At the Oakley Cabin African American Museum & Park, Heritage Days weekend offers a vibrant look at the Reconstruction Era. This historic site centers around a mid-19th-century hand-hewn log cabin that housed enslaved laborers before the Civil War and later served as the heart of a thriving, free Black roadside tenant farming community well into the 20th century.
During Heritage Days, the site transforms into an active, family-friendly historic festival. Here is what you can expect if you visit:
Living History & Open House: Take a rare look inside the historic cabin itself. Period-accurate artifacts display how families managed daily life, cooked over open hearths, and built a community following Emancipation.
Traditional Storytelling: Gather around to hear oral histories and traditional folk tales that celebrate African American resilience, heritage, and the daily triumphs and struggles of the Reconstruction community.
Live Folk & Acoustic Music: The lawn comes alive with the sounds of traditional instruments and folk melodies rooted in 19th-century history.
Historic Lawn Games: Children and adults can try their hands at old-fashioned games that families in the late 1800s played for entertainment.
Interactive AR Experiences: Use your smartphone to scan QR codes around the property. You can explore 3D models of the cabin’s interior, virtually place farm animals in the yard, and chat with “AI Shirley,” a 3D virtual interpreter who shares the history of the cabin’s past residents.
