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2013

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Farmsteads

Articles 1 - 15 of 15

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Assumptions About Consumption In The Archaeology Of Late Nineteenth-Century Farmsteads, Niels R. Rinehart Dec 2013

Assumptions About Consumption In The Archaeology Of Late Nineteenth-Century Farmsteads, Niels R. Rinehart

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Farming is typically associated with rural environments. The Dubois Site in Albany, New York, however, presented an opportunity to look at a farmstead close to a growing urban center during the second half of the 19th century. The excavations of the Dubois Site are discussed and the results are compared to the more rural Porter Site, a contemporary 19th-century farmstead. The comparison examines how the different contexts might have impacted consumption and production at the two farms, as well as the treatment of the farmstead landscapes. The two New York sites are then contrasted with four contemporary farm sites in …


"In Delaware The Millennium Has Begun": 19th-Century Farmstead Archaeology And The Methodist Discipline, Michael D. Scholl Oct 2013

"In Delaware The Millennium Has Begun": 19th-Century Farmstead Archaeology And The Methodist Discipline, Michael D. Scholl

Northeast Historical Archaeology

By the beginning of the 19th century the Methodist movement had gained so many converts in the state of Delaware that Francis Asbury had likened it to the coming of the New Millenium. The growth of Methodism I the state was a powerful social force in rural 19th-century Delaware. Guidlines and behavioral rules were published annually in a series entitled the Discipline. The Methodist Discipline provides a contextual backdrop for understanding 19th-century farming families. This case study examines the Methodist farmer George W. Buchanan and his family who in the mid-part of the century established a farmstead in southern New …


Addressing An Historic Preservation Dilemma: The Future Of Nineteenth-Century Farmstead Archaeology In The Northeast, Terry H. Klein, Sherene Baugher Sep 2013

Addressing An Historic Preservation Dilemma: The Future Of Nineteenth-Century Farmstead Archaeology In The Northeast, Terry H. Klein, Sherene Baugher

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This summary article identifies the goals of the volume and a framework for evaluating, interpreting, and preserving farmstead sites. The article also discusses how to apply this framework and mentions the roles of the government, academia, and the public.


A System For Ranking The Research Potential Of 19th- And 20th- Century Farmstead Sites, George L. Miller, Terry H. Klein Sep 2013

A System For Ranking The Research Potential Of 19th- And 20th- Century Farmstead Sites, George L. Miller, Terry H. Klein

Northeast Historical Archaeology

There is a need to establish a systematic and objective process for evaluating the research potential of farmstead sites so that intelligent choices can be made in deciding which sites should be investigated and managed and which should not. We propose the use of a checklist of traits that measure a site's research potential. Each of the traits in the checklist is assigned a score based on its value in providing important data for analyzing a site. The proposed checklist is a tool for organizing our observations and permitting comparisons from one site to the next as well as one …


Research Questions For The Archaeology Of Rural Places: Experiences From The Middle Atlantic, Wade Catts Sep 2013

Research Questions For The Archaeology Of Rural Places: Experiences From The Middle Atlantic, Wade Catts

Northeast Historical Archaeology

That some 19th-century farmsteads and other rural places have significance is generally conceded as true. Our problem as historical archaeologists is to develop research questions and directions that illuminate and explain to a broad audience the significance of the physical evidence of the sultures of agriculture in American history. This essay looks at some of the writings of early agricultural historians and draws on previous historical and archaeological farmstead studies in the Middle Atlantic region. Ideas about the success (or failure) of field approaches are presented, and suggestions for research directions that could serve as over-arching themes to tie the …


Trying To Think Progressively About 19th-Century Farms, Mary C. Beaudry Sep 2013

Trying To Think Progressively About 19th-Century Farms, Mary C. Beaudry

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Recent excavations at a 19th-century estate manager's farm at Milton, South Uist, in the Western Isles of Scotland, prompt comparison with New England farms of the same era. Of particular interest is the material signature of the move toward "progressive farming" manifested through the construction of model farms and the introduction of industrially-inspired farm management practices and technological innovations. Comparisons drawn between the Hebriden case study, Milton Farm, and the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury Massachusetts.


How The Past Becomes A Place: An Example From 19th-Century Maryland, Julia A. King Sep 2013

How The Past Becomes A Place: An Example From 19th-Century Maryland, Julia A. King

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This paper examines how certain landscapes were remade as places important in the collective memory in 19th-century America. Specifically, archaeological, documentary, and literary evidence are used to show how Susquehanna, a 19th-century tobacco and wheat farm in St. Mary's County, Maryland was reconfigured as a place important in the state's past. By imagining Susquehanna and the region in which it was located as a place in time, many upper and middle class Marylanders were able to reconcile the growing differences between the southern and northern parts of the state. The actions of these 19th-century men and women are not unrelated …


The Archaeology Of Agriculture And Rural Life In Northern Delaware, 1800-1940, Lu Ann De Cunzo Sep 2013

The Archaeology Of Agriculture And Rural Life In Northern Delaware, 1800-1940, Lu Ann De Cunzo

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Like our colleagues across the Northeast, Delaware archaeologists have been challenged by the state's thousands of 19th- through 20th-century agricultural sites. They range from larger farms to small tenancies and laborers' dwellings; many remain at least partially extant, many others survive only below ground. This article introduces the character and diversity, continuity and transformations of 19th- through mid 20th-century Delaware agriculture and rural life, and archaeologists' contributions to our understanding of these phenomena. Narratives of selected agricultural properties and people from New Castle County's Upper Coastal Plain illustrate the approach and the knowledge it has produced, with special emphases on …


