People Enslaved at Sunnyside

Since the arrival of John Donelson and James Robertson to the banks of the Cumberland River in 1780, slavery has been part of Nashville’s history. Among the pioneers who traveled with Donelson and Robertson were enslaved men and women, who helped to build Fort Nashborough. 

According to the census data, people were enslaved on this land from 1820 until slavery was abolished in 1865. The 1820 census reveals that Thomas Shackleford claimed ownership of 23 people on his 500-acre estate, which included this property. The 1850 census shows that Mary Adams maintained two enslaved individuals here. Adams sold the property to Mary Benton in 1852. Eight years later, the 1860 slave schedule census, recorded 20 enslaved men, women, and/or children at Sunnyside.

The names of those enslaved by Shackleford and Adams are no longer known. However, sometimes the identities of enslaved men and women can be found in legal documents such as wills and property documents. This is the case with those enslaved by Mary Benton. Mary’s husband, Jesse, died in 1843, and his will included the names of 20 enslaved people. A decade later, Sunnyside property records show the same information, including these names: “Julius and his wife Kitty and their children Mitchell, John, Jane, Ross and Bill; Horatio and his wife Charlotte and her children Malinda, Ellen, Louisa and Caroline… also Silas, Joe, Edmund, and Frank.”

We will never know exactly where the homes of those enslaved stood on this property. But we do know that in the 1850s many outbuildings—including slave quarters—were moved closer to the main house as large farming plantations were increasingly reliant on enslaved labor. If that was the case at Sunnyside, those buildings no longer stand. Ongoing archaeological investigations will continue to track down these locations to learn more about the lives of those enslaved on the property.

Head toward the entrance to the building in the glass connector. To the left of the door is a series of five view windows showing two log buildings. Feel free to look at each window as you listen to the next stop.