Parting Ways at Plymouth in southeastern Massachusetts is a community undergoing ethnohistorical reconstruction. Of Primary interest, however, is that the history of the community is intertwined closely with black homesteading in New England during the early developmental stages of the United States.

Following closely on the American Revolution, town officials of Plymouth ceded 106 acres of land on the Plymouth/Kingston town line to four freed black veterans - Quamony Quash, Plato Turner, Cato Howe and Prince Goodwin. A condition of the grant required clearing of the land within three years. Though the land was poor for farming, the area became home to the four men and their families. Over a period of years the settlers constructed buildings and partially cultivated the land. By the early 1830s, however, all four of the men had died. Also, the land had not been cleared as required, and, therefore, legally reverted to the town. Regardless, occupation of Parting Ways by descendants of the Black veterans continued until circa 1908. The area was dormant and soon overgrown by brush. A constant reminder of the early settlers, however, has been a small gravesite marked by simple fieldstones.

Local folk history of Plymouth kept Parting Ways alive. Hence, in 1974 when the American people were rethinking the historical meaning of 1776, the veterans of Parting Ways were also being reconsidered by a few Plymouth citizens. Concerned persons led by Marjorie Anderson moved to build community awareness for reconstructing the history and culture of the settlement. One of Ms. Anderson s initial moves, however, was to amass support to prevent the area from being turned into a town cemetery. This was the designated purpose for the land in 1974. Successful lobbying turned the tide, and the commentary plans were halted.

Marjorie Anderson
As a prelude to the Bicentennial celebration, Ms. Anderson was appointed to the Plymouth Bicentennial Commission. A sub-committee, the Plymouth Bicentennial Advisory Committee on Black History and Culture quickly evolved. Careful research was undertaken to substantiate the founding of the veterans' settlement. As a result, in 1975 the Town of Plymouth set aside 15 acres of land, including the grave site for archaeological and educational purposes. The Bicentennial year brought other benefits to the newly formed Committee. It was incorporated as a non-profit organization and received a $2,500.00 Community service grant, arranged by James Barber, a member of the organization, from the IBM Corporation. The grant allowed them to purchase office equipment and materials for office space provided by the Town of Plymouth.

Also, in 1975 Parting Ways became the focus of archaeological investigation under the direction of Dr. James Deetz, then Professor of Anthropology at Brown University. In fact, from 1975 to 1978, artifacts recovered revealed African cultural survivals. According to Deetz, the four Black Revolutionary veterans retained strong elements of their African cultural heritage, and this was reflected in artifacts, architecture and food remains. The African survival interpretation was corroborated by Mr. Richard B. Nunoo, Director of the Museums and Monuments Program for the Government of Ghana, West Africa and Dr. John Vlatch, now teaching at George Washington University, in the American Studies Folklife Program. Under examination are clay containers know as tamarind jars (used for carrying the fruit tamarind) and architectural remains, along with a multitude of other remains. Following this archaeological survey, the original 106 acre land grant was set aside for historical evaluation, pending designation as an archaeological district on the National Register of Historic Places. The entire 106 acres was accepted for listing in March, 1979.

In 1976, the Bicentennial Advisory Committee on Black History and Culture was awarded a grant by the American Association for State and Local History for consultants to advise on initial direction. In addition, inkind consultation provided by Drs. Deetz and Nunoo resulted in important decisions. One recommendation was to construct the museum's physical facilities at the Parting Ways settlement (the Corporation votes to become an enthohistory museum at this time). An ethnohistorical perspective was adopted as the approach to conducting and interpreting the data. A planning session was recommended and the idea for the Planning Colloquium was born.

Parting Ways Cite Excavation: Dr. Deetz and members of the local community.
Growing interest in Parting Ways came from various quarters. Dr. Deetz provided his services and the resources of the Plimoth Plantation (he was the Assistant director at that time) for data collection in 1975 and 1976. A Department of Labor (CETA) grant provided for the first major impetus for historical data gathering. And, in 1978 and 1979, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., presented Parting Ways with a grant for $2,500.00 for general use. The Town of Plymouth, Digital Corporation, the Charles E. Merrill trust, L. Knife and Sons, the Governor Carver Motor-Inn and numerous others have donated funds, materials and time towards Parting Ways support. In addition, Brown University has provided personnel for excavations and space to do the analysis of the artifacts recovered.

As Parting Ways moved into the end of the 1970s, interest was readily stimulated by the national site listing and the suggested Planning Colloquium. The excavations conducted from 1975 to 1978 resulted in enough evidence to convince the Town to sell fifteen acres of the land to the Corporation for the sum of $1.00 in 1977. The Town stipulated that the Museum be built at the site and for further historical analysis. Other conditions were that the architectural plans be presented to the Town five years from the date that the deed was filed at the Registry of Deeds, and that construction of the physical plant be initiated within ten years of that date. The deed was filed August, 1979.

The Planning Commission, supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities Museums and Historical Organization Program, was held November, 18th, 19th and 20th, 1977, at the Governor Carver Motor-Inn, Plymouth. The planning sessions brought together fifteen experts, representing diverse disciplines of the Humanities. Ina addition, 25 official observers took part and lent their expertise to formulation of the program. The multi-disciplinary planning team provided input for developing an ethnohistorical perspective and approach to be applied to the research. At the conclusion of the Colloquium, a series of recommendations were made.

In summary, the items recommended appear below:

1. The breakdown of the Afro-American experience into four historical time periods to be applied to exhibits and publications, as well as for curriculum development
2. The continuance of the CETA funded research with funds to be applied for through the National Endowment for the Humanities.
3. A heavy emphasis to be placed upon in depth research into each of the four historical time periods, prior to mounting exhibits, writing for publications or developing curriculum materials beginning with the period from 1750-1860.
4. Interphased development of the historical periods with the development of the museum's physical facilities.
5. Mounting and traveling an exhibit focusing upon the four men and their families who lived at the Parting Ways settlement, to provide visibility for the museum and to educate the general public.
6. To conduct further archaeological excavations for the purpose of to provide data for publication and nomination of the land to the National Register of Historic Places.
7. To conduct all research from an enthohistorical perspective for the purpose of keeping within the general context of the museum's title.
8. To establish a National Board of Advisors and Consultants to consist of those in attendance at the Planning Colloquium, to assist the Board of Directors in its overall planning and development.

For the past five years, Parting Ways has slowly moved into line with the specific recommendations made by the Colloquium participants, despite obstacles to obtaining funding and in organizational development. In 1978, archaeological testing revealed what experts identified as an African ceremonial site. In addition, an exhibit focusing on Black family life in Plymouth from 1619-1980, was on view from January to June, 1980 at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth.

Since 1908, the Board of Directors have invested their time and energy into bringing training in planning and organizational development skills to the board. Funded by the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities, the third and final technical assistance is planned for the Fall, 1984. The previous technical assistance was provided by Dr. Phillip Hart of the University of Massachusetts (now a member of our national Board of Advisors) and Louise Stevens of Arts Market, a management firm.

In 1981, the Organization was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities for the purpose of conducting one year of a three year phased research into the 1750-1860 historical time period. Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. again provided their support by contributing $5,000.00 as a matching grant for a grand total of $60,000.00. This research, conducted in 1981 and 1982 enabled Parting Ways to move out of the documentation stage and into the implementation phase of development. The Board of Directors are now conducting a nation-wide search for a person with the proper credentials who will come in and pull all of the complied data together for publication. Both a scholarly monograph and a popular version are planned.