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The T. C. Osborn Tenant Farm, 41BP314: An Early Sharecropper Site in Bastrop County, Texas by José E. Zapata with a contribution by Barbara A. Meissner Prepared for: Prepared by: Texas Department of Transportation Center for Archaeological Research Environmental Affairs Division The University of Texas at San Antonio Archeological Studies Program, Report No. 31 Archaeological Survey Report, No. 309 2001 ISBN: 1-930788-11-8 The T. C. Osborn Tenant Farm, 41BP314 José E. Zapata CAR-UTSA, ASR #309; EAD-TxDOT, ASPR #31 2001 The T. C. Osborn Tenant Farm, 41BP314: An Early Sharecropper Site in Bastrop County, Texas by José E. Zapata with a contribution by Barbara A. Meissner Nancy A. Kenmotsu Principal Investigator Texas Antiquities Permit No. 598 Prepared for: Prepared by: Texas Department of Transportation Center for Archaeological Research Environmental Affairs Division The University of Texas at San Antonio Archeological Studies Program, Report No. 31 Archaeological Survey Report, No. 309 2001 The T. C. Osborn Tenant Farm, 41BP314: An Early Sharecropper Site in Bastrop County, Texas Copyright ©2001 Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio (CAR-UTSA) All rights reserved TxDOT and CAR-UTSA jointly own all rights, title, and interest in and to all data and other information developed for this project. Brief passages from this publication may be reproduced without permission provided that credit is given to TxDOT and CAR-UTSA. Permission to reprint an entire chapter, section, figures or tables must be obtained in advance from the Supervisor of the Archeological Studies Program, Environmental Affairs Division, Texas Department of Transportation, 125 East 11th Street, Austin, Texas, 78701. Copies of this publication have been deposited with the Texas State Library in compliance with the State Depository requirements. Printed by Kwik Kopy Printing San Antonio, Texas 2001 jointly published by Texas Department of Transportation Environmental Affairs Division Archeological Studies Program Nancy A. Kenmotsu, Ph.D., Supervisor Archeological Studies Program, Report No. 31 A. McGraw, Series Editor and Center for Archaeological Research The University of Texas at San Antonio Archaeological Survey Report, No. 309 Printed on acid-free, 60 lb. paper ISBN: 1-930788-11-8 The T. C. Osborn Tenant Farm, 41BP314 Abstract The T. C. Osborn tenant site was located in Bastrop, Bastrop County, about 1,300 ft. (410 m) east of the juncture of Gills Branch Creek and the Colorado River, along the path of present-day Lovers Lane, and just south of State Highway 71. This site was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and investigated in February and March 1987 by John W. Clark of the Texas Department of Transportation, prior to being impacted by the construction of Lovers Lane. A total of 32 units were excavated, and the recovered artifacts include ceramic sherds, glass fragments, beads and marbles, cut and wire nails, assorted metal objects, buttons, and bone fragments. This site also underwent Historic American Building Survey, Level 3 documentation, so that a series of measured drawings of the demolished four-room board-and-batten home are also available. A site history of the property discovered that the board-and-batten home was constructed ca. 1906 by T. C. Osborn for the use of tenant farm families. The artifactual, archival, and oral history data indicates that this site was occupied by at least two Mexican and Mexican-American families between ca. 1906 and 1941. The matriarch of one of these tenant families, 93-year-old Louise García, resides within four blocks of the original site, and contributed an oral history to this inquiry. The personal narratives furnished by former Osborn Farm tenant families were critical to achieving a synthesis of the data. All cultural materials, field notes, forms, and photographs were retained at the Center for Archaeological Research at The University of Texas at San Antonio for permanent curation. i The T. C. Osborn Tenant Farm, 41BP314 Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................................................. i Figures ..............................................................................................................................................................iii Tables ............................................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments............................................................................................................................................. v Introduction......................................................................................................................................................1 Research Design................................................................................................................................................4 Mexican Migration Patterns into Central Texas ........................................................................................4 Social Relations within an Early Twentieth Century Rural Community ..................................................4 Research Summary ....................................................................................................................................5 Natural Setting .................................................................................................................................................7 Historical Background ......................................................................................................................................9 Early History ..............................................................................................................................................9 Anglo-American Settlement .....................................................................................................................10 Development of Bastrop ..........................................................................................................................11 Local Industries ........................................................................................................................................12 Transportation ..........................................................................................................................................15 Local Labor ..............................................................................................................................................16 Previous Research ...........................................................................................................................................17 Scope and Methods ........................................................................................................................................18 Archival Research .....................................................................................................................................18 Oral Histories .................................................................................................................................................19 Artifacts and the Built Environment ..............................................................................................................19 Results.............................................................................................................................................................21 Fieldwork ..................................................................................................................................................21 Ancillary Research ....................................................................................................................................25 Site Description .......................................................................................................................................28 Site History – Ownership ........................................................................................................................29 Site History – Tenancy.............................................................................................................................32 Sharecropping as an Institution – Oral Narratives..................................................................................34 Summary of Narratives ...........................................................................................................................39 Artifactual Data ..............................................................................................................................................40 Architecture – The Board-and-Batten Home ...........................................................................................40 Artifact Analysis .......................................................................................................................................42 Summary ..................................................................................................................................................47 Vertebrate Faunal Remains .............................................................................................................................48 Methods ...................................................................................................................................................48