Preservationists Save Uncle Tom's Cabin. Oh, Wait...

State and county officials spent over two million dollars saving a cabin thought to be the former home of Josiah Henson, the model for the Uncle Tom character in the novel. New evidence shows they were wrong.

1 minute read

October 5, 2010, 2:00 PM PDT

By Tim Halbur

While the cabin is on the property where Henson lived his life in slavery, historians have deduced that the slave quarters that he actually lived in were destroyed long ago.

Annys Shin has the story.

"That inconvenient truth presents an immediate challenge to county officials: what to call the place. The site's official name is still Uncle Tom's Cabin Special Park.

But starting in 2007, parks officials began referring to it as the Josiah Henson Historic Site (formerly Riley House/Uncle Tom's Cabin). The name change has not been formally approved and is awaiting public comment."

FULL STORY: After buying historic home, Md. officials find it wasn't really Uncle Tom's Cabin

Sunday, October 3, 2010 in The Washington Post

History / Preservation United States Uncle Tom's Cabin

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