. Crenshaw is listed in the history books as a reverse underground Railroad owner along with two others ! If you honestly believe the state would tell the truth about a property they own ? It would gave them a bad name ! And Crenshaw leased 30,000 acres from the state of Illinois. Buddies since the 1800's !
Been there! They need to re open it!
This is how we got here. This evidence should be displayed to everyone, lest we forget. 😢
Only place I have had eerie feelings that made your hair standup on my neck was in baubenhausen, Germany military post . Never saw any ghost butt the battalion building was kind of eerie feeling . Baubenhausen Germany military base was featured as most haunted places in Germany. Have never had such feelings of like this before or after . Many Army folks have sworn too have seen ghost in battalion building. Thanks for your video .
Very interesting
Glad you think so!
Why would bottles and ceramics be in the crawl space?
That's a great question. I'm going to reach out to the archaeologist and find out.
Watch the video at 22:11 you can clearly see new wiring, new insulation not blown in. Lol. That was all taken out by last owners and redone . So of course that dirt, etc would have been tampered with and nothing more found. Aka not virgin dirt ,etc. Now i challenge the state and these students to date that dirt,etc out of the craw space i can guarantee its not the original !
@@bradchappell4247 That's possible. The State repaired the foundation and stabilized the verandas after they purchased it. (The fireplaces were in a very poor state, with bricks falling down onto the hearth.) Maybe, had they dug deeper, there would be totally different things?
NOTE : Comparing ' old ' structures, with ' new ' ones : OLD is usually ALL WAYS BETTER ! NO sagging roof, NO faulty foundation, windows ' INTACT ' ( unlike Millenium Towers' ) .
AND , the front pillars, STILL STRUCTURALLY SOUND. Modern ' engineers ' with their chipboard, cheap metal corners brackets, for stud / trusses, etc etc.... cardboard and plastic sidings = TAKE A HINT....
Interesting
Does anyone know where Uncle Bob lived at in Virginia?
It was just a big ole Chicken Coop! LOL
It’s sounds like it was intended to be more of an Airbnb than a slave house.
Lol my grear grandma is vina Crenshaw daughter of Gideon Crenshaw n my great grandfather Ike Oliver Crenshaw son of Abraham. Ike and vina
Did they leave good jobs in the city?
Great video and research. I’m just wondering why metal detectors were not used in addition to sifting?
Hello Treasureswithlisa: I've seen Mark use a metal detector in the past on other projects. But I don't recall seeing him or anyone on the crew use it for this excavation. They may have. Thanks for your question!
Exactly, Crenshaw being a millionaire and having big parties at that mansion. Yet only 1 single coin found or was that a button ? And no money found in that high end privy lol.
He should have had a respirator if talcum powder was underneath as it can cause lung cancer. But may be said talcum consistently.
He was wearing a mask.
Flowers of the attic?
Did i see they got some funds to remodel the house ??? Im posting on 01/02/2024... Thanks for any information, we went on a school field trip back in the early 80's to the house...
Yes. What I heard - and is not confirmed - is the state is spending money to stabilize the property. And I believe the target timeframe is sometime in 2025. Not sure how much they're spending.
@Richkuenneke thank you for your information and what you and your team does to try to help us with the history of the Crenshaw House ...
Maybe it was a inn
Who were these endentured people ?, Where did they come from?.
Never heard of it.
As for being haunted, makes a good story..If the story about the slave being held there,only God knows the truth about the house and the goings on within the house... I have hope that it's not true 😢
It's so difficult to pin down the truth because of the property's history as a tourist attraction
Damn like 30mins from this place I see it all the time mybe like 3 times a month i always wondered if there was slaves in Illinois and seeing this is letting me know the feeling i have when i first seen that house i said slaves been there before ... just because theres no writting of scary stories u must remember to talk about what was ddone to them was a sin in there lives and must obey master
Did he say “slave breeding”? My mind goes to terrible places there. Is this a formal way to say raping until pregnant?
Left out alot
What about prostitution?
No, not while Crenshaw's owned it! JHC was a lot of things, but the one thing he definitely valued was his family and friends. Although, as people do sometimes, his demeanor changed as his financial issues changed.
Once he road up to the house and a big laundry cauldron was boiling the white clothes and he could smell it beginning to scorch. He climbed down from his horse with his 'buggy whip' (but it must have been a riding crop...) he began whipping the young girl, both of them yelling and screaming as she ran in a circle because he had her arm. It was winter so she probably had several layers of clothes on. Her father was over clearing some trees and immediately ran to her, knocked Crenshaw down and chopped of his leg with a broad ax. The picture they showed of him in the documentary was part of a portrait of John Hart Crenshaw and his wife , Francine (Sina) Taylor Crenshaw. He has his stumped propped up on her knee, almost as if he was proud of it. That portrait was painted from a tintype, but the person who painted it never returned the picture to the family, so the amateur portrait is all that is left of the couple.
One of the house people who helped Sina raise her children was named Jemina or Jemima in census records I was able to dig out at the time. They called her 'Aunt Jem'. When she was too old to work and could no longer climb the stairs, John Hart Crenshaw bought her a small home in Equality, just over the hill.
(I did years of research on the Crenshaws and Hickory Hill.)
Really interesting property and project to find out the true history of the place and its great they have a giant to help with the heavy lifting 😂
Wasn't Illinois a Free state for African Americans?
Sounds like they found a loophole. Typical.
Did you watch the start of the video? It’s explained
I’m curious: Uncle Bob- (pains me to think of this -but seems cogent)- was a “stud slave”- if I heard correctly? Hmm… the young [fertile] African American slaves were weighing themselves.
Most women, happily pregnant[escaping field work] young women are tracking their weight until birth to track baby’s health. Perhaps, Uncle Bob… . Was a man, a slave, but a man of honor who would not have owned that dastardly slave job as his “home”- no man of honor would.
This reminds me of Booth Homes for wayward pregnant girls…
Don't fool yourself about pregnancy getting anyone out of field work. Women often had babies in or at the field.
Uncle Bob was a man of honor, according to my research. After he was free he became a traveling preacher.
As recently as 2003 there was a recording on TH-cam of an 'Uncle Bob' interview. It told who was there, but I don't remember. He did speak of Hickory Hill and the other plantations he'd been on as the 'stud slave'. He was not proud of it. It was just a job he had to do. He had no other choice.
I have scanned TH-cam for hours but have not been able to find it again.
I believe it was made shortly before Bob passed, in about 1912 or 14? The voice in the video sounded exactly like 'George Sisk', only it must have been his father or grandfather because George wasn't born until the 1930s. George has a very unique, distinctive voice.
The annoying piano playing behind the dialog is so annoying. Why do people do this?
Interesting video though.
That's an excellent point. I'll take this into consideration for future projects. If I could produce a video without music, it would make my life so much easier. Thanks for the feedback!
How sad he was a SLAVE TRADER!!😡😡
Grow up. Many people around the world were slave traders. There are many slaves today.
Beyond creepy
Servants? you mean Slaves. whats going on?
Crenshaw had over 700 slave's I'm sure they all was loved and taken care of like family. Lol. Look up the real history of him .not the lies by the state of illinois or thier professors and hired help all paid for by the state of Illinois. And Crenshaw leased 30,000 acres from the state of Illinois. Think of all that salt money. He was a big millionaire. In bed with the state since the 1800s, don't need a court order to know that !
Thank you
Our mother took my siblings, cousins, and I when we were young. Maybe in the mid to late 60’s? I took my oldest son in the 90’s. Very interesting place, and I would love to go again someday with my husband and our grandson.