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New Philadelphia : 2004 Archaeology Report |
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THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS: Block 3 Paul Shackel
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE BLOCK AND LOT EXCAVATIONS Block 3, Lot 4 The deed and census data indicates that Frank McWorter sold Block 3, Lot 4 to Henry Brown in 1838. There are 10 transactions involving the lot in the following 100 years. While detailed information exists on the life of Frank McWorter (see Walker 1983), little information survives for the subsequent occupants of the lot. Using the deed and census data (see below) we can infer that the Clark and Hadsell families owned and occupied the site. While William Welbourne purchased the lot in the twentieth century he and his family appear in the 1880 Federal Census. The deed and census data related to Block 3, Lot 4 follow. The names italicized are those who may have occupied the lot.
DEED TRANSACTIONS
1850 FEDERAL CENSUS
1855 STATE CENSUS
1860 FEDERAL CENSUS
1865 STATE CENSUS*
(*the name Jesse Hadsell in the deed transaction can be either J.P Hadsell or James Hadsell. Both are listed here)
1870 FEDERAL CENSUS
(Clark and Hadsell appear in the census data, but the first names do not correspond exactly with the deed records.)
1880 FEDERAL CENSUS
Note: Kasiah Clark, probable mother of Alexander Clark (in the 1850 census), is listed as mulatto, 76 years of age, and living in the Louise McWorter household.
Archaeology for Block 3, Lot 4 Following is a summary of the archaeology for Block 3, Lot 4. (For a more detailed technical overview see the Unit Summaries in the appendix.) The archaeology team excavated a total of six units (Figure 3.8). Four of them, Excavation Units 3, 4, 5, and 6, formed a larger block that measure 10.0ft by 10.0ft and enabled the team to fully expose Feature 2. The surface grade of the site slopes from the center of the town that is adjacent to Broad Way to the west. Generally the topsoil of the plow zone ranges from a black (10YR 2/1) to a very dark grayish brown (10YR3/2). The depth of the plow zone averages about 1.0ft to 1.2ft below the surface (Figure 3.9). Artifacts, from the plowzone, designated megastratum I, are small, most no larger than 0.5 inch in diameter. The uniform small size of the artifacts is a result of continuous plowing. Diagnostic artifacts from the plow zone include cut nails (with dates ranging from 1790-1880) and ceramic whitewares (1820-1940). In this mixed context archaeologists found a 1903 Illinois State Fair pin, thus demonstrating that this site was occupied into the early twentieth century.
Figure 3.8. Location of excavation units in Block 3, Lot 4. (Courtesy, Likes Land Surveyors, Inc.)
Figure 3.9. North wall profile for Excavation Unit 3 in Block 3, Lot 4. Notice the slopes from west to east. (Image enhanced by William White.)
Archaeologists uncovered a lime slacking pit (Feature 2) in Excavation Units 3, 4, 5, and 6, below the plow zone (Figure 3.10). This feature measures 2.8ft by 4.4ft and was dug into the soil and subsoil and served as a basin for mixing lime and other materials to create an aggregate for plastering interior walls. The edge and top of the feature is about 0.4ft higher than the deepest part of the basin. Artifacts in close proximity to the lime pit are from the plow zone and have a mean ceramic date that ranges from 1805 through 1870. The earliest dated artifacts are pearlwares, and date to the earliest settlement era, and the later dated artifacts are whitewares, and are probably related the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century occupation of the site. While the excavation units are located in a plowed field, the existence of the lime pit indicates that a structure with plastered walls once existed nearby (Figure 3.11). Additional excavations in the area may uncover sealed contexts and the remains of an associated structure. These investigations will provide information about the use of the lot and the lifeways of the site’s former inhabitants of Block 3, Lot 4.
Figure 3.10. Planview and profile of the lime pit in Excavation Units 3, 4, 5, and 6 in Block 3, Lot 4. (Image enhanced by William White.)
Figure 3.11. Mapping in the remains of the lime pit. (Courtesy, Paul A. Shackel.)
Summary Coring For Block 3, Lot 6 The geophysical survey located several anomalies throughout the site (Figure 3.12). Using a 1 inch diameter core, archaeologists sampled the area in a systematic fashion. Each soil core probe is labeled by transect and core number (i.e. T1N1, T1N2, T2N1, T2N2). Transects 2 through 4 are located in 5 ft intervals west of transect 1 (Figure 3.13). Soil color, depth of stratigraphy, and any physical resistance to the core probe were noted for each sample.
Figure 3.12. Electromagnetic survey indicating several soil anomalies. (From Hargrave 2004. Grid overlay by Christopher Fennell.)
Figure 3.13. Soil core survey of Block 3, Lot 6 in the area of Anomaly J. Pt. 897 marks the southeast corner of the lot. (Drawn by Christopher Fennell.)
Anomaly A is located on the west portion of the Block 3, Lot 7, and related elements of this anomaly appear to extend across the area once covered by High Alley and into the eastern edge of Block 3, Lot 6 (Figure 3.14). Four transects of six cores ran in a north-south direction at five ft. intervals. The southern most part of T1 is 25 ft north and 5 ft east of the southeast corner of Block 3, Lot 6. Core sampling hit resistance in two clustered areas: one in the north section of transects 2 and 3 and one along the southern most part of transect 2.
Generally, each core sample reached a depth of about 1.8 ft below the surface. The uppermost layer consists of a 10YR3/2 (very dark grayish brown) and is located to an average depth of 0.9ft to 1.0 ft below the surface. This soil is the plow zone. The subsoil underlies the plow zone and it consists of a 10YR 3/2 (very dark grayish brown) mottled 10YR 4/3 (brown). Some resistance occurred at the north and southern portions of the ft below the surface, and in T1N5, and T1N6 resistance occurs at 0.65ft below the surface. This resistance may have been part of the anomaly area detected by the geophysical survey. In the southern section, which includes T2N1 through T2N3, the top soil layer consists of a 10YR3/2 (very dark grayish brown). Resistance to the probe occurred at an average depth of 0.6ft below the surface. Archaeologists placed one excavation unit that encompassed T1,N2; T1,N3; T2,N2; T2,N3. The unit was not completed by the end of the fieldseason (Figure xx).
Figure 3.14. Location of Excavation Unit 1 in Block 3, Lot 6 in the area of Anomaly J. (Courtesy, Likes Land Surveyors, Inc.)
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