Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

Description of Project Area

The project area is located on the Northington block in the City of Williamsburg. This block is approximately 6.3 acres, bounded to the north by Lafayette Street, to the west by Boundary Street, to the south by Scotland Street and to the east by North Henry Street. The northern portion of the block is dominated by Colonial Williamsburg's Boundary Street Office Building, a parking lot and related facilities. The southern and central portions of the block are mostly residential, consisting of six houses, yards and three apartment buildings. Three houses front North Henry Street, including the recently relocated Cary Peyton Armistead house. The rest of the block, including the lot at the corner of North Henry and Scotland Streets, is greenspace.

The construction of the proposed underground parking garage would impact any historical remains in a corridor approximately 110 feet wide, extending approximately 750 2 Figure 1. Project area and location of structures depicted on the Frenchman's Map. feet west to east, from Boundary Street to North Henry Street. The site, designated as 44WB76, falls directly within this corridor of impact. The Phase II testing of the site was for the most part confined to 320 North Henry Street, the back yard of the lot on which the Armistead house now sits. The project area did, however, extend north into the 332 North Henry Street lot and south into the 415 Scotland Street lot.

Environmental Setting

The city of Williamsburg is located on the peninsula between the York and James Rivers. It is situated on a ridge surrounded by a series of ravines. According to the eighteenth-century Frenchman's and Desandrouin maps, the area now referred to as the Northington block is shown as a fairly level area with ravines located to the east and north. The nearest water sources are College Creek approximately one mile to the west and Queens Creek approximately 1.5 miles to the north.

In general, Williamsburg's summers are hot and humid averaging temperatures in the mid-nineties. The winters tend to be mild with an average temperature of thirty degrees with little precipitation.

Site 44WB76 on the Northington block is currently greenspace. This flat grassy area is bordered by beds of ivy, bushes and small trees. Larger trees, including several maples and oaks, are scattered throughout the project area. A few of these trees with other smaller trees and bushes create a barrier between the project area and Colonial Williamsburg's Boundary Street Office Building and parking lot. The remainder of the project area is residential, extending into private backyards containing a wide variety of trees and plant life.

Previous Archaeology

Over the last few years a series of Phase I and Phase II archaeological projects were conducted on particular lots contained within the Northington Block. A Phase I survey of 413 Scotland Street, done in March of 1995, identified an intact eighteenth-century layer yielding a light scatter of artifacts beneath a nineteenth century plowzone (Robinson 1996). A Phase II testing of 435 Scotland Street, conducted in January 1992, identified a similar eighteenth-century layer and nineteenth-century plowzone. In both cases, recommendations for further archaeological work were contingent upon whether or not the areas were to be impacted by future construction.

In June of 1995, in anticipation of the relocation of the Cary Peyton Armistead house, a Phase II testing project was conducted on the front portion of the 320 North Henry Street lot. Testing was necessary to assess the integrity of the site's archaeological resources. Many layers and features related to the nineteenth-century Wheatlands were uncovered, including the cellar to the house.

Units were placed in the cellar and it was determined that the fill was predominately twentieth- century debris and rubble associated with the 1968 demolition. It was concluded that this portion of the lot had been heavily impacted by the demolition of the house. An eighteenth-century component, most likely associated with the Holt tenure of the property, was identified in the western portion of the testing area, outside of the impact area (Metz 1995). No further work was recommended for this portion of the lot. In November 1995 the Armistead house was relocated to the front portion of the 320 North Henry Street lot. Construction associated with the relocation of the Armistead house destroyed most of the Wheatland's foundation and cellar.

Summary of Most Recent Phase I Results and Recommendations

In April of 1996, a Phase I archaeological survey was conducted on both the Northington and the City Municipal blocks. Shovel tests were dug at ten-meter intervals in areas not previously tested. On the Municipal block only, areas anticipated to be impacted by future construction were shovel tested. In areas where artifact concentrations were identified, the interval was reduced to five meters. No sites were found on the City Municipal block; one site was identified on the Northington block (Robinson 1996).

The site identified on the Northington block was approximately 45 by 35 meters in size and appeared to have intact eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century components. Areas containing distinct artifact distributions, stratigraphy and features were identified within the site boundaries during the Phase I survey.

Shovel testing in the western portion of the site revealed an intact layer containing a high concentration of artifacts which dated to the late eighteenth/early nineteenth centuries. A trenchlike feature, possibly relating to the William Holt tenure of the site, was found in the northeastern portion of the site. Just over two meters northwest of this feature, a thin layer of compacted, fossilized shell was found, possibly indicating a garden pathway. In the eastern portion of the testing area, one brick foundation for a nineteenth-century outbuilding as well as a brick floor were found. In addition, much twentieth-century disturbance 4 was encountered, relating to the demolition of the Wheatlands in 1968 (Robinson 1996). The extent of the destruction and its impact on the site's integrity was not determined at this time.

