Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18FR636 Barbara Fritchie Tea Room
Diagnostic Artifact Data
Features
Summary
Site 18FR636 is an early 19th century building complex located between 230 and 238 West Patrick Street in the Historic District of Frederick, Maryland. The original structure on the lot may have been built as early as the late 18th century. A two-story brick house and a log shop are known to have stood on the lot by 1822. Sometime after 1827, additional portions were added to the building and these made up what became known colloquially as the “Barbara Fritchie Tea Room”. The “Barbara Fritchie Tea Room” was a restaurant associated with a motel complex operating at the site throughout much of the 20th century. The restaurant takes its name from Barbara Fritchie (also Barbara Frietchie), an American patriot during the Civil War and one of Frederick’s most famous residents. Fritchie won notoriety by supposedly waving the flag of the Union from her home in defiance of the Confederacy as Stonewall Jackson’s troops passed through Frederick. The event is largely thought to be a myth, popularized by a famous poem written by John Greenleaf Whittier in 1864. Whether myth or history, Fritchie has no known association with the property other than the loaning of her name. The site would have originally been located on a slight slope above Carroll Creek on Duffield and Frankstown silt loams. However, the site topography has been altered considerably in historic and modern times.
Phase I archeological investigation at Site 18FR636 was initiated in 1988 in response to a recommendation by the Maryland Historical Trust. At that time, an architectural firm was designing a new facility on the property for the use of its new owner, Way Station Inc.; a non-profit behavioral health organization providing services to families in Frederick County and elsewhere. The area planned for construction included the entire Barbara Fritchie Motel parcel, containing 19 standing structures. All but three of these would be demolished under the proposed plan. These three structures were: the two and one half story brick building that houses the Barbara Fritchie Tea Room; the two southernmost rooms of a western single-story, brick-faced, cinderblock motel building, and a brick-faced cinderblock motel in the southwest corner of the parcel. The remainder of the parcel would be impacted in varying degrees by the proposed construction. The plans called for a brick wall across the lawn area extending south from West Patrick Street to the new Way Station building (which would be located south of the Barbara Fritchie Tea Room). Seven tourist cabins and a gas station (near the street) were to be removed along with an asphalt parking lot. In addition, utility trenches and storm drain conduits would be installed throughout the area. Obviously, subsurface impacts would result from demolition and excavation activities, thus warranting the recommendations by MHT. Ultimately, the Phase I work revealed information sufficient to warrant Phase II and Phase III examinations on portions of the property. This work was undertaken from December of 1988 until the spring of 1989. Archival work was an important component of this study and a detailed discussion of what historical documentation reveals can be found in the full site reports. A brief overview of the site history is presented here, followed by the discussion of archeological methods and results.
The earliest owners of the 18FR636 property were wealthy land speculators and influential citizens of Frederick. Most of the City of Frederick, including Site 18FR636, was taken out of a 7,000 acre grant patented to Benjamin Tasker in 1725 as “Tasker’s Chance”. In the early part of the 18th century, much of this tract was settled by German Immigrants. Casper Myer was deeded a 273 acre parcel out of Tasker’s Chance in 1746, which contains the site. In 1757, a decade after the establishment of Frederick Town, Myer subdivided and began to sell his lands in small lots. By 1782, his land lay directly adjacent to present-day Bentz Street, which then marked the town’s western boundary. The western half of Myer’s Lot Five contained Site 18FR636. Houses were first constructed on the lot during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. During the early 1820s, the lots were sold to a succession of individuals, most of whom were artisans and workers. The portion of the building containing the “Tea Room” was added after 1827. From its initial construction until 1852, the property was owned by Germans. A Polish immigrant bought the property at that time, and owned it until 1875, when it was sold to another German, who owned it until 1895. Privately owned and operated businesses were common on-site during the latter part of the 19th century. The house at 238 W. Patrick was a grocery store from 1876 to 1895. The building at 232 W. Patrick also served as a grocery from 1860 to at least 1911. During the early part of the 20th century, much of the dwelling space within the project area was leased to boarders. Permanent occupation of the two easternmost houses ended in 1933 when they were demolished and replaced with the Barbara Fritchie Motel. The remaining house at 238 W. Patrick (the standing structure of the Barbara Fritchie Tea Room) was occupied by the owners of the motel until recently.
