Hernando County, FL
The Oneal/St. Clair Historic Farmstead
A Reconstruction Era Farmstead in Hernando County, FL
Contributed by Norita S. Moss
Preserving African American Heritage in Hernando County, Florida:
One
Family's
Legacy
Mable Sims lives in Twin Lakes, Florida; one of the first African American
communities in Hernando County. Mable’s African American ancestors settled
Twin
Lakes, homesteaded there, and were the principal growers in the community.
Today, Mable makes her home on the old family farmstead, and for the last
17
years, she has been working to preserve the family’s original dwelling,
which is
still intact after 114 years.
The house was built by Mable’s great-grandfathers Hampton St. Clair and
Nathaniel O’Neal in 1889. The 160 acre property was then a working farm,
growing
vegetables for sale at the local farmer’s market, and a portion of the
land was
used as a citrus grove. The family planted tomatoes, okra, peanuts, corn,
cane
and field greens as cash crops. The cane was processed in a sugar mill on
the
property, and the syrup was sold at the farmer’s market. The family kept a
variety of livestock, and sold eggs and butter to the public.
Both African American and white families lived in Twin Lakes, but the
community
was predominantly African American. Early pioneer life in Twin Lakes was
challenging, but neighbors helped each other. Mable’s family oral history,
as
well as that of other Twin Lakes pioneer families, recalls a color-blind
community of families helping each other to establish homesteads and make
their
living.
Mable’s great grandfather Hampton St. Clair was a minister of the Gospel
who
also practiced natural healing. Family oral history states that Hampton
was of
Native American, African and European ancestry. The natural healing that
he
practiced may have involved a blending of customs from any of these
cultural
traditions.
“Great Grandpa Hampton” used a book printed in 1820, about Native American
healing, as a guide for preparing medicines from plants that he cultivated
on
the property. Some of these medicinal plants are growing there yet.
Poultices
were ground using a hand wrought spoon that dates from the early 1800s.
Mable
has preserved the book and the spoon, as well as many other items
associated
with the original farmstead.
The farmhouse, constructed of termite-resistant cedar wood, is in near
pristine
condition. The house has not been occupied for two decades, and now serves
as a
safe storage place for curated items.
Two of the original outbuildings, the outhouse and a storage shed, are
still
standing. The cane mill is no longer present but Mable would like to build
an
authentic and functioning replica.
Most of the original farm implements, including horse and mule tack, a
cotton
scale, several plows, two wagons and many metal tools have survived and
are in
good condition.
All of the furnishings and household implements have survived and are
stored in
the house. Among the items are many intact crockery butter churns, jugs
and milk
jars, as well as kitchen implements and china, most of which has been
identified
as dating from the 1840s to the 1890s. Many of the original household
records
such as bills of sale, farming journals and family correspondence have
survived,
as well as antique family photos.
Mable hopes to restore the property to a working farm and grove, and to
turn the
original homestead into a museum devoted to African American pioneer life
in
Twin Lakes in the late 1800s.
Mable's Wish List: Mable needs to locate an attorney who will volunteer to
help
her form a nonprofit corporation for the planned museum!
This article may be printed and freely shared for nonprofit purposes, as
long as
this notice and citation appear with the article:
This article was prepared for The USF Africana Heritage Project
(www.africanaheritage.com) by Toni Carrier. Citation:
Carrier, Toni
2004 "Mable Sims: Oneal/St. Clair Farmstead, Hernando County, Florida."
The USF
Africana Heritage Project,
http://www.africanaheritage.com
Norita Shepherd
Mossgrannymoss2@yahoo.com