To celebrate African-American History Month, Smith’s Castle will host a lecture on Saturday, February 18, at 2:00pm at the North Kingstown Free Library to highlight information on the African-Americans who lived and worked at Smith’s Castle. From the late 17th century to the early 19th century, Cocumscussoc (Smith’s Castle) was a large plantation spanning thousands of acres that depended upon slave labor to produce and ship goods and to serve the household. While the subject of the institution of slavery on South County farms has been examined extensively, biographical material about the enslaved people at these sites is scant. Neil Dunay, a past president of Smith’s Castle, will provide a preliminary overview of the information about slaves at Cocumscussoc gleaned from historical records “at hand.” This research forms the basis for a grant proposal to find additional information to provide a more informed picture of the lives of enslaved and indentured laborers at Cocumscussoc, as well as of the Smith/Updike family's roles in the institution of slavery.
