Existing comment:
Woodlawn's Laborers:
Woodlawn's enslaved laborers worker from sun up to sundown, and spent precious free time with family and each other. They may have lived in the estate's modest log cabin near the grand manor house, or perhaps in the manor's kitchen wing.
Woodlawn also employed hired help -- some of whom lived on-site -- to work the fields and attend to the Palmers inside the manor.
The First Family:
Woodlawn's fine brick manor house was constructed between 1806 and 1822 by Samuel and Anna Thomas. The couple operated a boarding school at the house for several years, teaching pupils from Georgetown and Washington, including Francis Scott Key's daughter. William Palmer purchased Woodlawn from the Thomases' children. |