N Examination of Philadelphia's Early Waterfront Through the Archeology of the Hertz Lot
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A N EXAMINATION OF PHILADELPHIAS EARLY WATERFRONT THROUGH THE ARCHEOLOGY OF THE HERTZ LOT by CARMEN A. WEBER t Edited and Compiled by REBECCA YAMIN, PH.D. JOHN MILNER ASSOCIATES, INC. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2006 AN EXAMINATION OF PHILADELPHIA'S EARLY WATERFRONT THROUGH THE ARCHEOLOGY OF THE HERTZ LOT by Carmen A. Weber Drafted 1988 Edited and Compiled by Rebecca Yamin, Ph.D. John Milner Associates, Inc. 1216 Arch Street, 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 2006 ABSTRACT ABSTRACT In August 1987, the West Shipyard and Penny Port House Landing, more recently known as the Hertz Lot for its association with the national car rental company, was listed as the first archeological site on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. Research conducted during the historic designation process revealed the potential for an archeological site related to the development of the port of Philadelphia and maritime activity along the Delaware River. Wharf construction and other early engineering techniques of the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries created new land from the river and the remains of that activity were potentially preserved under a parking lot. The threat of development, not of the West shipyard directly, but of a large portion of the remainder of the site, led the Philadelphia Historical Commission to conduct test excavations in September of 1987. The results of this effort warranted a full-fledged (data recovery) excavation. Funded by the William Penn Foundation and co-sponsored by the Philadelphia Maritime Museum and the Philadelphia Historical Commission, the work began in October and continued through December 1987. A team of six archeologists and numerous other volunteer excavators under the direction of Carmen A. Weber, Archeologist for the Philadelphia Historical Commission, uncovered the remains of four wharves and a slipway (alternatively called a ship’s way), dating to the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The most significant feature, the slipway, provided an efficient facility in the early nineteenth century for the repair of small vessels, such as sloops, shallops, and small schooners. Representative of the variety of maritime technological experiments undertaken in early nineteenth century American ports, the Hertz Lot slipway remains the only feature of its kind uncovered in excavations along the East Coast. HERTZ LOT PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Hertz Lot excavation could never have occurred without the help and support of numerous people and organizations. First, the financial assistance of the William Penn Foundation made the excavation possible, and both the Philadelphia Maritime Museum and the Philadelphia Historical Commission provided extensive staff support for the project. Eunice Lazin graciously gave permission to excavate on her property; Malcolm Lazin and Jim Culmer of the Philadelphia Marine Center provided logistical support during the excavation. In addition, Hawthorne Demolition, Inc. generously supplied heavy equipment for several days. Other agencies also supported our efforts. The Third Survey District of the Philadelphia Department of Streets provided a team of surveyors and surveying equipment; the Philadelphia Water Department loaned pumps and provided access to a water hydrant, and the Fire Department brought out a cherry picker for photography. Staff archaeologists and architects of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office of the National Park Service helped extensively in the excavation and recordation of the site; Kate Stevenson particularly deserves thanks for her enthusiastic support of the project. The Anthropology Laboratory of Temple University provided space and numerous equipment loans. Independence National Historical Park offered the use of laboratory equipment for artifact processing. Additional support in the form of equipment loans also came from the University of Pennsylvania's University Museum. People also contributed to the project. Dave Orr brought his University of Delaware students to work not just once, but several Saturdays, and amateur archaeologists such as Steve Howard and Tom Waters contributed many hours to the excavation. Members of the Rivers Edge Civic Association took great interest in the work and offered cokes, buildings for photography, and many words of encouragement. Both Tom Noon of the Rivers Edge Civic Association and Larry O'Cleary of the Third Survey District, Philadelphia Department of Streets, provided assistance with historical research. Without a professional staff, no archeological excavation can be successfully completed. The crew of the Hertz Lot braved the cold without complaint and often dedicated six days a week to the excavation effort. My special thanks go to Paula Dardaris, Pamela Crane, Peter Morrison, Michael Kulesza, Bill Gartner, and John Wonderly as well as to the laboratory crew of Beth Ragan and Inez Hoffman. The staff of numerous research institutions across the city also contributed their valuable expertise. Among these individuals I would like to thank Roy Goodman of the American Philosophical Society, Kenneth Finkel of the Library Company of Philadelphia, Linda Stanley of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and Dorothy (Dotty) H. Mueller and Anne Wilcox of the Philadelphia Maritime Museum. Special thanks to Jefferson Moak, whose assistance with the deed research at the Philadelphia City Archives was invaluable. Finally, I'd like to thank Richard Tyler for his support and for obtaining the grant that made our excavations possible as well as the rest of the staff of the Historical Commission, who all helped either on site or at the office. Note on Production, 2006 This report, written by Carmen Weber in 1988 while she was the archeologist for the Philadelphia Historical Commission, never reached production. Although the narrative portion of the report HERTZ LOT PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA ACKNOWLEDGMENTS was fairly complete when Weber left the commission, the figures and plates had not been put into final form or integrated into the text. In about 2000 Dr. Richard Tyler, then the director of the Historical Commission, asked John Milner Associates, Inc. (JMA) to assess how much work was needed to complete the report, but no funds were available at that time to do the job. A grant from Stuart Harting in 2006 finally made production possible and Rebecca Yamin at John Milner Associates guided the effort. JMA’s graphics department prepared the plates and figures and Margy Schoettle, also of JMA, did the final formatting. HERTZ LOT PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgments List of Tables List of Figures 1.0 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................1 2.0 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND RESEARCH .................................................................2 3.0 RESEARCH GOALS AND FIELD METHODS ...............................................................8 3.1 Research Questions ................................................................................................8 3.2 Field Methods.......................................................................................................10 4.0 FIELD RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION.................................................................12 4.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................12 4.2 Eighteenth-Century Wharves ...............................................................................12 4.3 The Slipway or Ship’s Way..................................................................................18 4.4 Nineteenth-Century Features Adjoining and Related to the Slipway...................25 4.5 Early Nineteenth-Century Wharf .........................................................................25 4.6 Final Landfill Sequence........................................................................................26 4.7 Other Features ......................................................................................................27 5.0 ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL INFORMATION ..........................................................28 5.1 Wharves ...............................................................................................................28 5.2 The Slipway (or Ship's Way) ...............................................................................30 6.0 CONCLUSIONS ..............................................................................................................36 7.0 GLOSSARY .....................................................................................................................39 8.0 REFERENCES CITED ....................................................................................................40 Appendix A. Philadelphia Register of Historic Places Form for Penny Pot House Landing and West Shipyard. Appendix B. Letter from the Maine Maritime Museum. Appendix C. Proposal for Archeological Testing of the Hertz Lot. Appendix D. Philadelphia Historical Commission Site Forms. Appendix E. Artifact Inventory. Appendix F. Floral/Faunal Report. Appendix G. HAER Slipway Photographs. HERTZ LOT PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA LIST OF TABLES LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Residents of the Hertz Lot, 1791 and 1801. Table 2. Wharves and Trade at the Hertz Lot, 1762-1849. Table 3. Summary of Important Features. Table 4. Diagnostic Artifacts, Mid to Late Eighteenth-Century Wharf. Table 5. Diagnostic