At Pocahontas Island City of Petersburg, Virginia
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF SIX SITES (44PG5, 44PG470, 44PG471, 44PG472, 44PG473, and 44PG474) AT POCAHONTAS ISLAND CITY OF PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA VOLUME I: RESULTS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL TESTING Prepared For: Department of Planning and Community Development City of Petersburg 135 N. Union Street Petersburg, Virginia 23803 Prepared By: Matthew Laird (Ph.D.) James River Institute for Archaeology, Inc. 223 McLaws Circle, Suite 1 Williamsburg, Virginia 23185 (757) 229-9485 September 2006 ABSTRACT Between December 2005 and April 2006, the James River Institute for Archaeology, Inc. (JRIA), conducted intensive archaeological testing of six sites within the Pocahontas Island Historic District. The objective of the testing, which focused primarily on properties owned by the City of Petersburg, was to evaluate the integrity and research potential of a representative sample of site types encompassing both the prehistoric- and historic-period occupations of Pocahontas Island. The resources examined included the archaeological components of the extant Jarratt House (44PG470) and “Underground Railroad House” (44PG471); the site of the former Richmond & Petersburg Railroad depot (44PG472); a domestic site spanning the eighteenth- through twentieth centuries in the vacant lot at 301 Rolfe Street (44PG473); the former site of the early twentieth- century Pocahontas Distilling Co. whiskey distillery at 343 Rolfe Street, which also included a nineteenth-/twentieth-century domestic component (44PG474); and one previously inventoried site (44PG5) with prehistoric Native-American and historic domestic components. In general, the investigated sites retained a high degree of physical integrity, and yielded significant concentrations of artifacts and evidence of intact cultural layers and features. Individually, the six sites retained sufficient integrity and research potential to be considered eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D. Based on this investigation, JRIA recommended that the potential for additional archaeological resources throughout the district is high. Collectively, these documented and potential resources contribute to the overall significance and eligibility of the district. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME I I. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................1 II. JARRATT HOUSE LOT (44PG470) Introduction..............................................................................................................5 Test Unit Excavation................................................................................................9 Artifact Analysis ....................................................................................................24 Conclusions............................................................................................................25 III. UNDERGROUND RAILROAD HOUSE LOT (44PG471) Introduction............................................................................................................29 Test Unit Excavation..............................................................................................30 Artifact Analysis ....................................................................................................48 Conclusions............................................................................................................49 IV. RICHMOND AND PETERSBURG RAILROAD DEPOT SITE (44PG472) Introduction............................................................................................................53 Test Trenching .......................................................................................................53 Artifact Analysis ....................................................................................................53 Conclusions............................................................................................................59 V. VACANT LOT, 301 ROLFE STREET (44PG473) Introduction............................................................................................................61 Test Unit Excavation, Area 1.................................................................................61 Test Unit Excavation, Area 2.................................................................................66 Test Unit Excavation, Area 3.................................................................................78 Artifact Analysis ....................................................................................................83 Conclusions............................................................................................................87 VI. VACANT LOT, 343 ROLFE STREET (44PG474) Introduction............................................................................................................89 Shovel Testing and Test Unit Excavation..............................................................89 Artifact Analysis ....................................................................................................98 Conclusions..........................................................................................................100 VII. MULTI-COMPONENT PREHISTORIC NATIVE-AMERICAN/HISTORIC DOMESTIC SITE (44PG5) Introduction..........................................................................................................101 Shovel Testing and Test Unit Excavation............................................................101 Artifact Analysis ..................................................................................................108 Conclusions..........................................................................................................110 VIII. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................113 iii XI. REFERENCES ........................................................................................................115 APPENDIX: VDHR SITE INVENTORY FORMS....................................................117 VOLUME II APPENDIX B: ARTIFACT INVENTORIES Jarratt House Lot (44PG470)...............................................................................141 Underground Railroad House Lot (44PG471).....................................................247 Richmond and Petersburg Railroad Depot Site (44PG472) ................................397 Vacant Lot, 301 Rolfe Street (44PG473).............................................................405 Vacant Lot, 343 Rolfe Street (44PG474).............................................................527 Multi-Component Prehistoric Native-American/Historic Domestic Site (44PG5) .....................................................................................565 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Location of Pocahontas Island, U.S.G.S. 7.5’ Petersburg quadrangle (1987)... 2 Figure 2. Aerial photograph of Pocahontas Island depicting site locations...................... 3 Figure 3. Site locations projected on a map of nineteenth-century Pocahontas Island (Beers 1877)..................................................................................................... 4 Figure 4. Jarratt House, front (east) façade....................................................................... 5 Figure 5. Jarratt House, rear (west) façade and lot, view to east. ..................................... 6 Figure 6. Projected test units locations, 44PG470, 1915 Sanborn Fire Insurance Co. map. ................................................................................................................. 7 Figure 7. Location of test units, Site 44PG470................................................................. 8 Figure 8. Test Unit 1 (two feet square), 44PG470, view to east..................................... 10 Figure 9. Test Unit 6 (four feet by two feet), 44PG470, view to east............................. 12 Figure 10. Test Unit 8 (two feet square), 44PG470, view to east................................... 14 Figure 11. Test Unit 11 (three feet square), 44PG470, view to west.............................. 16 Figure 12. Test Unit 12 (five feet by four feet), 44PG470, view to west. ...................... 16 Figure 13. North and south profiles, Test Unit 13, 44PG470. ........................................ 18 Figure 14. Plan view, Test Unit 13, 44PG470. ............................................................... 19 Figure 15. Plan view and west profile, Test Unit 14, 44PG470. .................................... 20 Figure 16. Underground Railroad House, front (south) façade. ..................................... 29 Figure 17. Underground Railroad House, rear (north) façade and lot. ........................... 30 Figure 18. Location of test units, Site 44PG471............................................................. 31 Figure 19. Projected test units locations, 44PG471, 1915 Sanborn Fire Insurance Co. map. ............................................................................................................... 32 Figure 20. South profile, Test Unit 1, 44PG471. ............................................................ 33 iv Figure 21. Plan view, Test Unit 1, 44PG471. ................................................................. 34 Figure 22. Brick feature, Test Unit 11 (two feet square), 44PG471, view to south. ...... 39 Figure 23. Unidentified feature, Test Unit 16 (two feet square), 44PG471, view to south. ......................................................................................................................