Phase I and II work in 1988-1989 focused on the east side yard, the south rear yard, and the basement of the structure at 238 West Patrick Street (the structure known as the “Tea Room”). Initial investigation consisted of intensive shovel testing of the unpaved sections of the project area. Shovel tests were excavated at 2 meter intervals along transects placed 2 meters apart. The shovel tests, which were 30 cm in diameter, were excavated to depths of 40 to 100 cm, depending on local conditions. Soils were screened through hardware cloth. Sixty shovel tests were excavated on seven transects. Based on the results of shovel testing, it was recommended that four excavation units be placed in the side and rear yards of the Barbara Fritchie Tea Room. The basement of the Tea Room was also investigated. In total, one 1 X 2 meter unit and three 1 X 1 meter units were excavated in yard areas, while a 1 X 1 m unit and a 50 cm X 50 cm unit were excavated in the Tea Room basement. These excavations revealed that the side yard of the Tea Room had been disturbed by 20th century construction activities. A partial brick course was located in one of these test units, which is probably a walkway remnant. The basement of the Tea Room also was found to contain no significant archeological remains. Both excavation units placed in the basement area encountered bedrock at shallow depths.
Features encountered during all three phases of the 1988-1989 fieldwork in the rear yard include a deposit of stone building rubble (thought to be associated with the demolition of structures during the 1930s motel construction), a dense concentration of bottle glass shards, ash disposal deposits, pits, and a buried A horizon (Ab horizon) representing the original land surface associated with the 18th to mid-19th century occupation of the lot. It was established that this historic trash deposit in the rear yard of the Tea Room structure possessed integrity and significance. Since this deposit could not be avoided, and was to be adversely affected by the proposed construction, archeological data recovery was recommended and undertaken. A 25% sample of this deposit was taken within the 45 square meter area by excavation of six more 1 X 1 m units, and two additional 1 X 2 m units. Additionally, one liter flotation samples were taken from each level of the Ab horizon.
Nine hundred and ninety-one artifacts were recovered from the shovel test excavated at 18FR636. A detailed description of the artifacts encountered during the excavation of Phase I shovel tests is not provided in the body of the full site report, however, a brief overview of artifact types is discussed. Twentieth century materials included plastic products, Styrofoam, machine-made bottle glass, light bulbs, wire nails, and phonograph records. Nineteenth century artifacts consisted of ceramic sherds, including whiteware, ironstone, and yelloware; bottle glass, including hand tooled lip finish and blown-in-mold bottles; and cut nails. Eighteenth century artifacts consisted solely of ceramic sherds and included white salt-glazed stoneware, creamware, and pearlware. During excavation of the Phase II and III test units, the modern A horizon was present in all excavation units except those located in the basement of the Tea Room. As mentioned previously, both excavation units placed in the basement area encountered bedrock at shallow depths. A single whiteware sherd is the only artifact mentioned in the full site report as coming from these two units. A total of 330 artifacts were recovered from the A horizon in the four Phase II test units. All datable ceramics from the A horizon could have been manufactured during the 19th century, however, inclusion of machine made bottle glass, plastics, and aluminum can pull tabs indicates a mixed 19th and 20th century deposit. Examination of functional groups for this A horizon showed a high frequency of kitchen and architectural group artifacts. A detailed description of these artifacts is not available and during the excavation of Phase III units, this horizon was removed without screening. In some units distinct strata and features were identified within individual units. The majority of the strata were fill deposits overlying the Ab horizon and frequently containing a mix of historic and modern materials. In one of the southernmost Phase II units (the 1 X 2), a dense concentration of 563 bottle glass fragments (among additional artifacts) was encountered (Feature 1). Most of these were temporally undiagnostic, but the few datable glass pieces indicate a first quarter of the 20th century deposition date. Most of the bottles appeared to be pharmaceutical in nature, but are still considered part of the “kitchen” assemblage. Another feature was encountered in the east side yard test unit (a 1 X 1). This consisted of a filled trench containing 19th and 20the century refuse. Artifacts ranged from pearlware (1780-1830) to machine made bottle glass (post 1920). As the descriptions provided in the full site reports for the deposits discussed above only provide a general impression and not a detailed description, the quantities provided in the summary tables above are likely quite low. Artifact quantities are minimal estimates when quantitative summary tables are unavailable in the full site report(s).
