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Preserving the Past ARCHAEOLOGY for the Future through the

The State Trails of HistoryTM Pennsylvania

Museum of In Pennsylvania, all roads lead to history. TM Pennsylvania To help find your path, the Pennsylvania Historical Archaeologists preserve the past and educate and Museum Commission (PHMC) has blazed Trails of History about the role of archaeology in preserving our several special-interest trails leading to some of heritage. The State Museum of Pennsylvania’s Pennsylvania’s most historic sites. We invite you to Archaeology and Anthropology Gallery, Harrisburg, explore one site at a time, travel an entire trail, or focuses on the cultural heritage of Pennsylvanians. create your own road-trip to Pennsylvania’s past. Visitors can explore almost 16,000 years of hu- No matter whether you choose one of our classic man occupation from Native American prehistory trails, a trail based on PHMC’s annual themes, or if through European colonization. The museum is you blaze your own, we’re sure it will lead you to also the official repository for state and federal experience and embrace the people, places, and archaeological investigations and curates these events that make Pennsylvania so special. collections for future generations. Begin your journey online at Preserving Archaeology www.PATrailsofHistory.com Archaeology enhances and enriches all our lives, Also, visit these featured sites online: but prehistoric and historic sites are non-renewable Museum: www.drakewell.org resources. Unfortunately, sites are ruined on a daily Eckley Miners’ Village: www.eckleyminers.org basis due to development and urban sprawl. When : www.ephratacloister.org a site is destroyed, information about the past is : www.ushistory.org/graeme lost forever. Because unrecorded archaeological : www.oldeconomyvillage.org sites are those most often destroyed, every effort The State Museum of Pennsylvania: must be made to locate, evaluate, and record their www.statemuseumpa.org content for the future, before a development project is undertaken. If you know of locations where artifacts have been found and wish to assist with the preservation of archaeological sites, we encourage you to record these locations with the Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey (PASS). Ephrata Cloister We also encourage you to donate your collections. These artifacts represent our connection to the Pennsylvania past and should be preserved. Information, record- Historical & Museum ing forms, instructions, and additional resources Commission about Pennsylvania archaeology can be obtained at: Edward G. Rendell, Governor • www.paarchaeology.state.pa.us Wayne Spilove, Chairman • www.pennsylvaniaarchaeology.com Barbara Franco, Executive Director • www.phmc.state.pa.us • http://twipa.blogspot.com Contributor Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology Inc.

12/09 Glass trumpet excavated at Ephrata Cloister, Lancaster County. TM ARCHAEOLOGY through the Pennsylvania Trails of History

Today, our culture seems to document everything The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commis- through books, newspapers, television, and the sion (PHMC) is the official history agency for the Internet. However, there is frequently a difference Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In this capacity, between what is written and what people actually PHMC covers the gamut of prehistory and history in do. Modern media often puts a “spin” on a story that its role to investigate and educate the public about reflects an editorial bias on what has taken place. the archaeology of Pennsylvania. In conjunction with Although the written record may be tremendously its archaeological programs, PHMC also explores useful, it is biased by the beliefs and mistakes of many of its own historic sites throughout Penn- those who produced them. Archaeology frequently sylvania. PHMC-administered sites such as Ephrata provides a more objective account of our past than Cloister, , Old Economy Village, the historic record alone. Graeme Park, and Eckley Miners’ Village are not only Our past is our cultural heritage, and how we known as public destinations to learn about the choose to use this information for future genera- Commonwealth’s history; for many years, they have tions is an important role for archaeologists. Under- also been destinations for archaeologists to discover standing patterns and changes in human behavior Pennsylvania prehistory and history. enhances our knowledge of the past. It aids us in Before embarking on this trail of Pennsylvania planning, not only our future, but for generations to archaeology, let’s unearth what is archaeology, why come. Many people believe that public archaeology is it’s important, and what it means to us. critical to understanding, protecting, and celebrating our rich and diverse cultural heritage. Archaeolo- WHAT is archaeology? gists recognize the importance of this role and are Archaeology is the study of past human behavior developing various mechanisms of media outreach, through the systematic recovery and analysis of mate- publications, Internet, and public programs, to publi- rial remains or objects. These objects, called artifacts, cize the contributions of archaeology. can be as small as a button or as large as a building. Either large or small, they are the evidence of past WHY is archaeology important? HOW do archaeologists cultures. These artifacts are proof of those before us The goal of archaeology is to understand how and examine the past? and serve as a physical connection to our past. why human behavior has changed over time. Archaeol- Archaeological sites are evidence of human activity Archaeology is divided into prehistoric and histori- ogists search for patterns in the evolution of significant often associated with concentrations of artifacts. cal archaeology. Prehistoric archaeology is the study cultural events such as the development of farming, Excavation of archaeological sites is a destructive of cultures that did not have a written language. the emergence of cities, or the collapse of major civi- process requiring systematic removal of soils and Although prehistoric peoples did not write about lizations for clues of why these events occurred. Ulti- artifacts. Archaeological sites are similar to research their culture, they left remains such as tools, pot- mately, they are searching for ways to better predict laboratories where data is collected, recorded, and tery, ceremonial objects, and dietary refuse. Histori- how cultures will change, including our own, and how analyzed. Controlled excavation and mapping of cal archaeology studies the remains of cultures for to better plan for the future. information relative to the soil layers and the arti- which a written history exists. Historical archaeology Archaeology is not only the study of these broad facts associated with each layer allows archaeologists examines records from the past that include diaries; issues but also provides a history and heritage to many to search for patterns in past human behavior. They court, census, and tax records; deeds; maps; and cultures. Nothing would be known of the cultural study these patterns and changes in human behavior photographs. Through combining the use of docu- developments of prehistoric peoples if it were not for over long periods of time, as evidenced in the arti- mentation and archaeological evidence, archaeolo- archaeology. Additionally, archaeology paints a picture facts. The combination of analysis of activities only gists gain a better understanding of the past and of everyday life for groups such as slaves, coal miners, present in the soil, such as the stains left by cooking, human behavior. and other early immigrant workers who were poorly and the artifacts recovered, survive as the archaeo- documented by historians. logical record of a site. For additional information, visit www.phmc.state.pa.us

