The Slave's Quarters

Note: Due to the disturbing content discussed in this clip regarding slavery, viewer discretion is strongly advised.

Like many wealthy landowners during the pre-Civil War south, the McGhee family who lived on this massive piece of land near the Little Tennessee River owned a multitude of slaves who toiled endlessly without pay in the blistering heat of the infamous Tennessee summers. You hear stories from time to time about plantation owners who treated their slaves with respect and empathy, such as Caleb Starr from Etowah(for whom Starr's Mountain is named), but sadly, the McGhees were not part of this tiny minority. According to "Valley So Wild" by Alberta and Carson Brewer(a book written on the "folk history" of East Tennessee), the McGhees treated their workers horribly, and even their daughter, Alva, was in on the abuse, tormenting a slave boy because of his phobia of horses. Local lore states specifically that a bunker that was built on the banks of the Little Tennessee River was once a place that held the McGhee's slaves, yet as for the exact location, it is currently unknown. You can thank the TVA for that.
Another piece of local lore regarding this building was that a young slave girl once lived in this poorly built structure on the outer edge of the plantation house. It is unknown when she was there, or for how long. There are no records of her name or her family in any of Monroe County's history books. As the stories go, her master(who we can assume was the eldest man in the McGhee household) would come to this building on a daily basis, where he would violently sexually assault her. As a woman, it is hard for me to imagine the suffering that this girl had went through and how frightened she must have been when she heard her master's footsteps drawing closer. No one knows what happened to her---whether she had died or if she had sold to another plantation, or if she had been freed during the Civil War when Union troops stormed this plantation, but claims state that she had left her mark on this very building. Scared that her family would discover the abuse, the girl had hidden her bloodied undergarments underneath the floorboard. They say that if one could find those undergarments, then she would finally be able to finally rest in peace, knowing that the abuse is over once and for all. Symbollically speaking, that would mean that someone had evidence her being there, and that she was a somebody, a real human being with thoughts and emotions. At this time, no one has found the clothing said to be hidden beneath the rotted floorboards of the slave's quarters. I've tried looking as well, but nothing has turned up.
Filmed at the McGhee/Carson Unit in Vonore, TN.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• creepy
• slave's
• quarters
• civil
• war
• tennessee
• haunted

[thecrimsonarcher2010]

@Aarontlondon I did not make up the history that was I was discussing in the video. What I spoke about was told to me by older people such as my grandparents, descendents of the McGhee family, as well as my own research. It took a very long time to compile the research that I did....and horrifying things like this were very common in the Old South.

[Aarontlondon]

This whole thing could quite easily be made up by that girl

[SuteUp]

very interesting

[BW6021]

I see a flying orb

[oliviamensita]

boring



[NinjaCthulhu]

Thanks for sharing, I get that sense of dread looking at the slave quaters, there is a cemetery in Newport, RI that has many slaves buried in it.