Evergreen Air Slats

Evergreen Air Slats

Timber Frame Material Evidence

These slats are above each door of every house in the Evergreen homes. They appear to be cypress, like the rest of the home most likely would have been, and one can see upon a closer inspection the knife lines that marked the width of the mortise for the slats' tenons to go into.

Hunter S. Rhodes

Hunter S. Rhodes

Hunter S. Rhodes

Object: exact date unknown, likely early to middle 19th century

Photo: August 9, 2019

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Hunter S. Rhodes

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12.3MP
3036 × 4048
4.2 MB
JPEG

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Timber Frame

Color photograph

The air slats above the doors of the Evergreen homes provided much needed airflow for the people living inside. South Louisiana is hot almost anytime of the year, and of course air conditioning was not yet invented, nor would it have been available to the enslaved people even if it had been, so this small bit of ingenuity was an absolute necessity. This seemingly small detail demonstrates not just the skill through the tight, long-lasting construction of the slats themselves, but also the thought that went into the actual building that highlights how the enslaved builders considered their own needs when making their homes.