Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18BA325 Poe-Burns Duplex
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
The Poe-Burns Duplex Site (18BA325) consists of a non-extant mid-19th century two-story stone residential duplex, converted to a single-family dwelling, with a frame garage and divided terraced back yard. The structure, which was dated to between 1854 and 1866, is listed on the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties as BA-1837. The site is located in the town of Texas, Baltimore County, Maryland where the dwelling fronted onto Railroad Avenue. The land on which the house was located had been leveled to the elevation of the road. The back yard was relatively flat having been filled to level it from a gently westward sloping topography. The yard area north of the building was elevated above the house terrain and was filled significantly. Stratigraphy at the site consists of modern topsoil, a fill level, and a buried topsoil/cultural horizon.
The village of Texas was a 19th century Irish Catholic community where limestone quarrying and the production of lime was the principal economic activity. Even into modern times, quarrying activities continue to exploit the natural limestone resources and large sections of the local landscape have been heavily altered by the quarrying and later landfilling activities. The town is situated in a valley (Limestone Valley) that was once part of St. Paul’s Parish and in the Backs River Upper Hundred, one of the three original ‘Hundreds’ in the county. Early names for the town were Clarksville, Clark’s Switch, Quarryville, Goosetown and Ellengowan. The town received its final name of Texas in the late 1840s during the Mexican-American War. It was said to have been named to honor a local rifle company called the “Texas Greens” who fought in the war. The area of Texas was first settled in 1703 by Joseph Taylor. In 1725, Thomas Cockey purchased Taylor’s improved house and lands. Cockey owned the land until his death in 1737; there was no evidence that he conducted any improvements within the tract. Cockey’s son, Thomas Cockey Deye, inherited the land at his father’s death. In 1804, John Clark began a small-scale quarrying and lime operation on land that he was leasing from Cockey Deye (in 1849 John Clark finally purchased a 23 acre parcel of Lot #3). By 1810, Cockey’s descendants had divided the family landholdings into several lots. All of Lot #3, approximately 168 acre, and a strip of Lot #4 would become the village of Texas. During the 19th century, the valley was primarily agricultural and lime was used as a soil conditioner. Prior to its being made commercial, many local farmers operated their own lime kilns.
The arrival of the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad in the village in 1832 had encouraged the limestone business and provided transportation of the product. In the 1840s, Irish immigrants coming to America to escape the famine at home settled in the area and worked at the kilns and quarries or ran local businesses that supplied the community with goods and services. In 1846, Samuel Griscom purchased a 44 acre parcel on both sides of the railroad that formed the center of Texas. Within a year he was operating a quarry. Griscom devised a town plan that involved building a number of duplexes along either side of the railway line in order to keep the workers close to work. Industry in Texas peaked between 1850 and 1880. By 1852, there were 37 individually owned kilns operating in Texas. When Griscom died in 1854, Jacob Burrough purchased a large portion of his estate and continued to rent out several dwellings therein. In 1863, Adam Denmead, another large landholder in Texas, began to purchase sections of the Burrough and the Griscom tracts among others. The industry gradually declined into the 20th century, due mainly to a lack of modernization, but was revived in the 1930s when the Campbell Company bought and consolidated most of the quarries in Texas. In 1969, the Campbell Company merged with the Flintkote Company. In the late 1980s, Flintkote sold 668.1 acres of mining and other land to Genstar. Genstar is currently the single quarry operator in the town of Texas.
John Clark had originally purchased that tract on which Site 18BA325 is located in 1849 (Lots 1 and 2, Division 9 as indicated on an 1854 map). Records indicated that Jacob Burrough then purchased the lots in 1854, and that prior to that time they were undeveloped. The northern unit of the duplex was situated on Lot 1 and the southern unit was situated on Lot 2. The duplex was rented out to Irish immigrants. Sometime prior to 1921 Catherine Hyland acquired both sides of the property. It was probably during that time that the residence was converted into a single family dwelling. The front of the house faced west onto Railroad Avenue. The duplex was next acquired by the Poe family in 1938, which still lived there as recently as 1986. The house had a half cellar whose entrance was on the south side. At least 2 frame additions were built onto the rear of the building. The original section of the house had a gabled roof. Reportedly, the north yard and side lot were used for raising cows for family and community milk production and the lot was once used as a garden for the cultivation of vegetable crops. A demolished barn/ outbuilding (the metal and frame ruins of a cattle and car building) was located in the north or upper yard of the residence. Pre-1930 frame enclosed privies were located in the southwest and southeast areas of the backyard of the residence (one privy per duplex half). Two other privies and a shed were also once located in the back yard of the house and a metal garage was located off the southeast corner of the house. The yard immediately surrounding the structure had been surfaced by various means, generally concrete or flagstone.
