Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18BC139 Bull's Head Tavern
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
Site 18BC139 consists of the archeological remains of multiple 18 and 19th century townhouses as well as a 19th century tavern in a neighborhood north of the Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The site was comprised of the backyards and house lots extending from 403 to 431 Front Street. The 19th century Bull’s Head Tavern had occupied a large lot located between 413 and 429 Front Street, but had been replaced later in the 20th century by a two-storey, concrete-floored parking garage. The landscape surrounding the site is heavily developed and the soils are intensely modified from their native state. Soils mapped for the area are classified as “Urban Land” meaning that 80% of the surface is covered either by buildings or by impervious surfaces such as asphalt or concrete.
The site area was originally part of the incorporated community of Jones Town, established in 1732 by an Act of the Maryland Colonial Assembly in 1732. Early landowners subdivided Jones Town into a series of 20 half-acre property lots parallel to an east of the floodplain of Jones Falls. Jones (later Front) Street was one of the boundaries of the Jones Town community. In 1745, Jones Town was annexed to Baltimore, and thereafter the project area was referred to as “Old Town”.
Deed research suggested that the site area along Front Street had been platted as all or part of two original Jones Town lots (#17 and #18) that originally were purchased by Captain John Boring. Jones Town’s original charter required that purchasers develop their lots, but the degree to which these individuals complied with that requirement is unknown. Within the next decade, many of these original lots had been subdivided and resold. The rapid property turnover rate may have occurred because many lot owners failed to fulfill their developmental obligations under the town charter, and therefore forfeited their property rights.
Major development occurred within Jones Town during the later 18th century, so that by ca. 1800, a small but thriving mixed residential/commercial/industrial area had emerged in the vicinity of the site. Bridge Street (later renamed Gay Street) was a significant commercial corridor for the time, and the Jones Falls floodplain housed several “industrial” enterprises.
Specifically, Site 18BC139 incorporated 2 separate parcels that served two functions: one parcel (Lot #18) became a “tavern lot” and another (Lot #17) became a “rowhouse lot”. Archival research suggested that these lot divisions might have been established during the early 18th century. During the 1730s, when Jones Town was first platted, Lot #17 and the adjacent property that would contain the Bull’s Head Tavern (Lot #18) were purchased by Captain John Boring. These lots subsequently were divided and sold, like most of the rest of the real estate in the area.
When Captain John Boring’s heirs began to dispose of his property in 1769, William Noon purchased part of Lot #18. In 1788, when Noon bequeathed this property to his wife, Mary, it is clear that buildings already existed on the parcel. In his bequest, Noon specified that part of the monies derived from his estate should be used to “finish the Kitchen on the Afore Said piece of land”. This reference clearly indicates that domestic development of Noon’s lot (Lot #18) had taken place by the last quarter of the 18th century. James Edwards and Abraham Scott were named as the executors of Noon’s estate, but were also joint recipients of a portion of Lot #18.
In 1790, Edwards bought out Scott’s interest in their jointly owned portion of Lot #18, which contained both buildings and “watercourse rights”. Noon’s widow eventually willed her portion of Lot #18 to William Riddell, who sold it, together with “all appurtenant structures”, to James Edwards in 1808. In 1811, Edwards also purchased outright all of Lot #17 from Boring’s estate. At his death in 1812, Edwards left all of his property to his wife Elizabeth and to her daughter, Elizabeth Brown (later Elizabeth Frisby).
Late 18th century Baltimore City directories and Federal Direct Tax records for 1798 mirrored the types of development that occurred along the Jones/Front and Bridge/Gay Street corridors, although in some respects, they seemed to contradict the sequence of property acquisition indicated by the previously referenced deed and will data. These directories listed James Edwards as proprietor of a dry goods store known as Edwards and Armstrong in the adjacent building at #9 Bridge Street and the occupant of a dwelling at #11 Bridge/Gay Street. These two buildings undoubtedly occupied part of Lot #17 that Edwards had purchased from the Boring estate.
The same sources also showed that, in 1796, nine people lived along Jones Street, including Joseph Thomas, an “innkeeper”. Exactly where on Jones Street Joseph Thomas’ tavern was located was unclear, since no system of street numbering had been applied to that street. The 1798 Direct Tax records credited Edwards with three additional parcels, 2 on Bridge Street and 1 on Jones Street. These parcels had been developed with frame or brick structures, and three of them had been rented. Edward’s tenants in 1798 included Joshua Merryman (a merchant on Bridge Street), Lark Reed (a grocer on Bridge Street), and James Willson (no occupation identified) on Jones Street.
