Diving into the African American History of Eastern North Carolina— The Underwater Archaeology of Cape Fear Rice Plantations

Title: Diving into the African American History of Eastern North Carolina” The Underwater Archaeology of Cape Fear Rice Plantations – Submerged NC Webinar Series

Presenter(s): Emily Schwalbe, Maritime Archaeologist and Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Sponsor(s): ONMS, Monitor NMS, and NC Office of State Archaeology
Webinar Contact: Shannon Ricles, Monitor NMS, (Shannon.Ricles@noaa.gov)Register for

Remote Access: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3325842791391937882this link opens in a new window

Accessibility: A recording of the webinar will be made available with closed captioning.

Abstract: Join underwater archaeologist Dr. Emily Schwalbe as she presents research on the submerged archaeology of rice plantations in Brunswick County, North Carolina. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Cape Fear region was the only place in North Carolina that had the environment for commercial rice agriculture. Rice plantations were operated by enslaved Africans, who also used the local creeks and rivers to travel and, in some cases, escape enslavement. Much of the archaeological evidence of these activities is now underwater, but Emily’s recent work alongside local North Carolina organizations has identified and recorded sites that tell new stories about plantation histories. Be sure to register for this webinar to learn about African American history, plantations, and the underwater archaeology of North Carolina rivers!

Bio(s): Emily Schwalbe is a maritime archaeologist that studies water, environment, and inequality in the Atlantic World. She is currently a Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland in the Centre for Environmental Humanities. Her research has primarily focused on the Southeastern United States and ranged from the relationships between imported material culture and gender in the 19th century, to the long-term environmental and social impacts of the colonial rice plantation system in the coastal Carolinas.
Emily has an MA in Maritime Studies from East Carolina University and recently completed her PhD at Northwestern University in Anthropology. She has also worked as an archaeologist at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, South Carolina on the H.L. Hunley project.
Recording: A recording of this webinar will be posted with captions about one week from the webinar date on Monitor NMS’s Archived Webinars webpage.