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Site Report: Brick Company, Hunting Terrace

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Site Report: Brick Company, Hunting Terrace FINAL REPORT JANUARY 25, 2018 ARCHEOLOGICAL MONITORING AND DOCUMENTATION OF SITE 44AX0233 (ALEXANDRIA BRICK COMPANY) AT THE THORNTON, 1199 S. WASHINGTON STREET, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA PREPARED FOR: FOULGER-PRATT DEVELOPMENT, LLC. 12435 PARK POTOMAC AVENUE, SUITE 200 POTOMAC, MD 20854 R. CHRISTOPHER GOODWIN & ASSOCIATES, INC. 241 EAST FOURTH STREET, SUITE 100 . FREDERICK, MD 21701 Archeological Monitoring and Documentation of Site 44AX0233 (Alexandria Brick Company) at The Thornton, 1199 S. Washington St., Alexandria, Virginia Final Report ___________________________________ Kathleen M. Child, M.A. Principal Investigator by Kathleen M. Child, M.A. and Martha R. Williams, M.A., M.Ed. R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc. 241 E. Fourth Street, Suite 100 Frederick, Maryland 21701 January 2018 for Foulger-Pratt Development, LLC. 12435 Park Potomac Avenue, Suite 200 Potomac, MD 20854 Abstract onstruction of The Thornton, a planned Archeological features associated with the residential apartment building located at Alexandria Brick Company were exposed in the C1199 S. Washington Street in Alexandria, southwestern quadrant of the Hunting Terrace Virginia, exposed portions of three early twen- redevelopment area. Redevelopment efforts for tieth century kiln structures associated with the the parcel included the removal of all existing former Alexandria Brick Company (44AX0233). buildings and infrastructure, and construction Archeological documentation of the exposed of a new multi-story residential complex with structures was undertaken between July 27, 2016 below-grade parking facilities. A previous Phase and September 22, 2016 by R. Christopher Good- IA background study and archeological assess- win and Associates, Inc., on behalf of Foulger- ment indicated a high potential for intact archeo- Pratt Development, LLC. The archeological work logical deposits or features associated with the for- included documentation of exposed cultural fea- mer brick-manufacturing company (Williams and tures and archeological monitoring of mechani- Sanders 2013). The brick-making business had cally-excavated exploratory trenches placed near been established on the property by 1884 and con- the exposed kiln structures; monitoring work was tinued to operate under various names until 1919, performed on an on-call basis during the above- when fire destroyed the engine house and drying cited dates. sheds. The property lay unused until 1943, when All archeological investigations were con- the Hunting Terrace Apartments was built. ducted in consultation with the Office of Historic The Alexandria Brick Company produced Alexandria/Alexandria Archaeology (Alexandria machine and hand-made bricks until 1919, when Archaeology) and Foulger-Pratt Development, the facility was again destroyed by fire. The aban- LLC, and followed updates to the Scope of Work doned kiln complex appears to have been partial- for a Documentary Study and Archaelogical Test- ly dismantled when the Hunting Terrace Apart- ing (dated December 16, 2008) prepared by Al- ments was built. The complex originally consist- exandria Archaeology for the project. All aspects ed of five pairs of freestanding, coal-fired, updraft of the investigation complied with applicable fed- kilns; one of which were examined in detail for eral, state, and local standards. Research methods this project. Archeological monitoring during employed during archeological monitoring work redevelopment, combined with documentation were approved by Alexandria Archeology and of previously exposed kiln structures, provided followed guidelines for archeological investiga- information on the layout of brick kilns used by tions put forth in the City of Alexandria’s Archae- the Alexandria Brick Company during the late ological Standards (Alexandria Archaeology nineteenth and early twentieth century. Project 1996) and the Secretary of Interior’s Standards engineers were able to alter their plans in order to and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic avoid impacting portions of the brick kiln com- Preservation (USDI NPS 1983). plex which now are preserved in place. ii R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc. Contains Privileged Information -- Do Not Release Table of Contents Abstract . ii List of Figures . v List of Tables . xv I. Introduction . 1 Project Location and Description ...................................................1 Research Objectives .............................................................4 Project Personnel (RCGA Staff) ....................................................4 Organization of the Report . .4 II. Natural and Cultural Setting . 