Browse Items (11 total)

Homemade dishes, colonoware is a low fired unglazed dish which is thought to have African origins.

These pieces are used in a traditional Nigerian problem solving game called Mankala.

This bead was found at Nash House, the site of an African American church which the Robinsons may have attended. Beads like this were used as a part of traditional African “minsiki” spiritual bundles.

With the 1926 renovation to their home the Robinsons built a new structure rather than adding to the original house. Creating a two story frame home with two rooms per floor the Robinsons also added improvements like indoor plumbing at this time.…

Again adding onto his original home, another wing was added to Robinson House. As Robinson's wealth and family continued to grow throughout the nineteenth century so too did his home.

1871 was the first time that Robinson expanded his home. Using funds received from the federal government for damages incurred during the Civil War, Robinson was able to rebuild and expand his home. The original structure was rebuilt along with a two…

Built on land purchased in 1840, the Robinson's original house was a one room, 400 square foot simple structure. Small even for the standards of the time, the house itself was so small because Robinson, his wife, and their children would spend most…

In order to receive payment for damages to his property sustained during the war, James Robinson filed a claim with the Southern Claims Commission (SCC). In addition to providing proof of damages a large part of receiving compensation was proving…

Robinson house, pictured here, was a small 400 square foot house built around 1840. This is how the home would have appeared during both of the Battles of Manassas, remaining unchanged until an expansion in 1871.

This is a hiring form between James Robinson and John Lee regarding James' son Tasco. Though James was free his wife and children were enslaved and Lee was their owner.

In his attempts to keep his family safe and together, Robinson was able to…