Interpreting Grassmere's Enslaved Community: Archaeological Approaches to Public History at the Nashville Zoo

Abstract

This thesis examines the antebellum site of Grassmere, the house built in 1810 by people enslaved by the Dunn family on land currently housing the Nashville Zoo. It presents historical research into Grassmere's enslaved community gleaned from the wills, deeds, letters, and diaries of the Dunns and their descendants, and it compares this documentary evidence to previously existing data acquired from a separate 2014 archaeological excavation of a graveyard for the enslaved population. This project concludes by considering methods of interpreting slavery at other public sites to determine which are most suitable for this site.