In 1982, a document describing the history of Texas, Maryland was prepared by a local resident. The research focused on the 19th century. The work resulted in the preparation of a National Register of Historic Places nomination to classify a section of the town as a Historic District with historical and architectural significance. The Poe-Burns Duplex was listed on the nomination form at that time (but not assigned a site number). In 2003 the district was determined not eligible for listing.
In the summer of 1985, a Phase I archeological survey was conducted ahead of the proposed highway traffic flow improvement project at Beaver Dam Road. The goal was to determine the effects of four proposed new road alignments on cultural resources located within the project area. The four road alignments, each with a width of 15.24 m (50 ft), were oriented in a general north-south direction and crossed through the middle of the Texas community. Prior to subsurface investigations, a windshield survey of the study area was conducted that indicated there was a great amount of disturbance due to historical and current industrial activity. Areas defined as having potential to contain intact cultural resources were identified through document research and interviews with local informants and historians. A pedestrian survey was carried out along the entirety of each of the 4 proposed alignments. In areas with little to no disturbance a probing rod was used to search for buried features. Probing was also used to confirm that disturbance had occurred. In some portions of the project area, the pedestrian survey and probing were followed with subsurface testing. No subsurface testing was conducted at Site 18BA325 during the Phase I investigation.
Site 18BA325 was encountered during the testing of proposed Alignment 4. This alignment was positioned along the Genstar Quarry fence and it eventually met the rail line. It continued south along the railroad to the intersection of Church Lane and Railroad Avenue. The site was encountered on the east side of the railroad tracks, just south of the mid-19th century McDermott Tavern Site (18BA324). Although Alignment 4 would not itself directly impact the cultural resource, the position of the alignment would necessitate relocation of the railroad tracks to the east. The relocation would result in the destruction of the building along this route. Therefore, it was recommended that a Phase II archeological evaluation of the site be conducted in order to evaluate cultural significance, site integrity, and research potential.
Phase II site examination was conducted at the site in the fall of 1986.The purpose of the research was to evaluate the significance and potential eligibility of the site for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. This involved determining the horizontal and vertical boundaries of the site, assessing the integrity of the resource, and acquiring sufficient data to address the nature and function of the site. The area investigated consisted of non-surfaced areas in the back yard (the east side of the structure). Each yard (of the north and south duplex) was examined through the excavation of series of test units (TUs 1-19) dug at 6.096 m (20 ft) intervals east-west across the study area. One 0.9144 m² (3 ft) excavation unit (EU 1) was placed where a buried topsoil/cultural deposit was identified in TU 2 during the shovel testing in the south yard.
The topsoil and fill levels from the southern back yard area contained artifacts that were mainly related to kitchen activities. Architectural materials ranked second and other domestic items and food remains were also present. A modern refuse deposit was encountered in the topsoil of TU 11 in the eastern end of the yard. A buried cultural layer identified in the southern yard primarily contained ceramics and glass fragments. A few food remains, one clothing item, and a pipe fragment were also found. The excavation of EU 1 yielded a similar kitchen and architectural ratio that was observed in the test units; however, the only other items found were mainly food-related (bone and oyster). The cultural deposit encountered below the fill contained ash and a whiteware sherd.
In the north back yard area, artifacts of all types were encountered. Unfortunately, due to the depth of the fill level in that area it was not possible to examine the buried topsoil/cultural deposit. A retaining wall was identified approximately 2.5 m to the east of the structure. It was located primarily behind the south duplex but extended slightly into the north duplex yard.
Some observations regarding artifact distribution were made as a result of the Phase II evaluation. The same 19th and 20th century materials were recovered from the north and south yard areas. Nail types were almost evenly distributed between cut and wire nails. However, cut nails were slightly more numerous in the southern yard area and wire nails were slightly more numerous in the northern yard area. Excavations in the northern yard uncovered 22 stoneware storage vessel sherds that may have been related to the dairy activity that reportedly occurred in the area. No artifact types related to the reported crop cultivation in that same area were found. The topsoil and fill levels in the southern yard had a greater frequency of glassware while the same strata in the northern yard had ceramics with almost a 2:1 ratio over glassware.