Fortunately, much more detailed descriptions are available for the 19th century trash deposits associated with the Ab horizon and the 3 features that are contemporaneous with it. As previously mentioned, a buried A horizon (Ab) was located in eleven units throughout the rear yard of the Tea Room. A total of 2,106 artifacts were recovered from this horizon during the Phase II and Phase III investigations. In addition, two features are clearly contemporaneous with the Ab horizon. Feature 2 was an ash lens/pit located at the top of the Ab horizon containing 472 artifacts, and Feature 17 was a single large ash pit containing 844 artifacts. A third feature (Feature 15), was a pit containing 404 artifacts. This pit, unlike the others, exhibited evidence that much of the uppermost portion of it had been mixed with the overlying 20th century deposits.
Artifacts encountered in the Ab horizon (exclusive of the temporally related features) include 20 activity items, 686 architectural objects, 1,221 kitchen artifacts, 5 clothing items, and 7 tobacco-related objects and 1 personal artifact. The activity items were 5 pieces of lamp glass, 13 pieces of a flower pot, 1 pencil lead, and 1 other activity item. The architectural assemblage consisted of 161 window glass fragments, 295 nails (cut and wrought), 152 brick fragments, 43 plaster fragments, 5 pieces of mortar, and 30 other architectural objects. The kitchen assemblage from the Ab horizon contained 161 bottle/container glass fragments, 814 ceramic sherds, 134 pieces of bone, and 103 shell fragments. The kitchen ceramics included 20 creamware, 132 pearlware, 322 whiteware and at least 1 slipware, 4 redware, 1 white salt-glazed stoneware (scratch blue), 3 miscellaneous stoneware, 4 ironstone, and 8 yelloware sherds. The bones in the kitchen assemblage included 31 cow fragments, 26 pig fragments, 44 medium mammal fragments, 5 small mammal bones, 3 bird bones and 25 unidentified bone fragments. All 5 of the clothing remains were buttons, the tobacco-related artifacts were 7 pipe fragments, and the personal object was an Indian Head penny. Twenty-one flotation samples were recovered from 5 cm levels within the Ab horizon across the site. A 50% random sample of these was selected for analysis. Flotation analysis revealed the presence of 7 glass fragments, 5 whiteware sherdlets, 3 unidentified nail fragments, 2 cut nail fragments, 1 copper/brass pin, 4 corroded iron fragments, 275 brick fragments, 142 fragments of mortar, 783 pieces of coal/ciders, 474 wood charcoal pieces, 13 unidentified bone fragments, 7 fish bones, 17 mammal bone fragments, 4 pieces of snail shell, 39 fish scales, 4 egg shell fragments, 10 shell fragments, and 35 seeds. Detailed descriptions of the seed and charcoal species are available in the linked ethnobotany profile.
