Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18AG206 Mechanic Street
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
This project was undertaken as part of the Station Square Project, a major phase in the Canal Parkway Development Project in Cumberland, MD. The Station Square portion of the project included a paved and landscaped parking plaza, the Canal Street Promenade, Station Square Plaza, and a Picnic Grove, all located in the vicinity of the former Chesapeake and Ohio (C & O) canal terminus and the extant Western Maryland Railroad Station. The project area was in a typical commercial district within the oldest part of the city.
Phase I and II investigation identified a portion of the project area which contained significant archaeological resources, the Mechanic Street Site (18AG206). Intact features and backyard surfaces relating to early and mid-nineteenth century occupation lay beneath modern fill deposits. Phase III data recovery was implemented in order to better understand the development of middle and working class culture in a small town. The Phase III report includes many conclusions regarding social structure, material consumption, economics and capitalism in Cumberland.
Phase II archaeological testing was conducted within the 61 meter (200 ft) wide (east-west) portion of the redevelopment project area. It included the excavation of 21 test units (predominantly 91.5 X 91.5 meter or 3 ft X 3 ft) placed within15 backhoe trenches that were dug into the yards behind the Mechanic Street residential structures. The Phase III project reestablished the Phase II site grid and excavated an additional 15 test units (1.524 X 1.524 m or 5 ft X 5 ft), as well as all features exposed during backhoe removal of overburden and debris.
Numerous historic features related to the 19th and early 20th century households present at the site were encountered. Such features included trash pits, post molds/holes, construction trenches, foundations, privies, cisterns, and sheet middens.
Artifact quantities provided both above and below are approximate and include both data from the Phase II and Phase III work.
444 activity-related items were recovered from the site. Seventeen toys (mostly marbles), 1 coin, 205 lamp and light components (145 of glass), 47 pieces of hardware, 30 pieces of non-electric wire, 58 plumbing activity items, 3 items related to horse stables, a calendar, 9 terra cotta flowerpots, 66 workshop-type items (springs, batteries, garage objects, etc.), and 7 miscellaneous objects make up the assemblage.
6,394 architectural objects were uncovered. Most of this was window glass and nails. The window glass (4074 objects) accounts for a large percentage of the overall glass uncovered from the site in the tally above. Of the nails, 1 handwrought nail, 153 cut nails/fragments, 29 wire nails/fragments, 2 rosehead nails/fragments, 10 T headed nails/fragments, and 1,810 unidentified nails/fragments were excavated. The other architectural objects were 13 pieces of architectural stone, 2 handmade bricks, 109 other brick fragments, 57 pieces of mortar, a ceramic tile, 9 pieces of privacy glass, 10 other flat glass pieces, 2 tacks, 27 spikes, 2 screws, 4 nuts/bolts, 18 pieces of architectural hardware, a wooden peg, 19 electrical parts, 6 pieces of electrical wire, 2 lock parts, 2 plumbing pieces, 16 fragments of wallpaper, a pieces of tar paper, and 14 miscellaneous architectural objects.
82 clothing objects were recovered. These included 73 buttons (bone, porcelain, glass, brass, wooden, shell, & steel), four shoe pieces (2 rubber and 2 leather), 1 piece of cloth, 2 buckles, 1 thimble and 2 other objects.
Furniture objects were sparse. Five brass upholstery-type tacks, 2 pieces of furniture hardware, and 1 decorative object make up the entire assemblage.