The earliest history of Lot #19 (what would eventually become the “rowhouse lot”) is somewhat unclear. However, the documentary data suggest that by the late 18th century, Lot #19 had been subdivided and developed into at least three separate, narrow (21 X 115 ft) parcels that were located immediately north of the boundary of the tavern lot parcel (Lot #18). The earliest specific deed reference to the southernmost portion of this lot (dated 1807) recorded the transfer of the southern lot from Nicholas Merryman to John Hurley under terms of a 99-year lease. However, it is probable that similar leases were concluded with other tenants at even earlier dates. For example, the 1804 City Directory noted that 3 women (Sarah Armitage, Mrs. Wallace, and the widow Mary Evans) all lived at #24 Jones Street, a location slightly north of the tavern lot. These rental dwellings apparently were two-storey frame structures that were occupied continuously by either owners or tenants through the middle of the 19th century.
By the early 19th century, a tavern clearly was in operation on Jones Street, probably on Lot #18. Baltimore City directories for 1804 listed Clement Macatee as an innkeeper at #18 Jones Street. Late 19th century historical accounts refer to the “Bull’s Head” tavern as being on Front Street. The 1806 Baltimore City tax assessor’s records indicate that Macatee was not taxed for any real property, but only for personal property that included furniture, a horse, silver plate, and a cow. The absence of any reference to real estate holdings suggests that Macatee probably leased the tavern, first from William Riddell and later from James Edwards.
The real estate that Elizabeth Edwards had acquired in her own right and that inherited from her husband in 1812 placed her as one of the most important property owners on the block. Baltimore City Tax assessment records for 1812 note that one of Edwards’ properties was a lot on Front Street that was valued at $1,400 ($600 for the land and $800 for improvements). The amount of this valuation leaves little doubt that the parcel referenced by this entry was a large, fully developed property that almost certainly was the tavern complex. Not until the 1836 tax lists is a description of the lot offered. At that time, the 115 X 174 ft parcel contained 2 two-storey brick dwellings with brick back buildings, a “Tavern House” with brick back buildings, a “rough-cast” old two-storey frame structure, stables, and sheds. A George Manley operated the tavern as a tenant.
By the first quarter of the 19th century, historic maps indicate that the lots along Front Street had been developed fully. Front Street apparently served as sort of a boundary between the mixed commercial and residential blocks to the east and heavier industrial enterprises (including a tallow and candle factory, a machine shop, and a tannery) that lined the floodplain of the Jones Falls. Jones/Front Street subsequently emerged as a second principal commercial artery in this area, accommodating such businesses as warehouses, livery stables, can factories, and grocery, hardware, drug, paint, and china stores. Tax records indicate that a hotel was located between 130 and 134 Front Street.
Subsequent documentation suggests that the tavern complex had been modified during the next two decades. For one thing, when Elizabeth Edwards died in 1846, she bequeathed all of her real property to her daughter, Elizabeth Frisby, “to be held and enjoyed by her without the let or molestation of her said husband (Richard Frisby) and without being subject to or liable for his debts”. Tax records, which erroneously still attributed ownership to Elizabeth Edwards, noted that the area of the property had increased slightly (125 X 173 ft). Apparently, the two brick dwellings either had been removed or had been incorporated into the tavern itself, for they are not listed as separate physical entities. The tavern itself was described simply as a two-storey brick structure, with a large two-storey brick back building and some frame stables. The old 2 storey frame building was operated as a feed store by John McColgan, who was listed as a tenant. Thomas Street, also referred to as a tenant, was noted in the 1851-1852 Baltimore city directory as the “proprietor of the Bull’s Head Tavern”.
Elizabeth Frisby must have disposed of the tavern property shortly thereafter, for by 1866, a new lot owner, Samuel Brady, appeared in the city tax records. Brady was assessed taxes on a 116 X 174 ½ foot lot on Front Street. Henrietta Tracey and James Armacost, as tenants, operated the two-storey brick hotel with two-storey brick back buildings and frame brick stables. The most significant change in the property description between 1855 and 1866 was that the “old” two-storey frame shop that formerly occupied part of the property apparently had been destroyed.