Artifacts recovered from Feature 2 (an ash lens/pit) included 16 activity items, 158 architectural objects, 234 kitchen-related items, 3 clothing objects, and 1 tobacco-related artifact. The activity items were a flower pot sherd, a 14 lamp glass fragments, and 1 other activity-related item. The architectural objects were 29 window glass shards, 113 nails (cut and wrought), 8 brick fragments, 2 pieces of mortar, and 6 other architectural items. The kitchen assemblage consisted of 88 bottle/container glass fragments, 109 ceramic sherds, 28 bone fragments, and 9 pieces of shell. Identifiable ceramic sherds include 31 plain and 8 decorated whiteware sherds, 5 yelloware, 4 ironstone, 3 pearlware, and 1 creamware sherd. The bones in the kitchen assemblage included 10 cow, 1 pig, 13 medium mammal, 3 bird, 1 fish, and 7 unidentified animal bones. The three clothing objects were buttons, and the tobacco related article was a pipe fragment. Artifacts recovered from Feature 17 (a large ash pit) included 39 activity items, 304 architectural objects, 385 kitchen-related items, 8 clothing objects, and 1 furniture item. The activity items were 16 fragments of lamp glass, 11 flower pot sherds, and 12 other activity items. Architectural artifacts include 42 window glass fragments, 205 nails 44 pieces of brick, 1 fragment of plaster, 2 pieces of mortar, and 10 other architectural items. The kitchen assemblage contained 67 glass container fragments, 215 ceramic sherds, 86 bone pieces, and 17 shell fragments. Identified ceramic sherds include 1 creamware, 2 pearlware, and 72 whiteware sherds. Animal remains in the kitchen assemblage were 21 cow, 19 pig, 23 medium mammal, 9 bird, and 14 unidentified bones. The clothing artifacts were 4 buttons and 4 other clothing articles. The furniture item was not described in detail. Flotation samples were also taken from Feature 17 and revealed the presence of 3 glass fragments, 1 Rockingham sherd, 2 unidentified nails, 3 corroded iron fragments, 23 brick fragments, 10 mortar pieces, 630 coal/cinder fragments, 4 wood charcoal fragments, 6 fish bones, 1 mammal bone fragment, 9 pieces of snail shell, 14 fish scales, and 127 fragments of egg shell. Feature 15 (the disturbed pit) contained 7 activity items, 151 architectural artifacts, 204 kitchen-related items, and 1 clothing artifact. The activity items in the assemblage were 3 pieces of lamp glass, 1 piece of pencil lead, 1 flower pot fragment, and 2 other activity items. The architectural assemblage consisted of 18 window glass fragments, 92 nails/nail fragments, 18 pieces of brick, 22 fragments of plaster, and 1 other architectural item. The kitchen assemblage from Feature 15 contained 156 bottle/container glass fragments, 24 ceramic sherds, 23 pieces of bone, and a piece of shell. Among the ceramic sherds were 8 whiteware fragments, and the animal bones consisted of 2 cow, 4 pig, 2 medium mammal, 1 small mammal, 6 bird, 1 fish, and 7 unidentified bones. The clothing object from Feature 15 was a button.
Analysis of the materials from the various intact buried levels indicates that these deposits date primarily to the early-mid 19th century. The ceramic and faunal analyses of the cultural material from the intact buried levels and features of the rear house lot suggest that the building’s pre-Civil War German and Polish residents probably enjoyed a moderately comfortable lifestyle. These occupants appear not to have greatly modified the layout of the lot itself, beyond the actual construction of the “Tea Room” structure, as a ca. 1830 addition to a previously existing 18th century building. More substantial modifications to the lot occurred between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. Episodes of demolition and rebuilding are represented by the large amounts of architectural rubble encountered in the side yard and upper levels of the rear house lot. This observation conforms well to information found in later 19th century map records on the lot. Thus, the architectural and archeological data retrieved during Phase I, II, and III fieldwork from 1988-1989 at the Barbara Fritchie Tea Room both substantiate and expand upon the archival picture of the building’s 19th century residents. The data also document the major changes which occurred over time on the lot itself. In doing so, they provide insights into the lifeways of the residents of a small regional urban center.
In 1992, archeologists returned to the site to conduct additional Phase III data recovery. This investigation was warranted by designs to repair the bowed south wall at the end of the existing one story section of the Tea Room. Since the possibility existed that the repair work would necessitate digging for a new footing and it was not known if this work would affect archeological resources located adjacent to the building, the MHT recommended that Phase III work be conducted in the area. Two 1.524 X 1.524 meter (5 X 5 ft) units were excavated along the south and west exterior walls of the one story structure. The units were hand excavated, using shovel and trowels, in 10.16 cm (4 in) levels to the culturally sterile “B” soil horizon. Soils were dry screened through hardware cloth and exposed features were recorded, photographed, and drawn in plan and profile views before excavation of feature fill.