A total of 1,706 historic artifacts were recovered from the Poe-Burns Duplex Site during the Phase II study. There were 47 activity-related artifacts. These consisted of 3 flower pot fragments, 1 porcelain toy tea set fragment, 1 railroad spike (or stoneworking tool), 1 piece of clear glass tubing, 6 marbles (3 glass, 3 clay), 1 modern sleigh bell, 1 brass padlock, 24 pieces of lamp glass and 1 light bulb part, 2 springs, 5 staples, and 1 metal ring. A total of 443 architectural materials were retained. There were 22 brick fragments, 213 window glass shards, 79 cut nails, 92 wire nails, 17 nail fragments, 6 pieces of plaster, 1 terra cotta sewer pipe fragment, 2 pieces of slate tile, 3 hinges, 1 brass hook, 1 washer, 1 bolt, 4 iron wire fragments, and 1 brass electrical part. A total of 19 clothing items including 14 buttons (4 milk glass, 2 glass, 3 ivory, 1 bone, 2 shell, 2 copper), 2 buckles, 3 shoe eyes, and 1 furniture item (an iron and porcelain table coaster) were found. Kitchen-related objects consisted of 424 bottle and container glass fragments, 6 table glass shards, 19 pieces of milk glass, and 481 ceramic sherds (89 redware, 5 buff-bodied earthenware, 239 whiteware, 8 pearlware, 70 ironstone, 10 porcelain, 1 semi-porcelain, 3 creamware, 12 yellowware, 1 white salt-glazed stoneware, 35 buff-bodied stoneware, 8 gray stoneware). There were 187 miscellaneous kitchen items including 1 teaspoon, 4 milk glass lid liners, 7 crown caps, 15 metal can fragments, 2 metal bottle cap pieces, 116 animal bone fragments, and 42 oyster shell and shell fragments. Items in the Miscellaneous Group of artifacts (n=64) included 4 slate fragments, 17 unidentified metal objects, 3 pieces of charcoal, 33 pieces of plastic and 1 piece of rubber, 2 pieces of tin foil, and 4 pieces of limestone. The report also mentioned that miscellaneous 20th century materials were observed but all were discarded (not included in the table above). The only 3 personal items recovered were 1 Norwegian coin (ca. 1924-1950), 1 glass thermometer, and 1 glass jewelry object. Thirteen tobacco-related items were retained. There were 11 white clay pipe stem fragments (8 plain, 2 molded, 1 molded and stamped “Perter Dorni”) and 2 pipe bowl fragments (1 plain, 1 stamped “WII” in a circle).
As a result of the Phase II investigations, Site 18BA325 was considered to be culturally significant and as having the potential to provide data on domestic, economic, ethnic, and dietary practices in a 19th century industrial community. The site contained sealed 19th century deposits below more recent 20th century material. Phase III Data Recovery was recommended if the site could not be avoided during the proposed construction activities.
Phase III archeological investigations were carried out at Site 18BA313 in April of 1991. The main goal of the archeological recovery was to recover information concerning immigrant ethnicity evidenced in the archeological record. The site was chosen for study because cultural material patterns would provide insight to the socioeconomic level, and possibly Irish cultural behavior, for a 19th century family residential lifestyle. The database was to be studied at a site-specific level, and inter-site comparisons would be made with residential structures 18BA313 (Feature 11) and 18BA314 (Workers Barracks). Extensive documentary research was conducted prior to field work in order to establish a chronology of ownership and land use.
During the nearly 5 years following the Phase II archeological investigations at the site, substantial disturbance took place in the rear yard area and on the land adjoining the site to the east and north. The eastern and northern yard topography had been altered with land filling. On the north, soil reworking, cutting, filling and channeling had occurred. The combined barn/outbuilding once extant on the northern end of the property and the 2 privy enclosures were gone. Fortunately, records of the topography and the structures made during the Phase II survey were available.
As with the Phase II study, during the Phase III investigations the backyard was segmented into north and south sections, with each serving a separate residential occupant unit of the duplex. Each yard section was then divided into eastern and western halves. Field methods employed consisted of hand excavation only, no machinery was used, and excavation of the rear yard area was to be kept 6.096 m east or back of the crest of the retaining wall. A stratified random sampling strategy was used with the Phase II grid re-established in the rear yard area. A total of twenty-one 0.914 m² sample units were dug. In addition, 5 judgmentally-placed units were excavated. All of the judgmental units were placed in relation to the southern yard privy (an L-shaped unit measuring 2.4x2.13 m) or the barn/outbuilding (4 units of various sizes).
