Shoemaker's Shop

The shoemaker played a critical role by maintaining the plantation workers’ shoes so that no labor or time was lost. One pair of shoes was issued annually to each enslaved worker and repaired over the course of the year. The shoemaker, who might have been a hired white artisan or an enslaved person, also worked on saddles and other leather goods.

In his later years, George Washington’s enslaved former valet, William Lee worked as one of the estate’s shoemakers.