Excavation in the first test unit revealed that the 10-inch high limestone foundation was laid at ground level (thus no builder’s trench was observed). The unit also exposed a section of brick path which extended south and away from the main building into the back lot of the property. In the other, the foundation was found to be resting on the northern perimeter of a stone well. The well had been capped with clay fill containing small to medium sized tabular limestones. It was only partially excavated. Among the 29 activity items excavated during the 1992 Phase III work are 1 glass marble, 26 fragments of chimney glass, a singletree harness part, and a bandage stay. The 300 architectural objects were 98 window glass fragments, 145 pieces of brick, 4 mortar fragments, 36 machine cut nails, 4 wire roofing nails, 5 unidentified nails, 5 wrought spikes, 1 wood screw, 1 metal downspout bracket, and a piece of vinyl siding. Clothing objects include a shell four-holed button, a porcelain four-holed button, 2 porcelain single-hole buttons, a metal button and a shoe button. The kitchen assemblage was by far the largest and included a total of 768 artifacts. Among the kitchen items are 28 creamware, 19 pearlware, 119 miscellaneous earthenware sherds, 132 whiteware sherds, 11 porcelain sherds, 3 ironstone, 5 yelloware, 3 buffware, 6 stoneware, and 190 redware sherds. There were also 139 bottle/container glass pieces, 4 pieces of glass tableware, 70 pieces of animal bone, 36 oyster shell fragments, and 3 soda bottle crown caps. Analysis of the animal bones revealed the presence of 31 cow bones, 11 pig, 4 sheep, 22 large mammals (probably domesticates), and 2 chicken bones. Butchering patterns and techniques indicate that the meat was procured from a professional butcher. The tobacco-related artifacts were a clay pipe stem and two bowl fragments. Miscellaneous objects include 8 pieces of coal, 2 pieces of cinder, 5 unidentified metal objects, 3 paint chips, a plastic bread-type tie, 2 unidentified pieces of plastic, and a radio tube base. In addition to the historic artifacts described above, a rhyolite biface was also found near the edge of the aforementioned brick path. This artifact most likely represents the residual remains of a prehistoric occupation at this locus.
In the spring of 2000, additional Phase II and III work was undertaken at the site. This time work was conducted in anticipation of the extensive renovation of the kitchen outbuilding (the same one-story structure examined in 1992) attached to the rear of the main structure. These renovations included the replacement of a brick floor in the kitchen and a concrete floor in a small attached anteroom to the kitchen. This testing included the examination of the floor surface following the removal of the old brick and concrete floors, recordation in plan of features noted at the surface, and the excavation of four test units (one 2 X .5 m and three 1 X 1 m units) measuring a total of 4 m2 within the kitchen structure. In addition to the interior work, a later phase of renovation included a new storm drain through the rear of the property. As noted above, historically significant deposits are present in this rear yard area and following the 1989 work, MHT had obtained an easement which included the area through which the drain would now pass. In accordance with the stipulations of the easement, MHT mandated limited data recovery of 60% of the area to be impacted by the drain pipe trench. Excavation consisted of five .61 X .91 m test units, one .61 X .69 m test unit, and one 50 X 50 cm test unit. All test units were hand excavated according to natural or cultural stratigraphy, or in 10 cm levels within the cultural strata. Excavated material was screened through hardware cloth.
