A Geophysical and Archaeological Investigation of the Waterpower System at the West Point Foundry, Cold Spring, New York
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Michigan Technological University Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open Reports 2004 Waterpower : a geophysical and archaeological investigation of the waterpower system at the West Point Foundry, Cold Spring, New York Kimberly A. Finch Michigan Technological University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etds Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Copyright 2004 Kimberly A. Finch Recommended Citation Finch, Kimberly A., "Waterpower : a geophysical and archaeological investigation of the waterpower system at the West Point Foundry, Cold Spring, New York", Master's Thesis, Michigan Technological University, 2004. https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etds/307 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etds Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons WATERPOWER: A GEOPHYSICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE WATERPOWER SYSTEM AT THE WEST POINT FOUNDRY, COLD SPRING, NEW YORK. By Kimberly A. Finch A THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2004 2004 Finch This thesis, "Waterpower: A Geophysical and Archaeological Investigation of the Waterpower System at the West Point Foundry, Cold Spring, New York" is hereby approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER of SCIENCE IN INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY DEPARTMENT: Social Sciences Industrial Archaeology Signatures: Thesis Advisor ______________________________ Dr. Susan Martin Department Chair ______________________________ Dr. Bruce Seely Date ______________________________ Acknowledgements i Acknowledgements I would like to thank the Scenic Hudson Land Trust, Inc. for providing me with the opportunity to work on this project. Special thanks to my advisor, Dr. Susan Martin, who suffered through endless thesis drafts and provided support during the writing process. My committee, which consisted of Dr. Susan Martin, Dr. Patrick Martin, Dr. Timothy Scarlett, and Dr. Terry Reynolds provided support and input throughout the project. Thanks also go to Dr. Charles Young, who guided geophysical surveys at the foundry and assisted with data interpretation. This project would not have been successful without the incredible dedication shown by the field crew, who suffered through incessant rain, my germs, deer ticks, and incredibly powerful chili. The crew included Rachel Herzberg, David Vago, Steve Ftaclas, Mike Deegan, Pat Baird, Joe Wilson, and John Krenzel. Special thanks also go to Industrial Archaeology graduate Elizabeth Norris, who's invaluable help in the field and reminders of large chicken-like birds kept me smiling. I would like to express my gratitude to volunteers who gave their time to the project: Steve Walton, Barbara Smith, Jennifer Bollen, Leah Baird, Thomas Rushford, Jan Thacher, and Gerald Greer. I would also like to extend thanks to my friends at Tech and in Ontario, all of whom made sure I maintained my sanity while I wrote my thesis. Thanks to Katie, who provided support through good times and bad, and made sure that our Thursday nights were still full of climbing, good food, and ER. To Alicia, my AWOL climbing partner and Thursday night partner in crime who endured endless questions about maps and Microsoft Word. Grazie to my housemates Cristina and Rachel, who put up with endless paper sprawl and didn't complain when I turned the kitchen into my office during the winter. Thanks also to the folks back in Ontario (who I forgive for pointing out that it was warmer there) for letting me drag them to MEC and stay at their houses whenever I Acknowledgements ii made it home. To my parents, for an endless supply of cookies and Tim Horton's hot chocolate. And to Andy, who provided support throughout the year and made sure that I made it out of Houghton every now and then. Abstract iii Abstract Waterpower: A Geophysical and Archaeological Investigation of the Waterpower System at the West Point Foundry, Cold Spring, New York, describes the results of ground penetrating radar surveys and archaeological excavation undertaken by Michigan Technological University (MTU) archaeologists during the summer of 2003 at the West Point Foundry, Cold Spring, New York. 2003 constituted MTU's second field season at the foundry. Fieldwork concentrated on the foundry's waterpower system, an intricate network of surface and subsurface drains, races, flumes, waterwheels, turbines, dams, and ponds that powered operations and regulated water flow throughout the site. Archaeologists utilized non-destructive geophysical technology, which expedited survey, facilitated placement of excavation units, and provided a model for future archaeogeophysical research at industrial sites. Features discovered during excavation provided valuable information pertaining to the waterpower system's construction and its functions. Data from ground penetrating radar surveys, archaeological excavation, historical photographs, documents, and maps permitted the development of a provisional chronology of the development of various components of the West Point Foundry's waterpower system. Information gathered during this project serves as an aid in site interpretation and rehabilitation. Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………….…………… i ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………….…………… iii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………… 1 Research Goals …………………………………………………………. 1 Thesis Organization …………………………………………………….. 3 CHAPTER 2: SITE DEVELOPMENT ………………………………………… 5 Site Location ……………………………………………………………. 5 Physiography of the Hudson River Valley ……………………………… 7 Prehistoric Occupation of the Hudson Valley ………………………...… 8 Pre-Industrial Land use and the Development of Industrial Infrastructure .. 10 The Industrial Landscape, 1817 to 1960 ………………………………..… 12 The Post-Industrial Landscape: Excavation and Preservation ………….… 15 CHAPTER 3: ARCHAEOGEOPHYSICS …………………………………..…… 19 Geophysics and Archaeology: An Introduction ………………………….. 19 A History of Geophysics in Archaeology ………………………………… 20 Methodology ………………………………………………………..…..… 22 Resistivity ………………………………………………………… 23 Ground Penetrating Radar(GPR) ……………………………….… 26 Magnetometry ………………………………………………….… 34 The West Point Foundry: Choosing a Geophysical Method ………….….. 36 CHAPTER 4: GPR SURVEYS AT THE WEST POINT FOUNDRY 39 Equipment ……………………………………………………………….… 39 Methodology …………………………………………………………..….. 40 GPR Project Descriptions …………………………………………………. 43 Project One ………………………………………………………… 43 Project Two ……………………………………………………….. 45 Project Three …………………………………………………...…. 48 Project Four ……………………………………………………….. 50 Project Five ……………………………………………………..… 53 Project Six ………………………………………………………… 55 Project Seven …………………………………………………....… 58 Project Eight …………………………………………………….... 61 Project Nine ……………………………………………………..… 65 Conclusions ……………………………………………………………….. 69 CHAPTER 5: EXCAVATION ……………………………………………..……. 73 Excavation Goals and Methodology ……………………………………… 73 Description of Excavation Units ……………………………………..…... 77 The Boring Mill: Unit 4A and Feature One ………………………. 77 Unit 4B ……………………………………….… 83 Unit 4C …………………………………………. 86 Unit 4D ………………………………………..... 88 The Power House: Unit 10A ……………………………………….94 The Boiler House: Unit 15A ……………………………………….97 Battery Pond: Shovel Test Pit 1 (STP1) ………………….…….… 100 Artifact Categorization ……………………………………………………. 103 The 2003 Assemblage …………………………………………….. 107 Summary of Artifacts by Functional Category …………………… 108 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 110 CHAPTER 6: THE WEST POINT FOUNDRY WATERPOWER SYSTEM …… 112 Section One: An Examination of Waterpower in Four Activity Areas …... 114 I. The Furnace and Battery Pond ……………………………….… 114 II. The Blacksmith Complex ……………………………………… 127 III. The Boring Mill ………………………………………………. 131 IV. The Power House …………………………………………...… 135 Other Water-Related Features: Feature Thirteen, Fire Plugs, and Feature Twenty ………………………………………………………….... 139 Feature Thirteen ………………………………………………….. 139 Fire Plugs ……………………………………………………….… 140 Feature Twenty ………………………………………………….... 141 A Provisional Summary of Water Flow Throughout the West Point Foundry ……………………………………………………………….…... 143 Section Two: A Provisional Overview of the Development of the West Point Foundry Waterpower System ……………………………………..... 145 Section Three: Waterpower in the Nineteenth Century: Developing an Historical Context for the Waterpower System at the West Point Foundry …………………………………………………………...... 146 The Adirondack Iron and Steel Company, New York ….... 148 The Burden Waterwheel, New York ……………………... 149 The Dover Union Mill, Massachusetts ………………...… 149 The Hopewell Furnace, Pennsylvania ………………….… 151 The Tredegar Iron Works, Virginia …………………….… 151 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………….. 153 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSIONS …………………………………………… 155 Recommendations for future research …………………………………….. 159 REFERENCES Books, Magazines, Journals, Theses, Letters, Presentations and Site Reports Internet Resources Historic Maps, Photographs, and Paintings APPENDIX A: MAPS ILLUSTRATING THE SEQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENT AT THE WEST POINT FOUNDRY APPENDIX B: 2003 ARTIFACT CATALOG APPENDIX C: 2003 FEATURE DATABASE List of Figures Figure 3-1 Diagram illustrating the principles of measuring resistivity ……… 24 Figure 3-2 Illustration of the Wenner, twin-electrode, and square resistivity arrays ……………………………………………………………… 26 Figure 3-3 Antenna propagation and reflection along a GPR transect …..…… 27 Figure