The configuration of the two rowhouse parcels (Lot #19) changed drastically between 1852 and 1866. The properties that formerly had existed as numbers 144 and 146 North Front Street with separate dwellings on each parcel, were combined into one large parcel measuring 42½ X 116 feet. A new dwelling, described as a three-storey brick house with a 2½ storey brick rear ell, was constructed at #146 North Front Street. In the rear yard of the newly established structure, there was a frame stable that apparently housed the six horses and 11 carriages that belonged to John Thorne, identified in later census records as a veterinarian.
Between 1870 and 1930, the land use patterns that had characterized the antebellum period intensified. In general, the area east of Jones Falls became a series of neighborhoods where residences were interspersed among stores, commercial, and light industrial facilities. Jones/Front Street subsequently emerged as a second principal commercial artery in this area, accommodating such businesses as warehouses, livery stables, can factories, and grocery, hardware, drug, paint, and china stores. Tax records indicate that a hotel was located between 130 and 134 Front Street.
The frame stable building and the rowhouse at #146 N. Front Street were still standing in 1890, when R. L. Sanborn mapped the property for the first time. Twentieth century development on the adjacent (southern) rowhouse lot gradually reduced the extent of John Throne’s dwelling. The rear yard and the stable building were the first elements of his residential complex to fall victim to modernization sometime between 1902 and 1914, when the rear ell of a wagon shed on the adjacent lot was expanded. However, it is possible that the three-storey brick front section of Thorne’s dwelling remained standing until the 1950s, or at least that its footprint remained unencumbered by replacement construction until after that date.
By 1890, the array of buildings on the tavern property apparently had changed significantly. The Sanborn Fire Insurance map of the area is the earliest document to depict specific elements of the tavern complex visually. It shows the multi-component main tavern block extended between #417 and #423 Front Street, and shows that the tavern building encompassed five contiguous brick structures. The most southerly of these (#417) was a two-storey building with a two-storey back ell. This ell probably represented the “hotel” described in earlier tax assessment documents. The remaining four sections all were three-storey structures, one of which had a one-storey L-shaped frame porch at the rear. Since no three-storey structures previously were mentioned in earlier tax documents, these elements may well have represented newly constructed portions of the tavern complex. One and two-storey frame stables and sheds ringed the perimeter of the tavern’s rear courtyard, and patrons of the tavern/hotel could gain access to the rear of the property via Mechanics Court. Interestingly, two of the buildings within the tavern block were labeled as “stores”, indicating that other commercial ventures had begun to rent space within the old complex.
The next map in the Sanborn series (in 1902) presented only outlines of buildings instead of labeling them fully. Nevertheless, this document showed that both the five-part tavern building and its surrounding dependencies had undergone significant changes. The rear ell of the building at #417 had been removed, leaving only the five contiguous front brick components facing Front Street. The arrangement of the stables and sheds around the former courtyard of the tavern also changed. The long narrow sheds shown on the 1890 map had been replaced by wider sheds that were ranged only along the northern and southern perimeters of the tavern property and direct access to Mechanics Court had also been closed off.
After 1930, the automobile wrought the most profound changes within the site area. Several auto-oriented businesses sprung up, replacing the earlier residences, stores, and manufacturing facilities. Those structures that were not converted to auto-oriented enterprises generally fell into decline and the neighborhood, in general, entered a period of deterioration. The effects of these changes along Front Street were depicted graphically on the 1951 Sanborn Fire Insurance map of the area. It showed that the formerly diverse array of commercial enterprises along Front Street had been replaced by businesses like the Hillen Tire Company, small-scale parking garages, and other auto-oriented establishments. By the time the site was first investigated archeologically in the 1990s, no 19th century buildings were left within that portion of the block defined by 18BC139.
The changes in the elements of the former tavern complex that were shown in Sanborn’s 1914 map foretold the circumstances of its eventual demise. Three of the five former brick buildings (#419-423) had been combined by removing their partition walls, and they had been converted to an auto repair facility. The southernmost building (#417) had been converted to office space, and the intervening structure stood vacant. The entire courtyard area, formerly an open space surrounded by low frame sheds, apparently had been roofed over to create a wagon shed. Within the short space of 25 years, the tavern was claimed by the automobile age. By 1951, all elements of the former tavern building and its associated dependencies had been demolished and replaced by a low-scale two-storey parking garage.
