Recent letters addressing the appropriateness of the name Plantation Road, including those suggesting that the name does not necessarily refer to southern plantations worked by slave labor, have omitted one important piece of context. There are at least five streets accessed from Plantation Road in the Plantations residential community that have names identical to famous southern plantation houses, each of which has its own Wikipedia page: Belle Grove, Boone Hall, Drayton Hall, Evelynton and Magnolia Plantation. Three of these houses – Boone Hall (www.boonehallplantation.com), Drayton Hall (www.draytonhall.org) and Magnolia Plantation (www.magnoliaplantation.com) – are currently operated as tourist sites/museums.
I do not know the history of the development of the Plantation Road area, but the fact that two major subdivisions off Plantation Road are named Plantations (note the plural) and the street name is sometimes also shown in the plural (see the Plantations Road street sign at Robinsonville Road) further reinforces the conclusion that the Plantation(s) street and subdivision names are not just generic terms but must instead clearly refer to the southern plantations reflected in the five street names noted above.
I do not want to weigh in at this time on whether any or all of these street names should be changed. I do think, however, that those taking positions on either side of the issue should have all the facts in front of them.
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