Four soil layers were identified during the excavations. The top layer was the sod layer. The next layer (Layer A) was related to landscaping and/or leveling and contained a mixture of coal, coal ash, mortar, gypsum, small brick fragments and artifacts. Below that, Layer B was also related to landscaping and/or leveling, and also contained a mixture of coal, coal ash, mortar, gypsum, small brick fragments and artifacts. However, Layer B was more prevalent in the southern and western sections of the yard. Layer C was the subsoil which contained few artifacts, and those at the interface with Layer B. A fill layer was encountered in the eastern and northern parts of the yard between the sod and Layer A. It was associated with more recent landscape disturbance and appeared to have been introduced from an off-site location. Except for the subsoil, it appeared that all soil layers were altered through some form of landscaping. Layer B and the fill layer had extensive artifactual deposits and cultural features. A series of fence posts and metal post remains were found in these layers. The stratigraphic ordering of the fence posts suggested that the soil layers had a temporal association, and thus dated to the history of the duplex.
In the south duplex yard, 8 sample units were excavated in the western portion of the yard. In the eastern portion of the yard, 7 sample units and 1 judgmental unit were excavated; however, because of the disturbed nature of the soils in that area, only the sod and Layer A from a single unit was screened. Furthermore, not all feature layers were excavated. Therefore, a direct comparison of artifact frequencies between layers could not be made and quantitative adjustments had to be devised. When a comparison was made for the eastern and western parts of the south yard, it became apparent that the majority of the artifacts were located in the eastern portion, or rear, of the yard. In all the layers excavated across the yard, 19th century materials were found. Modern materials were found (and discarded) in the sod layer and Layer A but were also identified in the lower layers. This reflects the disturbance observed in the eastern section of the yard.
Twelve subsurface features were excavated in the south yard, 6 in the western half and 8 in the eastern half. Features 1-3, 3A-C, 4, and 7-9 were all identified as posthole features. With the exception of Features 1 and 7, which were located towards the southern edge of the yard, it appeared that the postholes were associated with several episodes of fencing off the two duplex yard areas. Based on the analysis of artifacts, Features 2A, 3A, and 3C were probably earlier in origin than the other postholes. Features 2 and 3A contained machine-cut nails but no feature contained wire nails. It was postulated that most, if not all, of the posthole features could be dated to the 19th century.
Features 10 and 14 were identified as trash pit features. Feature 21 was the only privy identified in the southern yard. It had a rock foundation, and walls that appeared to have at one time been timber lined. It was believed that the privy was use during the late 19th century into the middle part of the 20th century. The nature of the feature fill suggested that the original fill had been removed and modern fill was dumped in the shaft. The rectangular shaft measured about 1.066 x 0.79 meters. Its surface was ca. 0.0914 m below ground surface and it had a depth of about 0.975 meters.
In the north duplex yard, 5 sample units were excavated in the western portion of the yard and 5 units in the eastern portion of the yard. In the eastern portion of the north duplex yard area, the dominant artifact types recovered were architectural-related, especially nails and window glass. An abundance of glassware was also found along with smaller numbers of ceramics, food remains, and personal and activity-related artifacts. In the western portion of the north yard, the dominant artifact types were ceramics sherds and glassware. This was followed by nails and window glass, food remains, and other occupant-related items. The artifact frequency was substantially greater in the north yard than that recorded for the south yard.
A total of 10 features were excavated in the north yard, 4 in the western part and 6 in the eastern part. Feature 15 was probably a posthole. It was located near the center fence line described for the south yard. Several architectural features were also identified. Feature 12 was brick, rock and mortar, with the brick laid in a linear pattern one row wide, probably related to the barn/outbuilding that once stood in the northeastern part of the yard. Feature 13 consisted of an architectural rock with a tapered rectangular form, possibly a footer, sitting on top of a dish-shaped soil stain. Feature 16 was determined to be a builder’s trench possibly related to the barn/outbuilding. There was lots of land disturbance in the area. Various architectural and domestic artifacts were recovered from each of these features.
Features 17/17A and 18/18A were in the location of the barn/outbuilding. The features consisted of a fill layer (Layer 3) at the surface of which was sheet iron, with rock lining the north side (F17). The piece of sheet metal (F17A) functioned as some form of retaining or protective liner for an element of the building. There was also an array of large rocks (F18/18A) that probably represented the remnants of a structural foundation. The rock layer filled a depression (Layer 4) and it rested on a subsoil base. The majority of the artifacts recovered from the feature complex derived from the F17 rock lining. The lower fill deposit contained artifacts temporally diagnostic of the mid-19th century with more modern material above; therefore, there were materials present dating from the earlier history of the duplex. No evidence was recovered that suggested the structure was used in milk production for a local market as was suggested during the Phase II investigations. However, the recovery of tools did possibly suggest that the building was used in maintenance activities.