Site 18BC139 was first investigated beginning in 1996 as part of a combined Phase I, II, and III archeological investigation undertaken at the site of a new Juvenile Justice Center in Baltimore, MD. The site of the (then) proposed Baltimore Juvenile Justice Center encompassed two heavily developed blocks which encompassed Site 18BC139. A total of eight archeological sites were the subject of the investigation at the Phase I/II level of inquiry and at 18BC139 work would eventually expand to a Phase III level of inquiry. These investigations were required under the terms of Section 83-B, Paragraphs 6-517 and 5-618, of the Annotated Code of Maryland, and pursuant to the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement concluded between the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) and the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).
In order to locate sites, fieldwork initially employed the mechanical removal of overlying modern features or surfaces, followed by the excavation of 5 m long mechanized trenches to assess stratigraphy and site integrity of the underlying deposits. The size of trenches were sometimes altered to better delineate features and to accommodate conditions in the field.
At 18BC139 initial investigations involved the monitored removal of an approximately 30.5 X 45.7 m (100 X 150 ft) section of a concrete slab foundation of the mid 20th century parking garage that sat at the site. The slab was not removed from the southern end of the parking garage footprint because one or more fuel tanks reportedly had been buried in this area. The brick features that were revealed immediately under the concrete slab during its removal were flagged for further investigation. The presence of these structural features directly beneath the concrete slab suggested that additional intact remains would be found at shallow depths throughout the site area.
To facilitate organization of the numerous features, the site was sub-divided into two sections based on the configuration of the structures depicted on the 1890 Sanborn Map. The southern portion, which encompassed the Bull’s Head Tavern complex and its related features, was designated as the “Tavern Lot”. The narrower portion, which included the complex of rowhouse structures at the northern end of the study area, was designated as the “Rowhouse Lot”. A substantial brick and stone wall the divided the project area from east to west was designated as the boundary between the two parcels.
Following removal of the concrete slab, the full area was stripped mechanically, using a backhoe with a small GradAll attachment, to remove any remnant fill deposits and to expose additional intact surfaces and features. Mechanical cleaning began at the northern boundary of the rowhouse lots around two apparent privy shafts and proceeded south into the tavern lot. Foundations encountered during this procedure were followed as far as possible to expose their surfaces. Soil features and structural remains were exposed at depths ranging from immediately beneath the concrete slab in the eastern portion of the study area to under 30 cm or more of fill across the western portion of the study area. Four mechanized test trenches were excavated to determine the depth of the underlying subsoil, to gather stratigraphic information, to test the depth of fill in cellar features, and to look for additional structural features. Profiles were recorded for all trench walls.
Once the fill deposits had been removed from the areas where features had been identified, the exposed features and surfaces were delineated further through manual cleanup. During this stage of work, artifacts associated with the specific features or surfaces were surface collected, and the associated features were mapped, photographed, and documented. A map of all the features within the site was created, and more detailed maps were made of individual features or groups of related features.
Finally, 7 manually excavated test units were placed along selected features to ascertain their basic integrity, construction methods, and function, and to sample potentially intact surfaces and determine stratigraphic sequences. Test units were placed adjacent to larger structural features or within smaller features to bisect them. All units were excavated by cultural strata and soils were screened through hardware mesh. Diagnostic artifacts were retained, and non-diagnostic materials such as brick, mortar, and shell, were noted and sampled.
Numerous structural features and intact surfaces were identified and recorded during the Phase I and II levels of research. These cultural remains represented occupations ranging from the late 18th through the early 20th centuries.
Within the Rowhouse Lot (Lot #19) identified features included chimney bases, foundation remnants, privies, lot boundaries, pavings, builder’s trenches, postholes and postmolds, filled cellars, and circular soil stains associated with the rowhouses, their dependencies, and later structures that were built over the southern portion of the rowhouse complex in the 20th century.
The rowhouse remains in the northern portion of the site appeared to correspond well to the complex of structures shown on the 1890 Sanborn Map of the area. Some evidence of earlier occupation in this area, including a remnant wall that did not align with any other walls and a chimney base feature that had been disturbed by construction of the rowhouse, also were noted.
Two distinctive phases of development were evident on the northern and southern halves of the Tavern Lot. Thus, the area was subdivided into “Tavern Lot North” and “Tavern Lot South”.