Phase II testing was recommended to investigate the features and layers identified during the survey and to assess the impact of modern disturbances on the site's overall integrity. The site as defined by the Phase I testing falls directly within the area scheduled to be impacted by the construction of the underground parking garage. Phase II testing was recommended to further assess the extent and integrity of the site's archaeological resources as well as to document the resources to be impacted by the pending construction. In total, sixteen 1 x 1 meter and one 50 x 50 cm test units were opened within the project area, in an effort to locate and assess the layers and features designated as site 44WB76.

Criteria for Evaluation of Significance

There are four criteria used by the National Register to determine the significance of cultural resources. In order for cultural resources to be deemed significant, they must meet and satisfy at least one of the four criteria listed below.

The cultural resources must:

• A.be associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or
• B.be associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or
• C.embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or represent the work of a master, or possess high artistic values, or represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or
• D.have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history (U.S. Department of the Interior 1991).

Phase II testing was required to determine the potential significance of Site 44WB76 and its eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places based upon these criteria.

Research Design

Urban plantations are known to have existed in the Williamsburg area throughout the eighteenth century. These plantations were usually located on the fringes of urban centers, although that was not always the case. The Peyton Randolph, Grissell Hay, and Brush-Everard properties, so called "urban plantations", are located within the town limits, no more than a block or two away from the Palace Green. Archaeological excavations were conducted on all three sites, resulting in the recovery a series of outbuildings including dairies, kitchens, stables and smokehouses (e.g. Edwards 1996). In addition, each property contained a substantial garden.

Urban plantations share characteristics associated with large rural plantations as well as urban domestic sites (Brown et al 1986: 173). Perhaps the most distinct characteristic of an urban plantation would be its self-sufficiency. Often the urban plantation, much like larger rural plantations, was self reliant, providing both the space and the labor to carry out a number of specialized activities. The Peyton Randolph property contained a number of outbuildings for specialized activities, such as a dairy, smokehouse and laundry, as well as 6 a large garden producing a variety of crops. Although the Randolph family had access to market goods and services, they were not totally dependent upon them.

Research was geared towards locating evidence of self sufficient urban plantations, manifested archaeologically by the presence of multiple outbuildings evidencing specialized use as well as extensive gardens or planting features. Historical research suggests that perhaps the eighteenth century component of this site is part of the urban plantation known to have existed on this block. The research design, including field methods and laboratory procedures, was focused on locating any evidence of layers and features associated with an eighteenth-century urban plantation. In addition, testing was to determine site boundaries and assess site integrity as well as document the remaining evidence of Wheatlands.

According to a resource protection plan developed in the 1980s for this area, the relationship between the early development of Williamsburg, rural plantations and urban plantation sites and their part in the understanding of "social, economic and political life of the American colonies" is of National significance (Brown et al 1986: 173).

Field Methods

During the Phase I testing of the Northington block, the shovel tests in the area designated as Site 44WB76 produced a concentration of artifacts relating to the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Testing efforts were concentrated on locating intact cultural layers and features in order to determine tighter and more specific dates for site occupation and activity. Efforts were made to better define site boundaries through the systematic placement of test units. Phase II testing would also provide the information needed to further assess the impact of modern disturbances on the archaeological resources. A total of sixteen one meter square and one fifty centimeter square test units were excavated. The placement of the test units was tied into a grid superimposed over the town in order to establish the exact locations of the test units.

The results of the Phase I testing, as well as the goals of the Phase II testing outlined above, determined the placement of the test units. The seventeen test units were excavated in areas determined to have the greatest archaeological potential. All units were placed at intervals of five meters, with the exception of the units in the eastern portion of the testing area, where foundations were encountered just below topsoil. In this area, units were placed either immediately next to or within five meters of an existing unit to determine the shape and size of the outbuildings as well as the stratigraphic relationships between the foundations and surrounding layers.

The coordinates of the NW corner of each test unit were used to designate location on the city grid. All excavated layers and features were given specific context numbers. Artifacts were collected and recorded by context. Standardized forms were used to record information related to the individual contexts.

All test units were hand excavated using a combination of shovels and trowels. The topsoil and concentrated destruction layers were for the most part shoveled, while intact layers and features were excavated with a trowel. All soil was screened through ¼ inch mesh and all artifacts were recorded regardless of age. Artifacts were collected and sent in 7 to the laboratory for analysis, with the exception of shell, brick and mortar, from which a representative sample was taken and the rest only recorded. Core samples were taken at the conclusion of the excavation of each unit in order to verify that subsoil had indeed been reached. In areas not excavated to subsoil, the cores were used to document the extent of fill and disturbance.