Living On The Edge: Consumption And Class At The Keith Site, Maria O'Donovan, Lou Ann Wurst Sep 2013

Living On The Edge: Consumption And Class At The Keith Site, Maria O'Donovan, Lou Ann Wurst

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Ceramics from the Keith Site, a farmstead in upstate New York, are principally expensive, early nineteenth century table and tea vessels. Documentary evidence places the site occupation at the mid-century which is confirmed by TPQ dates. Moreover, the site's residents were lower class farmers and other artifact classes show little investment in consumption. These discrepancies become clear when we consider the high diversity of ceramic vessels, which we would expect if the site residents purchased older, cheaper vessels in "odd lots." Consumer choise models rest on ideologically loaded assumptions of free will and unlimited choice in the market place. The …


Rethinking The Mengkom-Mixing Bowl: Salvage Archaeology At The Johannes Luyster House, A Dutch-American Farm, Gerard P. Scharfenberger, Richard F. Veit Sep 2013

Rethinking The Mengkom-Mixing Bowl: Salvage Archaeology At The Johannes Luyster House, A Dutch-American Farm, Gerard P. Scharfenberger, Richard F. Veit

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Salvage excavations at the Johannes Luyster Farm (28Mo261) revleade extensive archaeological depostis reflecting three centuries of life on a Dutch-American farm. These deposties, when taken in conjunction with the architecture of the house and surviving primary documents, provide a glimpse of the changing lifestyles of the Jersey Dutch during the 19th century. Although the Luysters maintained some aspects of their ethnic heritage, they also participated in many aspects of the larger society. Case studies of the individual sites such as this one are a first step towards understanding the interrelationships between national trends and their local manifestations. Furthermore, they highlight …


Burning Down The House: The Archaeological Manifestation Of Fire On Historic Domestic Sites, Dena Doroszenko Sep 2013

Burning Down The House: The Archaeological Manifestation Of Fire On Historic Domestic Sites, Dena Doroszenko

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This paper examines the manifestation of fire as found archaeologically at two historic domestic sites in Ontario. Each site experienced a burning episode of varying significance in the property's history. Soil deposition, debris fields, heat alteration of artifacts, fire intensity, and types of fire debris are discussed.


What Is It? Archaeological Evidence Of 19th-Century Agricultural Drainage Systems, Sherene Baugher Sep 2013

What Is It? Archaeological Evidence Of 19th-Century Agricultural Drainage Systems, Sherene Baugher

Northeast Historical Archaeology

Farm drainage was an integral part of the agricultural revloution of the 19th century- a tim during which farmers applied scientific practices to increase the productivity of their farms. As archaeologiests excavate larger portions of the 19th century farmsteads beyond the immediate area surrounding the farmhouse and barns, they will begin to uncover drainage systems more frequently. How do you know you have located a non-tile drainage system? What can drains actually tell you about the farmer and the farmstead? The goal of this paper is to help colleagues save time when working on farm sites by presenting a reference …


Recovering Information Worth Knowing: Developing More Discriminating Approaches For Selecting Nineteenth-Century Rural Domestic Sites And Farmsteads, Karen D. Mccann, Robert L. Ewing Sep 2013

Recovering Information Worth Knowing: Developing More Discriminating Approaches For Selecting Nineteenth-Century Rural Domestic Sites And Farmsteads, Karen D. Mccann, Robert L. Ewing

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This article examines the difficulties faced by one state agency (NYSDOT) when the primary focus of a cultural resource survey program shifts from managing rare and clearly significant archaeological sites to a cultural resource survey program that addresses the more commonly found historical archaeological sites associated with mid to late 19th-century farmsteads and rural domestic sites. It encourages a critical review of cultural resource survey results in order to develop meaningful and effective selection criteria for deciding how limited public funds should be allocated for cultural resource surveys.


The Archaeology Of 19th-Century Farmsteads: The Results Of A Workshop Held At The 1997 Annual Meeting Of The Council For Northeast Historical Archaeology, Terry H. Klein, George L. Miller, Mark Shaffer, Wade Catts, Mary Beaudry, Lu Ann De Cunzo, Dena Doroszenko Sep 2013

The Archaeology Of 19th-Century Farmsteads: The Results Of A Workshop Held At The 1997 Annual Meeting Of The Council For Northeast Historical Archaeology, Terry H. Klein, George L. Miller, Mark Shaffer, Wade Catts, Mary Beaudry, Lu Ann De Cunzo, Dena Doroszenko

Northeast Historical Archaeology

A workshop was held at the 1997 annual meeting of the Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology (CNEHA) to address the question "What do we do with 19th-century farmsteads in the Northeast?" The workshop involved several brainstorming sessions in which the participants examined topics and problems associated with current approaches to the archaeological investigation of farmstead sites. These brainstorming sessions examined questions such as: "What is a 19th-century farmstead?" "What are the research and public values of these sites?" "Which sites should be examined?" and "How should these sites be investigated?" The workshop ended with the development of an action agenda …


Introduction: The Archaeology Of Nineteenth-Century Farmsteads In Northeastern Canada And The United States, Sherene Baugher, Terry H. Klein Sep 2013

Introduction: The Archaeology Of Nineteenth-Century Farmsteads In Northeastern Canada And The United States, Sherene Baugher, Terry H. Klein

Northeast Historical Archaeology

This introduction to this joint volume discusses the importance of 19th century farmstead sites as discussed at the 1997 annual CNEHA meeting in Altoona, Pennsylvania. This meeting examined the current issues associated with the approach to archaeological investigations of 19th-century farmsteads.