The spinning wheel that currently sits in the Calvin Jones House has long stopped producing thread, but while I studied it I was inspired me to think about conflicts around spinning and textile production and consider how this history is as political as it is material. The spinning wheel, though not original to the home, would have been the style of wheel used by enslaved women like Judy, Becky, and Comfort who lived and labored on Calvin Jones’s plantation in the 1820s. With great skill and patience, these women would have been able to produce large quantities of yarn in a relatively short time using this wheel. Several letters between Calvin and Temperance Jones suggest that Judy, Becky, and Comfort frequently refused to spin, despite being ordered to do so. This kind of resistance from enslaved workers refusing to spin is documented in other sources as well.
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Meet Intern Lin Baumeister
This summer Methodist University senior Lin Baumeister will help museum staff catalog artifacts in the Calvin Jones House. Her work will help strengthen tours of the Calvin Jones House. To learn more about Lin, we asked her to complete a short questionnaire.
Read moreVirtual Tours
Experience the history of the original campus and Calvin Jones House through our virtual tours.
Read moreThe 245th Birthday of Calvin Jones!
On April 2, 1775 Calvin Jones was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Jones was a leading North Carolina intellectual who made significant contributions to medicine, public health, politics, publishing, military strategy, and public education.
Read moreRaleigh Hall of Fame to Honor Calvin Jones
The Raleigh Hall of Fame induction ceremony on October 3, 2016 will honor Calvin Jones for shaping the history and character of the Capital City through […]
Read more“Back to School” with Dr. Calvin Jones
Calvin Jones, the planter who invented the name “Wake Forest,” was a physician, educator, journalist, military strategist, and politician. But Jones was also a father and–like most fathers–he […]
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