Excavation within the kitchen structure, in combination with archival work revealed the presence of ten occupational sequences. Sequence 1, the first phase of occupation at the site was evidenced by a clearly defined plowzone lacking artifacts in 3 of the 4 test units. In one unit, plow scars were visible within the subsoil. These clearly predate any of the identified structures at the site, and probably date to the second half of the 18th century. Archival evidence suggests that structures were first built on the property during the ownership of Henry Brunner who sold the property at a much higher price than he bought it at. Thus, the agricultural period represented by Sequence 1 probably predates 1797, when Henry Brunner sold the property. Sequence 2 represents the first construction episodes at the site as evidenced by a limestone foundation and builder’s trench. The builder’s trench is located within sterile Ap and B horizon soils, and there is a paucity of artifacts in the builder’s trench. The lack of artifacts would indicate that little accumulation of debris had occurred on the property when the structure was built. Again, archival records suggest that the first structure was built sometime during Henry Brunner’s ownership of the site between 1769 and 1797. Sequence 3 represents the use period for the first building, and is represented by the accumulated debris outside the structure. The artifacts associated with the foundation have a mean date of 1776, but the presence of creamware and pearlware suggests an occupation date at the end of the 18th century. The absence of any significant amount amounts of pearlware, production of which began in 1790, certainly suggests an occupation date no later than the first decade of the 19th century. Artifacts encountered in the Sequence 2 and 3 deposits include 1 activity item (a horseshoe), 30 architectural objects, 1 clothing artifact (a metal button), 262 kitchen-related items, 1 arms object (an English gunflint), and 9 miscellaneous artifacts (unidentified metal). The architectural assemblage contained 10 pieces of window glass, 3 fragments of mortar, 2 handwrought rosehead nails, and 15 unidentified nails. The kitchen-related assemblage includes 76 ceramic sherds (9 creamware, 1 pearlware, 1 domestic brown stoneware, 3 early porcelain, 2 white salt-glazed stoneware, 53 redware, and 7 slipware), 2 dip mold glass bottle fragments, 1 non machine-made bottle glass fragment, 2 unidentified bottle glass shards, 1 machine made bottle piece, 3 unburnt shell fragments, 1 unburnt tooth, 1 burnt bone, 167 unburnt/uncut bones, and 9 unburnt cut bones.
Sequence 4 includes the construction of a larger limestone foundation and a builder’s trench identified within the attached anteroom, and probably includes the well located to the south of the current building, identified during the 1992 Phase III testing. It has been suggested that the well may have been in use circa 1827, when a deed for a Christian Steiner gave him free use of a well located on the lot at 18FR636. Sequence 5 would include the use period for that structure. Unfortunately, later disturbance has eradicated all evidence of that period. Thus, the period is dated only by bracketing earlier and later construction. An 1853 map shows a structure at the site that appears to be the current structure. Thus, the use period for the well and structure would be sometime between 1827 and 1853. Sequence 6 represents the construction of the kitchen sometime between these years. The artifact record does not contribute to narrowing the date for the building’s construction, as the only temporally diagnostic artifact recovered from the builder’s trenches was a single piece of creamware. Sequence 7 represents the early use period of the kitchen and antechamber. It is comprised of artifacts found within and above the clay floor in two test units. Although the mean ceramic date is 1791, many of the ceramics are locally made redware, which are not useful as temporal markers. It is likely that this period of use includes the mid to late 19th century, but within the anteroom, evidence of this period has been obscured by later disturbances. Artifacts encountered from Sequences 6 and 7 include 1 activity item (an ink well), 12 architectural objects, and 63 kitchen-related objects. The architectural objects are a piece of window glass, 3 handwrought rosehead nails, and 8 unidentified nails. The kitchen-related assemblage includes 41 ceramic sherds (7 creamware, 31 redware, 2 slipware, and 1 whiteware), 1 dip mold bottle glass fragment, 2 unidentified bottle glass shards, 16 unburnt pieces of bone, and 3 unburnt pieces of shell.
Sequence 8 represents the installation of the brick floor, and Sequence 9 represents the features that post date the brick floor. These can be reliably dated to the last quarter of the 19th century. Artifacts include pearlware and whiteware, as well as bottles diagnostic of the late 19th century. As with sequence 7, within the anteroom this period has been obscured by later activity. The numerous artifacts dating from the 19th century were mixed with modern materials. Artifacts from Sequences 8 and 9 include 1 activity item (a tool), 29 architectural objects, 3 clothing objects (porcelain buttons), 160 kitchen items, and 3 miscellaneous objects (a fragment of iron/steel and 2 piece of plastic). The architectural artifacts include 4 pieces of window glass, 2 fragments of mortar, 5 pieces of plaster, 2 construction screws, 1 handwrought T head nail, 3 machine-cut nails, 9 unidentified nails, 2 asbestos shingles, and 1 building stone. And the 160 kitchen artifacts were 17 ceramic sherds (5 creamware, 1 pearlware, 6 redware, and 2 whiteware), 131 bottle/container glass fragments, 5 crown caps, 8 unburnt bones, 1 butcher cut/unburnt bone, and 3 unburnt teeth. Sequence 10, includes all 20th century activity at the site. Within the kitchen, it is represented by artifacts cleaned from the surface, and possibly by repairs to the brick walls. Artifacts cleaned from the floor include a temporal and functional mix of items. Kitchen or domestic items (28), organic materials (3), plastic fragments (2), and architectural materials (25) were recorded. Within the kitchen anteroom, 20th century activity included the early 20th century construction of a bake oven. In addition, hundreds of artifacts of mixed temporal periods were found within the upper two strata. The soils appear to have been disturbed during construction episodes that may have included the construction and dismantling of the bake oven.
