Tawawa House
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Tawawa House is an opera written by Zenobia Powell Perry in 1985. It premiered at Central State University in 1987. A fully staged revival took place in 2014 in Modesto, California.
Tawawa House is based on a real-life place in Ohio and set in 1852.[1] In the town of Wilberforce, Ohio, there was a watering hole called Tawawa by the Native Americans in the area.[2] A large, 300 room house, that served as a hotel in Wilberforce eventually became known as "Tawawa House."[2] Tawawa House was "notorious for its popularity among slaveholders and their enslaved mistresses" during the 1850s.[3] Travelers and vacationers were drawn to the natural springs in the area and stayed at the resort owned by lawyer and state legislator, Elias Drake.[3] Slaves that worked at the hotel were able to earn their freedom and get an education.[1] The house was also part of the underground railroad.[4] Later, the site became Wilberforce University.[5][6] Wilberforce was the first black-owned college in the United States.[5]
Perry found the story of Tawawa House especially interesting due to her own multiracial heritage.[2] When she first moved to Wilberforce, Ohio, she began to research the history of the town and found the story of Tawawa House.[7] Powell dedicated the opera to her parents.[8]