All features were drawn and photographed in both black and white and color. At least one wall of every test unit was profiled. In units where the stratigraphy varied from wall to wall, multiple profiles were drawn. A site map was compiled using existing structures and property lines as markers. All significant drawings and maps were digitized using AutoCAD. All notes, maps and drawings are stored at Colonial Williamsburg's Department of Archaeological Research.

Laboratory Procedures

All artifacts were washed, identified and catalogued by Colonial Williamsburg's Department of Archaeological Research. An inventory has been compiled for each context, listing the artifacts recovered and a TPQ. The TPQ, terminus post quem, for each context is used to provide a date before which a context could not have been deposited, based upon the earliest manufacture date of the latest artifact removed from a particular context. Each inventory highlights the artifact upon which the TPQ date was based. All artifacts were then entered into a database system called Re:discovery, where the information is stored in an easily accessible format.

The artifacts recovered during the Phase II testing of Site 44WB76 have been bagged and boxed using materials of conservation quality. These artifacts are stored at Colonial Williamsburg's Department of Archaeological Research.

Historic Context

The project area is located in Virginia's Northern Coastal Plain region, an area rich in both prehistoric and historic sites. This discussion of the project area's historic context includes mention of known historic and prehistoric archaeological sites in the immediate vicinity (within a kilometer radius) and a predictive model of sites one would expect to find on or near the parcel under investigation.

Site Specific Historical Background

The parcel of land (lots 212- 217), on which site 44WB76 is located, was first mentioned in a deed dated December 1, 1746 (Stephenson 1990:5-7) The deed indicates that Thomas Corbin of Urbanna first leased the property from the trustees of Williamsburg in 1722. Corbin conveyed the property to a prominent lawyer named John Holloway in 1732. The deed goes on to say that Holloway named Augustine Moore, Thomas Jones and William Robertson the executors of his estate before his death in 1734. Holloway's estate must have been in litigation for several years for Thomas Jones, the only surviving executor, finally sold the estate to Dr. John Amson in 1746 for 43 pounds. The deed indicated that the "houses, Outhouses, Edifices, Buildings, Yards, (and) Gardens" existed on the property at the time of sale (Stephenson 1990:5-7).

Robert Anderson and his wife, Ann, acquired the parcel from Dr. Amson's estate in July 1765. Three years later, Mayor James Cocke of Williamsburg issued a statement "to remove the ill impressions which the breaking out of small pox in this city has probably made"(Stephenson 1990:10) . The mayor's proclamation directed that others showing the symptoms of the virus be taken to Robert Anderson's house for treatment. Mayor Cocke describes the Anderson property as being " in a retired part of the city" (Stephenson 1990:10) .

Robert Anderson sold his urban plantation to Dr. James Carter in July 1769 for 1143 pounds. Little is known about the Carter's occupation of the site beyond an event mentioned in a letter to an acquaintance in London. He reported that he sold sheep and cattle to a unit of the British Light Infantry under the command of Colonel Abercrombie (Stephenson 1990:12). He also allowed them to stay in his house in 1781. James and Hester Carter conveyed the property to William Holt later that same year.

Documents relating to William Holt's tenure of the property provide some indication of what the property may have looked like in the eighteenth century. The deed of sale mentions "Houses, Buildings, Gardens, Orchards, Ways [and] Waters" (Stephenson 1990:13) .

Both the Desandrouin and Frenchman's maps of the early 1780s show buildings and gardens throughout lots 212-217. Finally, the ledger of Humphrey Harwood, a local builder, provides information specific to the types of structures located on Holt's urban plantation. The account book lists repairs made to the house, kitchen, dairy , smokehouse, ash house, and cellar between 1783 and 1784(Stephenson 1990:15). Although William Holt owned 13 several properties on Williamsburg, the entries in Harwood's account book probably refer to lots 212- 217.

Holt's estate sold six lots of the Henry Street parcel to John Sewell in 1807. Sewell, in turn, conveyed the property to Henley Taylor in 1827. Holt's house was replaced in the 1840s by a home that became known as the Wheatlands. The original parcel formed by lots 212-217 appears to have remained intact until after the Civil War. Taylor's name disappears from the tax list in 1850 and the property passed through several owners in quick succession (Stephenson 1990: 16-17). By 1900, at least three homes stood along Scotland Street. Dr. John Henderson bought Wheatlands from the O'Keefe family in 1907 and continued to live there until his death in 1959. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation acquired the property from the Henderson family in 1959. Wheatlands, however, had deteriorated beyond repair by that time and had to be demolished in 1968.

Twentieth-Century Occupation and Activity

Various documents tell us that the domestic complex known as the Wheatlands stood on this property until the late 1960s, when it was demolished. The house was lived in continuously from the 1840s until 1959 when the Henderson family sold the property, the house and the related outbuildings to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Metz 1995). Much activity occurred on the property throughout the 150 years it was occupied and in many cases the more recent activity was much more prevalent archaeologically than the earlier activities.