5 Natural Setting .................................................................5 Geology and Soils ........................................................5 Previous Investigations...........................................................6 Historic Context ................................................................8 Site-Specific Property History ...............................................8 Antebellum Period .................................................8 The Civil War Period .............................................11 Post Bellum Period to Present ......................................11 Brick Manufacturing Technology ...........................................19 The Brickmaking Industry in Alexandria .....................................27 III. Research Methods . 35 Research Objectives ............................................................35 Archival Research Methods ......................................................36 Archeological Field Methods . .36 Laboratory Analysis and Curation .................................................37 Historic Artifact Analysis .................................................37 Records and Curation ....................................................37 IV. Results of Archeological Investigations . 39 The Thornton Foundation Wall (Trenches 1, 2.1 and 2.2) ...............................42 Trench 1 ...............................................................42 Trench 2 ...............................................................59 Trench 2.1 (Trench 2 Section 1) . .63 Trench 2.2 (Trench 2 Section 2) ......................................82 Exploratory Trenches (Trenches 3-10) ..............................................82 Trench 3 ...............................................................88 Trench 4 ...............................................................88 Trenches 5 and 5A .......................................................91 iii R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc. Contains Privileged Information -- Do Not Release Table of Contents Trench 6 ..............................................................100 Trenches 7-10..........................................................102 Elevator Shaft ................................................................118 V. Summary . 129 Summary....................................................................129 Preservation .................................................................131 References Cited . 133 Relevant Project Correspondence including the Project-Specific Scope of Work (dated December 16, 2008) . .Appendix I Resumes of Key Project Personnel . Appendix II iv R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc. Contains Privileged Information -- Do Not Release List of Figures Figure 1.1 Detail from the Alexandria, Virginia, USGS 7.5’ Quadrangle (1983 pho- torevised), showing the approximate location of The Thornton development area ......2 Figure 1.2 Aerial photograph showing the location of The Thornton development area ...........3 Figure 2.1 Plate 3 of G. M. Hopkins’ 1877 Atlas of Alexandria, showing property owners and proposed street extensions/alignments along Great Hunting Creek. (Image: Goodwin & Associates, Inc. 2013:Figure 2) .......................9 Figure 2.2 Detail from C. W. Bache’s 1863 map of the topography on the north side of Great Hunting Creek, showing the locations of significant landscape features and the smallpox hospital. (Digital image from American Mem- ory, Library of Congress). .................................................10 Figure 2.3 Advertisement for the Alexandria Brick Company from Richmond’s 1900 City Directory ......................................................14 Figure 2.4 Newspaper article for the 1891 Alexandria Brick Company fire (Alexan- dria Gazette, May 7, 1891) ................................................14 Figure 2.5 Detail from newspaper article for the Alexandria Brick Company depict- ing the brick-making facility (image: Alexandria Gazette, September 16, 1893).......15 Figure 2.6 Advertisement for the Bromilaw Brick Company (Alexandria Gazette, August 28, 1909) ........................................................16 Figure 2.7 Detail from Sanborn’s Fire Insurance Map of Alexandria (1907), show- ing topography and configuration of the Alexandria Brick Company’s works on Hunting Creek (Digital image from Geography and Map Divi- sion, Library of Congress). ................................................17 Figure 2.8 Promotional page from Wedderburn’s 1907 Historic Alexandria, VA, Past and Present (Tercentennial Souvenir, 1607-1907), extolling the virtues of Alexandria’s brickmaking industry, and highlighting Harlow and Agnew’s Alexandria Brick Company. (Image: https://ia600504. us.archive.org/16/items/souvenirvirginia01wedd/). .18 Figure 2.9 Detail from Sanborn’s 1921 Fire Insurance map of Alexandria, showing the “dilapidated kilns” of the abandoned Alexandria
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