Probing and subsurface testing indicated that there was a disturbance continuing to the north and outside the site for about 9.144 meters. Feature 19 was encountered during probing. The feature contained a series of flat rocks that appeared to be laid in a generally linear pattern. It may have been related to the barn/outbuilding and no artifacts were recovered from the feature.
Features 20, 22, and 23 (F20, F22, F23) were components of an abandoned, enclosed pre-1930 privy that was originally noted during the Phase II site investigations. F20 was the shaft of the privy; F22 was a nearly square post mold with post hole; and F23, located on the west side of the privy matrix, was a triangular-shaped soil stain with a concave base. The privy, which had a maximum depth of 0.9144 m, had several large rocks in its base. A total of 350 artifacts were recovered from the 3 features, with the majority (n=328) coming from the privy matrix. A variety of domestic and architectural types were represented in the assemblage but the percentages revealed a dominance of food and household related artifacts. It appeared that the privy’s secondary purpose was as a refuse container servicing the household refuse disposal needs of the north duplex residents. It appeared that they also lost items not intended to be discarded (such as toys, a railroad spike and a horseshoe).
Feature 6 was identified as a shallow, dish-shaped soil stain located at the base of Layer A. Only about ¼ of the feature was revealed in unit N43-46/E60-63. Only 5 artifacts were retained from the excavated feature and coal fragments and pieces of substantially corroded metal were found and discarded.
A comparative analysis was done of the artifact assemblages from the south and north yards. Temporally diagnostic ceramics dated to the 19th century were found in both yards. However, the south yard seemed to have a somewhat greater share of earlier types such as creamware and pearlware. Neither of those types was reported from the north yard. This variation between assemblages may have reflected a more efficiently cleared north yard or a preference for those ceramic types by the occupants of the south duplex. In addition to the earlier ceramics, the south yard assemblage contained a greater percentage of cut nails than wire nails whereas in the north yard both nails types were nearly equally represented (and less numerous).
In all, 5,584 historic artifacts were recovered during the Phase III archeological testing. A large variety of 124 activity items were collected from the site. There were 12 toy marbles, 2 ceramic and 1 plastic doll parts, 13 flower pot sherds, 26 lamp glass fragments, 1 fragment of an oil lamp burner, 1 fragment of a brass fixture, 1 small brass plate stamped ‘Hoover’, 1 horseshoe fragment, 1 spring, 6 clothespin pieces, 1 possible barrel hoop piece, 2 light bulb fragments, 2 small flashlight bulbs, 4 carbon battery cores, 3 fragments of a phonograph record, 1 ‘S’ hook, 1 paper clip, 2 eraser parts, 1 piece of pencil lead, 1 metal ring, 2 slate pencils, 1 part of a brass fountain pen, 1 bike reflector, and 1 die. Other activity items that could be considered tools included 9 chisels and chisel fragments, 1 whetstone, 1 fragment of an iron wrench, 1 large screwdriver or chisel, and 4 spikes possibly reused during stoneworking, and fence-related objects included 4 pieces of barbed wire, 1 piece of chain link, 16 iron staples, and 1 pointed piece of a wooden fence post.
There were 1,382 architectural items in the assemblage including 30 brick fragments, 605 window glass shards, 9 other pieces of flat glass, 1 possibly wrought nail, 155 cut nails, 126 wire nails (1 possibly a staple), 5 large wire nails, 20 wire roofing nails, 1 large cut nail (possibly a spike), 376 unidentified nails, 28 mortar/ plaster fragments (some of the plaster has white wash or paint remnants), 1 piece of BX cable, 2 iron washers, 4 nut/bolt, 4 screws, 4 pieces of roofing slate, 2 broken hinges, 3 pieces of dressed stone (2 marble), and 6 ceramic sewer pipe fragments.
The 54 clothing objects found at the site were 2 belt parts, 45 buttons (23 milk glass, 7 shell, 4 bone, 2 glass, 2 composition, 2 rubber, 1 wooden, 3 metal buttons, 2 Army brass buttons), and 7 shoe fragments. A modest 5 furniture-related items were found. There were 2 upholstery brass tacks, 1 broken drawer pull, and 2 iron brackets from casters (wheel’s missing).