The kitchen assemblage contained approximately 19,771 items. The ceramics consisted of some 10,751 sherds and pottery objects. There are 3 sherds of Jackfield-type earthenware. There is also 1 sherd of coarse earthenware, 2 ivory-colored, and 20 buff-bodied earthenware objects. Nine items can only be classified as early refined earthenware (probably Lusterware). A total of 994 creamware objects were recovered, along with some 2,508 pearlware sherds. There were 320 pieces of kitchen porcelain, the vast majority of which is from the 19th century. 530 ironstone objects were recovered, again, most of which have 19th century origins. There is one piece of 20th century refined earthenware. 73 sherds of domestic brown stoneware, 125 sherds of domestic grey stoneware, 1 piece of imported grey stoneware, 1 sherd of white salt-glazed stoneware, and 14 pieces of miscellaneous stonewares were uncovered. 2,936 whiteware sherds were recovered, along with 70 yelloware, and 2,756 redware sherds. An additional 387 unidentifiable or miscellaneous sherds were also excavated. Seven lids for various containers (mason jars, metal and glass containers, etc.) were recovered. Kitchen glass consisted of 142 table glass objects/pieces, 19 free-blown bottle fragments, 724 blown-in-mold fragments, 94 machine made fragments, and 2,513 other bottle fragments. 1 tin can and 15 utensil parts were recovered. In addition to all of the above, 30 miscellaneous kitchen objects were excavated.
The faunal remains (included in the kitchen tally above) included 5,108 animal bones, teeth, or claws, 284 pieces of oyster shell, 3 clams, 9 other shells, and 3 fish scales. A minimum of 58 domestic mammals (27 pigs, 22 cows, 8 sheep/goats, 1 horse), 4 deer, 3 squirrels, 4 rabbits, 16 domestic chickens, 3 wild/domestic turkeys, 2 ducks, 1 Canada goose, 1 probable pheasant, 4 doves/pigeons, and 3 fish (1 gar, 1 trout, 1 shark/ray) were identified. No reptile or amphibian remains were found. Other identified fauna (commensal animals not part of the food assemblage) included 10 rats and 3 domestic cats/kittens. Although horsemeat may have been consumed, it is more likely that the isolated foot element is incidental in the assemblage. Sixty-eight seed and nut pieces (also part of the kitchen tally) were recovered (aside from those found through flotation).
There were 35 objects recovered that can be classified as “personal” objects. Three fragments of mirrors were excavated, along with 9 combs (7 made of bone), a plastic barrette, 1 piece of worked shell, 3 pieces of jewelry, 2 bone toothbrushes, and 16 fragments from chamberpot(s).
There were 267 tobacco-related items excavated, most of which were pipe stems. 198 clay fragments and 1 plastic pipe stem were uncovered, along with 66 pipe bowls and 2 complete tobacco pipes.
Only four items can be categorized as arms; three French gunflints and 1 center fire rifle cartridge.
A total of 1,113 miscellaneous objects were also uncovered, the vast majority of which are metal scraps of unidentified form (802), unidentified glass (197), and objects related to the burning of coal (79).
And finally, nine prehistoric objects were encountered during the excavations. All were chert flakes, except for a single triangular projectile point. One of the chert flakes bore evidence of utilization.
Twenty-six flotation samples were collected from 18 nineteenth-century features which included a nineteenth-century privy, a brick drain, a water stain, several post holes and ash pits, three pits, and two trenches. The recovery of macroplant remains from the Mechanic Street flotation samples was excellent. A total of 15,328 seeds (7 charred) were retrieved from the flotation samples. Forty-seven plant taxa were identified during this analysis, including 15 cultigens, 11 possible cultigens, 5 naturally occurring fruits and berries, 12 naturally occurring herbaceous plants, 1 black walnut hull, 2 grasses, 1 composite, and 44 unknown seeds. Approximately 75% of these seeds (and 37 plant taxa) were recovered from the privy. A complete listing of the plants recovered can be found in the ethnobotanical profile for 18AG206. 182 pieces of mammal bone, all tiny unidentifiable fragments, were recovered from these feature flotation samples.
This study makes use of both the archaeological assemblages discussed above, as well as historical records to examine, primarily, changing attitudes and social relations during a period of economic transition from mercantile to industrialized capitalism. The excavators found evidence of differential acceptance of this new “industrial” lifestyle by the various households examined in the study area.
|