Numerous features and apparently intact surfaces were exposed between the boundary wall that divided the rowhouse lot from the tavern lot and the northernmost wall of the tavern complex itself. The features and surfaces in this middle portion of the site (designated Tavern Lot North) also were intact. These included a stone foundation (Feature 5) enclosing a full cellar along Front Street, a separate timber-framed structure with a large fireplace (Features 1, 2, and 3) east of the building represented by Feature 5, a third outbuilding (Feature 11) east of that, and a cobblestone courtyard between the Feature 5 building and the timber framed outbuilding. An apparently intact surface midden containing materials dating from the early 19th century stretched across the surface between this complex of features and the southern half of the tavern lot. Although analysis of the stratigraphy and the contents of the test units placed along these features suggested that most had been constructed during the middle third of the 19th century, at least one (Feature 11) appeared to represent an occupation that dated to the late 18th century.
The exposed structural remains in the southern portion of the site area represented a series of foundation walls associated with the Bull’s Head Tavern as it was depicted on the 1890 and 1914 Sanborn Maps. The brick foundation walls encountered in this area corresponded to the footprint of the tavern buildings depicted on the 1890 Sanborn map and represented a narrow portion of the tavern that extended parallel to Front Street. Most of the rear ell of the building, which included two building components that protruded eastward from the rear of the tavern, was located under that portion of the concrete slab that was not removed due to the reported presence of buried fuel tanks. Testing of the foundation features suggested that two construction episodes potentially had occurred, and that fire might have been a contributing factor in the demise of the tavern building. In addition, the surfaces of courtyard areas behind the tavern building appeared to have been impacted only lightly by construction of a parking garage during the 20th century.
Several aspects of the general collection recovered from the site during the Phase I/II investigations were striking. The almost total absence of whiteware from the ceramic sub-assemblage coupled with the presence of early to mid 18th century white salt-glazed stoneware, the very large proportion of coarse redwares and trailed slipwares, the moderately large number of faunal remains (15% of the assemblage and largely mammals and shellfish), and the presence of copper coins with dates ranging between 1797 and 1806 all suggested that the remains associated with the tavern and rowhouse lots indeed comprised the earliest and most diverse assemblage found within the Juvenile Justice Center project area and warranted further investigation. Moreover, the features on the site displayed an exceptional degree of integrity.
As a result of the Phase I/II testing, the former Bull’s Head Tavern site was assessed as eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and the MIHP. Based on this finding, Phase III data recovery was carried out at the site in July and August of 1998 to mitigate the impacts of the construction the Juvenile Justice Center.
Mitigation within the Rowhouse Lot portion of the site involved the excavation of twelve 1 X 1 m test units placed as needed to investigate the individual features identified on the lot during Phase I/II work. The apparent backyard cobble surface was tested, and, following additional mechanized stripping of the shallow sheet midden in this area, several shallow pit features also were tested. Finally, the upper modern disturbed levels within an oval brick-lined privy feature (Feature 9) were removed mechanically to expose intact deposits. The underlying organic deposits, which appeared to represent an early to mid 19th century period of deposition, were bisected and half of the contents of the privy were removed.
Mitigation in Tavern Lot South entailed further mechanical removal of pavings and overburden followed by the investigation of four features with five 1 X 1 m test units. Features 6 and 10 were previously identified foundations of the tavern. Feature 10 was investigated with two test units because of its L-shaped configuration, which apparently represented the rear ell of the tavern. The contents of Feature 11, a utility trench, were sampled, and all of the contents of Feature 29, a wood-lined, cobblestone-based privy shaft, were removed.
In the Tavern Lot North area Phase II work began with the systematic probing of the sheet midden and other surface deposits encountered at the site to locate additional features. This was followed by the excavation of 11 shovel test pits (STPs) and three 1 X 1 m test units placed within the surface midden. The sheet midden was then stripped to expose potentially earlier features. Approximately 30 post holes, soil stains, and other stratigraphic anomalies were identified, mapped, and selectively tested. At least four additional test units were placed to test these features as well as the previously identified timber-frame structure and its associated features, the stone foundation of Feature 5 (see above), and the previously identified cobblestone surface.
