The Burwell School
project type: fabrication , graphics , museums
Between 1837-1857, the Burwell School was filled with young female boarding students from a variety of hometowns and backgrounds, many of which went on to start schools that are still in operation today. During those twenty years, the Burwell School educated 200 female students in an academically rigorous curriculum designed by Mrs. Burwell to make them “thorough scholars and useful members of society.” Located in Hillsborough NC, the Burwell Historic site is maintained by the Historic Hillsborough Commission, a non-profit organization, and includes the large main house, a small 2-room schoolhouse, and a rare brick necessary.
The exhibits pictured are located in the secondary room in the small two-room school house behind the main house, and tell the stories of the Burwell family, Anna Burwell, Elizabeth Keckly, and the students who attended the Burwell School.
One of the challenging aspects of this projects was the limited amount of pictures and artifacts. We were intrigued by the stories we learned about the school, and wanted the visitor to have this same experience. We wanted to create a space that was still occupied by the spirit of the students. In our preliminary designs, we envisioned cut out silhouettes of girls in 1800’s dress and ambient sounds of chalk on a chalkboard, paper rustling, horse and carts riding by, and hushed whispers and giggle of schoolgirls.
Silhouette graphics framed by the windows make the schoolhouse appear occupied, especially in the evenings when they are back lit inside. Illustrations help to tell the story of the Burwell family, Elizabeth Keckly, and the students that attended. The graphics were given a nineteenth century appeal, and a chalk texture on a slate-inspired palette is used throughout the exhibit.
We collaborated with St. Mary’s School to produce recorded readings of students’ letters home. Six high school boarding students from the drama department at St. Mary’s volunteered to rehearse and read letters from a particular student featured on an interactive hand-set rail in the exhibit.