The collection is open for research.
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Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Benne Candy Ephemera, 1930's, Ms2025-052, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Benne Candy Ephemera was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in February 2018.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Benne Candy Ephemera was completed in July 2025.
Miriam B. Wilson, owner of the 'Colonial Belle Kitchen,' traveled from Ohio to Charleston, South Carolinia, and in the 1920's opened the kitchen downtown. In 1938 she opened the Old Slave Mart Museum, and moved her store into the museum. The kitchen sold confectionary treats and advertised that the treats were made using enslaved peoples' recipes, such as the Benne Candy.
External Source:
Yuhl, S. E. 2013. Hidden in Plain Sight: Centering the Domestic Slave Trade in American Public History. The Journal of Southern History, 79(3), 593–624. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23795089. Accessed July 7, 2025.
The collection contains three papers in relation to Benne Candy. The menu and blank order form are from the 'Colonial Belle Kitchen,' in Charleston, South Carolina, where Miss Wilson sold the Benne Candy. The third item is from the 'Savannah Benne Candy Company,' located in Savannah, Georgia, and includes a short description of the orgin of Benne Candy.
The guide to the Benne Candy Ephemera by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (