ARCHAEOLOGY at ARLINGTON: Excavations at the Ancestral Custis Plantation, Northampton County, Virginia
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ARCHAEOLOGY AT ARLINGTON: Excavations at the Ancestral Custis Plantation, Northampton County, Virginia Nicholas M. Luccketti with contributions by Edward A. Chappell and Beverly A. Straube Virginia Company Foundation and The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities 1 Graphics and maps by Jamie E. May Design and production by Elliott Jordan © 1999 by The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this report or portions thereof in any form. 2 Acknowledgements Renewed archaeological excavations at Arling The VCF merged with the APVA in 1997 and ton were conducted from May 15-June 7 1994 un this report was produced by the APVA. The illus der the general guidance of then Virginia Company trations were created by Jamie May, except for Fig Foundation (VCF) president Dr. William Kelso, ure 2 which was drawn by Natalie Larsen and Fig now Director of Archaeology for the Association for ures 25-27 which were composed by Cary Carson. the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA), and Figures 7 and 8 are reworked from original distri VCF Trustee Dr. Cary Carson, Vice President for bution maps produced by field archaeologist John Research of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Bedell. Architectural details in Figure 12 were taken (CWF). The archaeological team consisted of Drs. from a plan provided by CWF Department of Ar Kelso and Carson, Dr. Fraser D. Neiman, Jamie chitectural History. Elliott Jordan handled the re May, Elliott Jordan, David K. Hazzard, Dane port design and production. Magoon, Bradley Macdonald, William Moore, and The author is indebted to Bly Straube and Bill Perry McSherry. Nicholas M. Luccketti served as Kelso for final editing. Much of the architectural the Project Archaeologist and directed the excava information in this report is the result of numerous tions. A CWF architectural history team of Carson, discussions with colleagues Cary Carson and Ed Edward Chappell, Willie Graham, Dr. Carl ward Chappell, however, any errors of fact or mis Lounsbury, and Mark R. Wenger, recorded and in interpretations are the responsibility of the author. terpreted the architectural remains uncovered dur Anyone interested in the history and archaeol ing the 1988 and 1994 work at Arlington and col ogy of Arlington owes a very special thanks to Mrs. laborated in the development of an architectural Jean Mihalyka and Mr. James B. Lynch, Jr. A long interpretation. The artifacts were identified by time resident of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, Mrs. former VCF and current APVA curator Beverly A. Mihalyka’s energetic vigilance in protecting the Ar Straube. Retired CWF Director of Archaeology Ivor lington site is the reason that it survives today. Mr. Noel Hume visited the site and made several im Lynch, a Custis decendant and scholar, contributed portant observations and CWF photographer Dave the funds that made the 1994 excavation, and all Doody donated a large collection of slides taken of the exciting discoveries possible. the excavations to the APVA. R A P P A H A N N O C K Y Figure 1. The lower O R K Chesapeake and the C H E S A P E A K E B A Y Eastern Shore of Virginia. Kings Creek Old Plantation Jamestown Creek Cape Charles J A M E S Old Point Comfort Hampton Cape Henry Roads N A T L A N T I C O C E A N 0 12 miles 3 Figure 2. Old Plantation Creek environs and the location of Arlington. Figure 3. Tombs of John Custis II and John Custis IV. 4 INTRODUCTION The land along the south bank of Old Planta Arlington fell into disuse sometime in the early tion Creek on Virginia’s Eastern Shore is one of the 18th century and all the ruins of the abandoned plan most significant historic properties in the nation tation eventually disappeared beneath the waves of (Figure 1). After centuries of occupation by Ameri grain fields. Until recently, the only visible remains can Indians, in 1619 the Old Plantation Creek/ related to Arlington were the table tombs of John King’s Creek area became the site of Accomack Plan Custis II and his grandson John Custis IV (Figure tation, the first permanent English settlement on 3). The Custis Tombs site, which is listed on the the Eastern Shore. Some 50 years later, John Custis National Register of Historic Places, was acquired II established a prosperous plantation whose core in the 1970’s by the APVA. Who, soon thereafter, was the most magnificent mansion in the Chesa constructed the brick enclosure that now surrounds peake. The Custis plantation apparently was named the tombstones. in honor of a great benefactor of the family, Lord In the spring of 1987, the Virginia Department Arlington, or possibly after the English village of of Historic Landmarks (VDHL) conducted a brief Arlington-Bibury that was home to the first gen archaeological survey of the traditional Arlington eration of Custises (Figure 2) (Lynch 1993:173). It site near the Custis Tombs. VDHL archaeologists has been more than three and one-half centuries David K. Hazzard and Keith T. Egloff discovered since Arlington dominated the landscape, yet it still sections of a brick foundation for a large structure lives on, giving its name to the land that lies at the that lay hidden beneath the foot-thick layer of plow- soul of America, Arlington National Cemetery. zone created by hundreds of years of cultivation Arlington’s path to national recognition began (VDHL 1988:28-32). The possibility that the in 1759 when Martha Dandridge Custis, widow of brickwork was part of the Arlington foundation was John Custis IV’s son Daniel, married a twenty-six greatly enhanced when the state archaeologists dis year old army colonel named George Washington. covered a wine bottle seal with the initials “IC” (the En route to becoming the father of the country, capital J was represented by a crossed I in 17th-cen Washington also became administrator of his wife’s tury orthography). property on the Eastern Shore. Martha’s great- Subsequently, the DiCanio Organization, which granddaughter, Mary A. R. Custis, also married a planned to develop the property, commissioned the young military officer and the Custis family estate James River Institute for Archaeology, Inc. (JRIA) passed to a second man who, like George Washing to undertake an archaeological assessment of three ton, would become an American icon. Ironically, contiguous lots that totaled about seven acres im some thirty years after his marriage to Mary Custis mediately west of the Custis Tombs and where the in 1831, Robert E. Lee would reluctantly command VDHL survey located the brick foundations. The one of the armies striving to divide the nation won ten-week assessment, conducted under the super by his wife’s legendary ancestor. Thus, the found vision of archaeologist John Bedell from June to Au ing of the country and the war which almost tore it gust of 1988, found extensive subsurface remains apart were linked through the Custis family. in the survey area from the period c. 1620-1780 Despite the destruction of Arlington over 250 (Bedell and Luccketti). years ago, the name of the ancestral Custis family While researching his book on the Custis fam plantation remains alive today in the American con ily, descendant James Lynch inquired whether there sciousness. George Washington Parke Custis, was a conjectural drawing of Arlington based on Martha’s grandson who was adopted by the Gen the archaeological evidence. No rendition existed, eral and his wife, built a mansion on the Potomac but the unexcavated cellars uncovered by the 1988 River near Mount Vernon in the early nineteenth archaeological assessment likely contained a wealth century which became the namesake of the first of architectural information that would make such Custis home in Virginia. Today, Arlington House a drawing possible. Mr. Lynch then agreed to fund is owned by the National Park Service and its the VCF, a non-profit archaeological research orga grounds became the national cemetery after the nization, to conduct an intensive archaeological in Civil War. vestigation of the cellars in 1994. 5 Figure 4. Detail of John Smith’s Map of Virginia depicting the village of Accomack. 6 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Accawmack Indians ment to colonize Virginia (Ames 1940:4, Wise 1911:22). The Smith Island saltworks failed and The American Indians that inhabited the lower were abandoned before 1620 (Kingsbury, III part of the Eastern Shore at the time of English ex 1933:116) ploration of the New World were the Accawmacks. In 1619, Ensign Thomas Savage, with some in John White, artist on the 1585-1586 expedition to dentured servants, began a profitable trading rela Roanoke Island, depicted their village on his Map tionship with the Accawmack Indians. Savage’s suc of Raleigh’s Virginia (Hulton 1984:86) as did John cess likely stemmed from his previous experience Smith on his Map of Virginia (Figure 4). Smith on the Eastern Shore serving as an interpreter, a represented the Accawmack village with the sym skill he obtained while living with the Powhatans bol for “Kings howses” and said that it had 80 men for several years, first on Argall’s 1613 voyage and (Barbour 1986: I, 189, Rountree 1989:9). The most later in 1617 for a merchant (Whitelaw 1951:22, likely location for the village of Accawmack is some Turman 1964:5, Hatch 1957:92). He received some where between the town of Cape Charles and the land from Debedeavon, the Accawmack chief or south side of Old Plantation Creek. The Late Wood werowance, however, there is some question of land period ossuaries excavated by VDHL archae whether he established himself on a neck of land ologists Hazzard and Egloff in the fields that sur between the Chesapeake Bay and Cherrystone Creek round the Arlington site indicate that this area very which is called Savage’s Neck or on Old Plantation likely is the site of the Accawmack village (Hazzard Creek as suggested by a later patent (Nugent I 1987:31).