After 24 months of exhaustive research and design, we have completed the interpretive strategy and the initial implementation for the Neill-Cochran House Museum Slave Quarters in Austin. Over the past two years the Quarters has been restored, we have completed the interpretive plan, we have finished the initial introductory brochure that is available at the museum, and now our panels are at the fabricator. The interpretive panels will be installed by April when the Texas Historical Commission Real Places conference will join us at the Quarters for lectures and a tour.
This project has evolved into a remarkable team effort among Dr. Rowena Dasch (executive director for the NCHM), Dr. Tara Dudley (Assistant Professor at UT), and myself. The interpretive strategy I developed ranges from impersonal to personal and utilizes didactic as well as dialogic techniques within the space of a large suburban yard.
In addition, I chose to cover the entire span of the African experience in Texas, from Esteban in November 1528 to the present. In four years, we will commemorate the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved African in Texas. By 2028, I hope to have a Texas historical marker installed in Galveston that memorializes his arrival. Galveston is the alpha (Esteban) and omega (Juneteenth) of the enslaved African experience in Texas, and hopefully we at the NCHM Slave Quarters can join with Galveston in honoring the occasion.
If you have the opportunity, attend the THC Real Places conference this April in Austin and join us at the NCHM Slave Quarters for our talk and tour. Use the link below for more information about the conference.