In addition to all of the historic artifacts described above, 5 prehistoric rhyolite flakes were encountered, scattered throughout the deposits.
In the exterior test pits (in the vicinity for storm drain installation), excavation was concentrated in the western portion of the proposed storm drain corridor as earlier testing had indicated a relatively high level of disturbance in the eastern portion of the rear yard. In addition, the recent removal of a line of mature pine trees crossing the corridor created sizeable areas of ground disturbance. Only the 50 X 50 cm test unit was placed in the eastern portion of the drain corridor and was designated Unit 2. The other six units were placed adjacent to one another in the western portions of the drain corridor and were designated Units 1A-F. The general stratigraphy of Test Units 1A through 1F roughly corresponds to the stratigraphy seen in Phase I shovel testing and Phase II units completed in 1989.
Stratum I comprised 20th century fill and architectural rubble deposits with a number of discontinuous lenses; generated by construction and destruction of the motel cabins, earlier renovations of the kitchen, previous archeological investigations, and construction of the Way Station building. No efforts were made to separate the various lenses, as excellent documentation of the 20th century uses of the site is available. Artifacts from Stratum I in Test Units 1A-F include 3 activity items, 73 architectural objects, 1 furniture item, 34 kitchen artifacts, 1 personal item, and 40 miscellaneous artifacts. The activity items were a plastic toy gun and 2 other plastic activity items. Architectural objects include 11 fragments of window glass, 52 pieces of brick, 1 fragment of caulk or putty, 3 pieces of mortar, 1 screw, 2 machine-cut nails, 2 wire nails, and 1 unidentified nail. The single furniture item was a metal drawer pull. The kitchen assemblage contained 26 ceramic sherds (1 brown stoneware, 1 early refined earthenware, 1 early porcelain, 1 white salt-glazed stoneware, 2 ironstone, 1 later porcelain, 3 pearlware, 9 redware, 1 slipware, 5 whiteware, and 1 yelloware), 4 glass bottle fragments, a pull tab, 2 unburnt pieces of shell, and 1 cow bone. The personal item was a pocketknife. The miscellaneous objects were 13 pieces of slag, 15 pieces of coal, 8 fragments of plastic, 3 pieces of wood, and a reptile bone.
Stratum II also included several discontinuous lenses. Limestone rubble was found throughout the stratum, likely related to the limestone foundations identified inside the kitchen building or to the well located under the foundation. Artifacts recovered from Stratum II dated to the 19th and 20th centuries. Artifacts from Stratum II in Test Units 1A-F include 3 activity items (fragments of non-electrical wire), 218 architectural artifacts, 3 clothing objects (1 metal and 2 glass buttons), 426 kitchen-related artifacts, 2 tobacco-related articles (clay bowl and stem fragment), and 48 miscellaneous objects. The architectural assemblage consisted of 1 piece of ceramic sewer/drain pipe, 9 fragments of window glass, 156 brick fragments, 12 pieces of mortar, a screw, a spike, 4 handwrought rosehead nails, 6 machine-cut nails, 1 wire nail, and 27 unidentifiable nails. The kitchen-related assemblage consisted of ceramic sherds, along with 3 pieces of table glass, 11 pieces of bottle glass, 1 bone utensil handle, 233 unburnt pieces of shell, 15 unidentified animal bones, and 6 cow bones. Among the ceramic sherds are
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