Memorial to the Enslaved

Goodwood Museum & Gardens, a former plantation, will create a memorial to all people enslaved on the property from approximately 1832 until 1865.  A permanent outdoor memorial site has been chosen on a half-acre space adorned with several large live oaks and a bank of azaleas. The memorial will list the names of known enslaved persons, and will be a site for sober contemplation and remembrance. It will also be a site for meeting, teaching, community engagement, and healing.

For more information or to get involved, please email Memorial@GoodwoodMuseum.org.

Mission

The Goodwood Museum & Gardens Memorial to the Enslaved will serve as a lasting tribute to those individuals, named and unnamed, who lived and toiled in bondage here and to their descendants.

Vision

Goodwood Museum & Gardens Memorial to the Enslaved is a sacred and contemplative place that brings together descendants, the community, and partners to educate, remember, and honor cultures and traditions to promote healing in the present and serve as inspiration for equality and social justice in the future. 

Memorial Sign

Design Competition winners have been chosen!

Goodwood would like to congratulate the winners of the design competition Sarah Rifqi, Alana Houston, and Hannah Smith for their concept “A Bridge to the Stars”.  All submissions will be on exhibit in the Main House Museum throughout the summer for all visitors to see.

Five jurors evaluated the design concepts and project statements based on their originality, artistry, adherence to the mission, presentation, and creativity. The local jurors were Autumn Calder (Director, Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency), Dr. Marilyn Proctor-Givens (Fine Arts Educator, Lincoln High School), Kenneth Reshard (Tallahassee Artist), Joe Roache (Retired Associate Director for Instructional Technology, FAMU), and LaVerne Wells-Bowie (Retired Professor of Architecture, FAMU). These professionals and artists of Leon County evaluated the designs and made sure they would be compatible with the space, as well as recognize and memorialize the enslaved people who toiled on the former plantation. 

The memorial will list the names of known enslaved persons and will be a site for sober contemplation and remembrance. It will also be a site for meetings, teaching, community engagement, and healing. Please check back for more updates about the progress of the project.

List of Slaves at Goodwood

For more information about Goodwood and the people once enslaved on the property, see the About Goodwood section below.

About Goodwood

At its largest extent, Goodwood included about 8,000 non-contiguous acres; over time two owners enslaved at least 200 people in the mid-1800s. Today, Goodwood encompasses 21 acres and serves the community as a museum, a community green space, and a venue for public and private events.

The materials available here may help with understanding the history of people who were enslaved at Goodwood and creating a design for the memorial. Materials include a list of individuals’ names that we know to have been enslaved here, a statement describing the research process and sources, and a map of Goodwood landholdings in the 1850s. In addition, a presentation on the lives of several enslaved individuals provides a more in-depth picture of some individuals’ lives, and a bibliography serves to connect people to additional information on the history of enslavement in North Florida.

To read more about Goodwood’s history, click here.

Goodwood Plantation Landholdings

History

The history of enslavement in North Florida, including Goodwood, was recently featured in the documentary “Invisible History: Middle Florida’s Hidden Roots” by FSU filmmaker Valerie Scoon, a member of the Memorial Committee. This is currently being shown on public broadcasting stations across the United States, and is available for viewing by public broadcast members at https://www.pbs.org/video/invisible-history-middle-floridas-hidden-roots-5zhkcl/ It may be available to the general public at a later date.

Download Documents

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Research
Statement

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Presentation

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Bibliography
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Persons
Enslaved

Memorial to the Enslaved Committee Members

Laura Lee Corbett
Committee Chair

Jennifer Humayun
Goodwood Museum & Gardens

Dr. Nancy Morgan
Goodwood Museum & Gardens

Gloria Anderson

Phyllis Asztalos

Pamela “Kabuya” Bowens-Saffo

Eryn Calabro

Dr. Maxine Jones

Chelsie Lane

Valerie Scoon

William Walter