Parks, Gordon, 1912-2006, photographerCreated / Published1942 June.

In the Field Quarter stood four, nearly identical brick duplexes. Each building had chimneys at both ends. All that remains of these buildings are the foundations that have been unearthed by archaeologists.

The four buildings formed a square with a central ‘courtyard area’. These brick buildings were most likely built around 1821 once the brick Hermitage mansion was finished. At least one earlier log dwelling was also located in this area.

The archaeological findings at the Field Quarter have revealed significant information about slave life at The Hermitage. Many activities took place in the Field Quarter yard areas outside rather than inside the cramped quarters.

Archaeologists found brick paving or flooring outside the doorway of one cabins and excavated a fence line (postholes) alongside another cabin.

July 1937. "Old Negress of Greene County, Georgia." Medium format nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration

he house is definitely not a typical tenant farmer affair. The elaborate front door treatment and staircase say that this once once quite a house. The typical tenant farmers house would have been one story and 3 to 4 rooms. There would have been no ornamentation. Such a house might be recognizable to someone from that area. I hope we will learn more.

Not only is this a lady considerable dignity but, judging from the few architectural details visible, her home is far superior to the shacks and shanties that so predominate Lange's work during this period.