The most obvious example of this is the modern destruction layer associated with the demolition of Wheatlands house, encountered in test units 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7. The destruction debris from Wheatlands appears to have been spread throughout the center portion of the testing area, effectively erasing most of the early twentieth century stratigraphy. However, traces of a thin dark gray loam containing whiteware, Chinese porcelain, and bottle glass was found beneath the destruction layer in test units 2 and 5. This layer appears to be all that remains of the twentieth-century ground surface (topsoil) prior to the 1968 demolition of the Wheatlands.

Other modern disturbances, most likely associated with the addition of utilities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, were found in test units 2 and 13. Test unit 2 contained a series of secondary fill layers dating to the late nineteenth/early twentieth century. This test unit was excavated to a depth of 38 centimeters where a thick redeposited clay layer was encountered, often used to seal modern utilities. This layer was cored an additional 25 centimeters and subsoil was not reached.

In test unit 13, a modern feature was found just below topsoil, covering the western third of the unit. It consisted of a compact yellow clay and appeared ovate in plan. This feature was excavated to the level at which subsoil appeared in the rest of the unit. It cut several twentieth and nineteenth century layers, as well as subsoil. The function of the feature was not determined although based upon its stratigraphic positioning, soil type and content of artifacts (window glass, nails and pebble inclusions) it is assumed to be associated with the addition or maintenance of a modern utility.

Further evidence of twentieth-century activity was found in test unit 14, located in the northwestern portion of the testing area. A layer of plowzone, having a TPQ of 1912, was 15 Figure 2. Location of Wheatlands outbuildings. excavated. This plowzone sealed subsoil and a series of at least six different plow scars, indicating continual plowing/ gardening throughout the twentieth century.

The relocation of the Cary Peyton Armistead house to the front of the 320 North Henry lot is the most recent disturbance to have occurred on this property. Prior to its relocation, a Phase II archaeological investigation was conducted. During the Phase II, the Wheatlands cellar was located, however, testing determined that it contained only fill associated with the destruction process dating to the mid twentieth century. In preparation for the Armistead relocation, the property was machine graded to level the ground surface. Consequently most of the cellar of the Wheatlands house was destroyed.

The most recent activities associated with Wheatlands were clearly demonstrated by the archaeological record. Plowing, the addition of utilities such as sewer and gas, the demolition of the Wheatlands house and its outbuildings, and the relocation of the Armistead house significantly altered, if not entirely eliminated, intact evidence of late nineteenth/early twentieth-century Wheatlands activities.

Nineteenth-Century Occupation and Activity

A great deal of archaeological evidence relating to nineteenth-century Wheatlands activity was recovered during the Phase II testing of Site 44WB76. Archaeological evidence 16 indicating both large and small scale nineteenth century landscaping efforts was encountered in test units 10, 11, and 15. Test units 1, 3, 6, 8, 9 and 10 revealed portions of the Wheatlands outbuildings known to have been constructed in the mid to late nineteenth century and utilized until their demolition in 1968. In addition, what appeared to be an intact nineteenth-century layer containing a scatter of domestic refuse including creamware, pearlware, mocha, bottle glass, and bone was found in test unit 5.

Eighteenth-Century Occupation and Activity

Although many of the test units contained eighteenth-century artifacts which suggest colonial activities, these artifacts were mixed with artifacts dating to the nineteenth century. Of the fifteen units excavated within the project area, only two test units contained intact eighteenth-century layers or features. In addition, two test units south of the proposed construction area contained a concentration of eighteenth- century artifacts and a feature that may also date to the eighteenth century.

Recommendations

It is clear from the above conclusions, that the site's integrity has been severely impacted by continual nineteenth and twentieth-century activities. These activities, including the demolition of the Wheatlands' house and outbuildings, the possible addition of modern utilities and the nineteenth-century landscaping efforts are clearly demonstrated by the Phase II test results. Each of these activities has had an impact on the site, compromising its integrity and limiting the information that further work on the site could provide.

Evidence of nineteenth-century occupation and activity was found in many of the units. The filling episodes occurring throughout the nineteenth century suggest that the natural environment and perhaps even the eighteenth-century landscape were altered or manipulated. However, the fill used to level various areas appears to be for the most part brought in from off the site. Although these filling episodes did occur in the nineteenth-century and are indicative of Wheatlands activities, little knowledge about the site would be gained from a Phase III data recovery.

This excavation and the associated documentation of the outbuilding remains has successfully exhausted the research potential of Site 44WB76. Further investigation would not make any significant contributions to the understanding of eighteenth-century urban plantations or the nineteenth-century occupation of Wheatlands. The results of the Phase II testing indicate that no further work at Site 44WB76, is necessary within the proposed construction area, nor is it eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under any National Register criteria.