The features within the Rowhouse Lot at Site 18BC139 displayed very complex development. Two frame rowhouses with basements originally occupied this lot. These dwellings were constructed by at least the first decade of the 19th century, although earlier occupation of the lots themselves is suggested by sparse items in associated assemblages such as tin-glazed earthenwares, white salt-glazed stoneware, a variety of slipwares, some Chinese porcelains, and hand wrought nails. The documentary evidence suggests that these two dwellings were occupied by a variety of owners and/or tenants until slightly before the Civil War period. The lots and buildings definitely represented residential occupations, rather than industrial or commercial ones, since the artifacts associated with them reflected a range of activities and functions that one would expect to find in dwelling houses, particularly the personal, furniture, and clothing classes. The features associated with this period include the brick foundations of the rowhouses themselves, associated cellars, a hearth/chimney structure, linear soil stains and brick foundation walls associated with the un-basemented frame back ell additions to the dwellings, the lower deposits of a privy and the foundations of its associated superstructure, possibly a remnant brick foundation to the east of the rowhouses, and strata underlying a cobblestone/brick paving and dog burial at the rear of the rowhouse lot.
The second phase of occupation of this site was initiated by John Thorne, who acquired the two contiguous lots ca. 1850, demolished both older frame dwellings, and constructed a new dwelling on the combined lots. Thorn’s modifications to the properties seem to have been most clearly reflected in changes to the northern rowhouse brick foundation, brick and rubble paving to the north of this townhouse and at the rear of what had been the southern rowhouse lot, and the lower strata of fill within the former cellar of the southern rowhouse. A vestigial posthole configuration in the rear yard of the southern rowhouse lot seems also to have been installed during this time.
The third phase of occupation, as documented by the late 19th and early 20th century Sanborn fire insurance maps, was concentrated almost entirely within the southern rowhouse lot. The period between 1890 and 1910 apparently was a time when the function of this portion of the site changed from a residential to a commercial or light industrial one. However, in 1900, the adjoining row house (Thorne’s former residence) still had tenants. The contents of a barrel privy at the rear of Thorne’s original residence probably were deposited during this period. In the southern rowhouse lot, deposits associated with two foundation remnants, the upper levels of the basement fill in the southern rowhouse, and modifications to the bulkhead entrance of the old southern rowhouse cellar appeared to relate to the transition from residential to commercial function.
The final developmental phase of occupation, which began at some time between 1902 and 1914, was represented entirely by walls. These walls supported a large L-shaped structure identified on the 1914 Sanborn map as a “wagon house”, a structure that completely replaced earlier construction on the southern rowhouse parcel and extended into the backyard of the northern rowhouse.
Excavations within the southern portion of the tavern lot (Tavern Lot South) revealed evidence of two phases of development for the property. The first stage, which commenced during the late 18th or early 19th centuries, entailed construction of one or more buildings on deeply seated stone foundations. These buildings, individually or collectively, probably supported components of the original Bull’s Head Tavern complex. The deposits in a privy to the rear (east) of these stone foundation features also represent the same general time frame, and the privy structure itself possesses some similar elements or techniques of construction.
Feature 7, a complex of brick foundations towards Front Street, represents the later 20th century modifications to (or the total replacement of) the original tavern complex. The configuration of the Feature 7 foundations conforms most closely to those depicted on the 1902 and 1914 maps of the block, which show a narrow, linear, three component, five-bay structure with a porch extending across the back.
The archival and archeological data obtained from the study of Tavern Lot North at Site 18BC139 suggested that initial development of this parcel occurred during the mid 18th century, when William Noon acquired part of Lot #18 of the original Jones Town properties. This developmental phase appears to be represented by Feature 11 (a small square depressed stone-lined foundation located at the rear of the lot), by the stone components of the brick and stone hearth and chimney feature surrounded by the timber-framed structure, and by a mid-18th century occupation surface.
The mid 19th century sheet midden, a shallow remnant stone foundation running parallel to the tavern’s north wall, a stone foundation for the rear ell of the tavern, a barrel privy, and a remnant stone wall to the south of the tavern all represented a period of activity on the property that extended from the late 18th through the first third of the 19th century. At this time, Mechanical Street still bisected the property. The tavern itself may have commenced operation during this period. More importantly, the period was characterized by three changes in property ownership, each of which probably entailed modifications to the functions and configurations of buildings on the entire tavern lot. Judging from the ubiquitous distribution of the associated sheet midden a
|