In all, 3,417 kitchen-related artifacts were recovered during the investigations. There were 1,577 bottle and container glass fragments (some burnt), 24 pieces of table glass, 30 pieces of milk glass, and 1,397 ceramic sherds (1,107 whiteware, 27 ironstone/semi-porcelain, 2 parian (mid-19th c. unglazed porcelain), 22 porcelain, 34 pearlware, 1 tin-glazed earthenware, 7 creamware, 72 yellowware, 112 redware, 16 gray-bodied stoneware, and 1 unidentifiable burned ceramic). Miscellaneous kitchen items (n=389) included 15 milk glass lid liner fragments, 6 metal can fragments, 4 utensil parts, 2 plastic screw caps, 260 animal bone fragments (cracked, sawn, and/or burned), 1 possible a human tooth, 97 oyster shell fragments, 3 clam shells, and 1 unidentified shell fragment. A total of 136 miscellaneous items were recorded including 28 pieces of plastic, 86 unidentified ferrous, non-ferrous, and brass objects, 6 unidentified pieces of wire, 7 pieces of coal, 5 pieces of clinker/slag, 3 pieces of rubber, and 1 piece of wood.
There were 35 personal artifacts in the assemblage including 8 mirror fragments, 1 bone toothbrush handle, 1 broken plastic comb, 1 small glass scent or cosmetic bottle, 1 milk glass cosmetic jar fragment, 1 thermometer, 2 glass pieces from a small syringe, 2 pieces of jewelry, 6 glass beads, 2 pennies, 3 chamber pot fragments, 1 brass shield (possibly military-related), and 6 holders for military pin-style campaign ribbons. A total of 33 tobacco-related objects were retained. There were 25 white clay pipe stems, 1 with a bore hole of 5/64” and 2 with bore holes of 6/64”, and 8 pipe bowl fragments. Five of the pipe stems and 1 of the bowl fragments were embossed. Only 9 arms-related items were retained including 4 shotgun shell bases, 1 brass rifle shell, and 4 lead shot (various sizes).
In addition to the historic artifacts, 3 prehistoric quartz flakes were retained.
The Phase III archeological testing revealed a structured yard use pattern. The two yard spaces were separated by a fence line. The south yard was used as a backyard recreational area. In that area, the privy was placed at the outer-most limit of the property line. Architectural materials were generally evenly distributed over the yard area but ceramics and food remains were more prevalent closer to the house and glassware was more prevalent in the rear yard area.
The north yard had a barn/outbuilding that was used for animal husbandry and other purposes. The privy in that area was located at a point nearly midway between the outbuilding and the house, but it was also positioned near the northernmost extent of the yard. Nearest to the house, the assemblage was dominated by glassware and miscellaneous ceramic fragments. In the rear of the yard, the greatest share of the assemblage was composed of building materials followed by glassware. Food remains were found throughout the yard area but the greatest percentage was recovered nearer to the house. The backyard of the duplex was utilized from the mid-19th century into modern times. Modern cultural materials were noted but not studied.
The main goal of the data recovery project in Texas, MD was to recover information concerning immigrant ethnicity evidenced in the archeological record. Three sites were chosen for study because their cultural material patterns would provide insight to the socioeconomic level, and possibly Irish cultural behavior, for a 19th century family residential lifestyle. The database was to be studied at a site-specific level, and inter-site comparisons would be made with nearby residential structures 18BA313 (Feature 11) and 18BA314 (Workers Barracks). A comparison of the ceramic assemblages from each site suggested that they were very similar. Thus, little to no economic differentiation between the households was implied. An assessment of dietary practices carried out at each site indicated that pre-cut meat and shellfish were secured from a retail source. There was some indication that at Site 18BA314, the most southerly of the sites, the residents may have raised fowl on-site and fished at a nearby stream. Artifacts, albeit in small numbers, were recovered from each site that could suggest an Irish identity such as religious medallions and a decorated pipe bowl.
The Poe-Burns Duplex Site (18BA325) consists of a non-extant mid-19th century two-story stone residential duplex, converted to a single-family dwelling, with a frame garage and divided terraced back yard. Posthole features were found which indicated that a separating fence line was in use throughout the duplex history. Privies were identified in both the north and south yard area and a barn/outbuilding was at one time located in the north yard area. The site has undergone extensive modification as a result of landscaping, leveling, and more recently, building demolition. The property is currently owned by Genstar; the duplex has been demolished. No further archeological work is recommended at the site.
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