Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Tudor Place Property, Northwest Washington, D.C
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PHASE I ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TUDOR PLACE PROPERTY, NORTHWEST WASHINGTON, D.C. by Carthon Davis, III and Kerri S. Barile Prepared for Tudor Place Historic House and Garden Prepared by DOVETAIL CULTURAL RESOURCE GROUP May 2011 Document Repositories District of Columbia Historic Planning Department District of Columbia Archives Martin Luther King Jr. Library Tudor Place Historic House and Garden Washington Historical Society Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Tudor Place Property, Northwest Washington, D.C. by Carthon Davis, III and Kerri S. Barile Prepared for Tudor Place Historic House and Garden 1644 31st Street, NW Washington, DC 20007 Prepared by Dovetail Cultural Resource Group 300 Central Road, Suite 200 Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 Dovetail Job #10-025 May 2011 ABSTRACT On behalf of the Tudor Place Historic House and Garden Museum, Dovetail Cultural Resource Group (Dovetail) conducted an intensive Phase I archaeological survey on approximately 5.5 acres (2.2 hectares) of the museum’s property in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The project area is located north of Georgetown’s commercial district—along M street. The intensive Phase I archaeological survey consisted of: a pedestrian survey across the entire parcel to locate any above-ground features and note areas of disturbance; excavation of close-interval subsurface shovel test to recover artifacts; and mapping all points of interest using a GPS unit. The property has already been identified as a site (51NW134), and has been the subject of four previous archaeological events. These prior surveys were completed due to grounds improvements or repairs. With such a limited scope, no previous surveys have encompassed the entire parcel, leading to very disconnected findings. The goal of the survey was to identify the location of possible past buildings, note areas with no subsurface cultural significance for future improvements, and provide comprehensive archaeological information that may be used in relation to past and future excavations. The current study (51NW134.5) concluded with the excavation of 222 shovel test pits, resulting in the recovery of 874 artifacts from 139 of the 222 shovel test pits. Through the investigation, Dovetail was able to identify multiple points of interest for future study, as well as locate areas with little data potential for future museum improvements. The archaeological survey identified the historic ground level of the main house, through the discovery of an intact brick walkway. The survey also located potential remains of a burned building and a late-nineteenth/early-twentieth century dump site in the dell. In addition, the survey identified the location of two possible (unknown use) outbuildings: one to the west of the circle garden, and one within the western portion of the Tennis Lawn. Lastly, soils to the west of the western original structure (west wing of main house) were found to contain many artifacts related to a pre-1805 occupation. All above- mentioned areas have the potential to contain significant information on the history of the Tudor Place. Through further archaeological work within these areas, the exact extent of the information will be learned. i ii Table of Contents ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... i INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................. 1 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING ........................................................................................ 5 Geology ........................................................................................................................... 5 Soils................................................................................................................................. 5 HISTORIC CONTEXT ...................................................................................................... 7 Prehistoric Periods .......................................................................................................... 7 Paleoindian Period ...................................................................................................... 7 Archaic Period ............................................................................................................ 8 Woodland Period ........................................................................................................ 9 Contact Period .......................................................................................................... 11 Historic Period .............................................................................................................. 12 The Establishment of Georgetown ............................................................................ 12 Brief History of Tudor Place..................................................................................... 13 SURVEY METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................... 21 Field Methodology ........................................................................................................ 21 Laboratory Methodology .............................................................................................. 23 BACKGROUND RESEARCH ........................................................................................ 25 RESULTS OF FIELDWORK........................................................................................... 31 Shovel Test Results ....................................................................................................... 31 Artifacts......................................................................................................................... 37 Analysis of the Project Area ......................................................................................... 40 Recommendations of Future Work ............................................................................... 53 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................... 57 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 59 APPENDIX A: SHOVEL TEST CATALOGUE ............................................................. 65 APPENDIX B: ARTIFACT CATALOGUE .................................................................... 97 APPENDIX C: 51NW201 MANAGEMENT SUMMARY ........................................... 121 APPENDIX D: REPORT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT 1670 31ST Street ............................................................................................................................... 141 iii iv List of Figures Figure 1: Map of Washington, D.C. ................................................................................ 2 Figure 2: Location of the Tudor Place. Shown on the 1983 7.5 minute Washington West Topographical Quadrangle ......................................................................................... 3 Figure 3: Overview of the Tudor Place, Looking at Primary (South) Elevation. ............... 3 Figure 4: Aerial of the Tudor Place Property, Including Main House, Outbuilding, and Administrative Office. ................................................................................................ 4 Figure 5: Map of Washington City, District of Columbia, 1856–1859. ........................... 14 Figure 6: Original Configuration of Francis Lowndes’ House. ........................................ 16 Figure 7: Five Part Plan of Tudor Place in 1850s ............................................................. 16 Figure 8: First Floor Plan of Tudor Place, 1893.. ............................................................. 17 Figure 9: Detail of 1893 Plats of Squares and Subdivisions of Georgetown, Washington, D.C. ........................................................................................................................... 18 Figure 10: Administration Building, 1670 31st Street NW. .............................................. 19 Figure 11: Construction of the Foundation for the Garage, 1913. .................................... 19 Figure 12: Portion of a Survey by Blake Gordon (1913). ................................................. 20 Figure 13: View of Datum Location at Northeast Corner of Main House. ...................... 22 Figure 14: View of Baseline along Grid Coordinate N1850. ........................................... 24 Figure 15: Location of Previously Recorded Resource Within the Area of the Tudor Place. ......................................................................................................................... 27 Figure 16: Base Map with Locations of Previous Survey Areas. ..................................... 29 Figure 17: Use of a Laser Transit for Shovel Test Pit Placement. .................................... 32 Figure 18: GIS Map with Locations of Shovel Tests. ...................................................... 33 Figure 19: Archaeologists Carthon Davis, III and Heather Littlefield ............................. 34 Figure 20: Typical STP Profile of Front (South) Yard. .................................................... 34 Figure 21: Typical STP Profile of Rear (North) Yard. ....................................................