WHERE is archaeology? It was purchased in 1739 as a summer residence by Dr. Archaeology is everywhere. It’s all around us. TM Thomas Graeme for entertaining prominent guests of While a nondescript location may appear to be Archaeology through the Pennsylvania Trails of History society. The stone exterior construction barren, the evidence of a past society and civilization prevented significant changes, but Graeme upgraded lies just beneath the surface. In alignment with the interior of the home to a level more appropri- its mission to preserve the state’s memory as a ate of his social status. Among the archaeological teacher and champion its heritage for the citizens of remains were imported delft tiles which reflect the Pennsylvania and the nation, PHMC archaeologists social economic status of the property. actively lead site investigations and explore some of Archaeological investigations conducted since 1958 the historic sites on the PHMC Trails of HistoryTM. were instrumental in reconstructing the Graeme’s kitchen. Also located were historically documented 22 Ephrata Cloister formal gardens, a cobblestone road, and a smoke- Located in Lancaster County, Ephrata Cloister was house. Excavations in the formal gardens revealed an eighteenth-century religious communal society brick walkways and stone perimeter walls. The sparse founded in 1732 by . The biblical name number of artifacts suggests meticulous care of “Ephrata” was selected for the community, because it the gardens, since few ceramics were found. This is signified a place of suffering. Members were expected an example of patterning of human behavior that to take vows of celibacy, poverty, and obedience, and archaeologists observe in cultures over long periods personal possessions were not permitted. of time.

Ephrata Cloister

1873 Eckley Village map by D.G. Beers MILITARY HISTORY TRAIL HISTORIC HOMES TRAIL INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE TRAIL RURAL FARM AND VILLAGE 24 The State Museum of Pennsylvania 1 7 House 12 Drake Well Museum HISTORY TRAIL and the Pennsylvania State Archives and the Flagship Niagara 8 Homestead 13 Pennsylvania Lumber Museum 19 Old Economy Village 2 Museum 9 Hope Lodge 14 Pennsylvania Heritage Museum 20 Somerset Historical Center Extensive archaeology between 1993 and 2003 3 10 Graeme Park 15 Scranton Furnaces 21 located several structures, including the first commu- 4 Pennsylvania Military Museum 11 16 Eckley Miners’ Village 22 Ephrata Cloister nal dormitory and prayer house and the Mount Zion 5 17 23 Homestead Eckley Miners’ Village 6 Washington Crossing Historic Park 18 Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania prayer house. The archaeology at this site was par- ticularly significant because it demonstrated several 16 Eckley Miners’ Village Danforth House, Pithole City inconsistencies in the written record. Most promi- The village of Eckley, Luzerne County, was estab- nent of these was the vow of poverty and the rule lished in 1854 to provide housing for coal miners prohibiting personal possessions. The quality of food working in the nearby Council Ridge Colliery and their was high compared to other sites of this time period, families. Referred to as a company town, the homes, which was demonstrated archaeologically in the Graeme Park, schools, and churches were all company owned. The butchered bone refuse. Examples of personal posses- summer kitchen town was planned according to a pattern of social sions in the form of pottery with initials carved on the status based on a person’s position within the min- bottom and the discovery of a glass trumpet contra- In 1859, Edwin L. Drake (1819–1880) successfully ing operation. Lots on the west end of town were dicted the historical documentation. These examples drilled an oil well at Titusville, Venango County, and reserved for superintendents, foremen, and profes- illustrate the biases in the historic documentation Old Economy launched the modern oil industry. Almost overnight, sionals. The location of the three churches similarly and the reality of the archaeological record. Village towns sprang up, and in 1865, Pithole City, the larg- reflected cultural and economic segregation of the est oil boomtown in America, was settled. At its peak, town. The Catholic church was located on the eastern 19 Old Economy Village beds, a central area for a pond, and a pavilion with 12 Drake Well Museum Pithole’s population rose to over 15,000. Plagued by end of town, closest to miners of Irish heritage and Home to the Christian communal group Harmony fountain. Long before organized drilling for oil began in fires and the discovery of new wells elsewhere, the lower-class positions. The Episcopal and Presbyterian Society, Old Economy Village, Beaver County, was Archaeology combined with historic documenta- Venango County, archaeological evidence demon- population declined to 281 by 1870. The archaeology churches were on the western end of town where established in 1824. Members left seeking tion has provided this site with valuable information strates that Native Americans were harvesting oil in at this site documents a fleeting moment in recorded residents were generally of English, German, and religious and economic freedoms. A central philoso- for the restoration of the garden. Archaeologists wood-lined pits. Radiocarbon dating conducted on history that would have otherwise been lost. Excava- Welsh heritage. phy of the society was the expectation of ’s identified the original planting methods for the vine- wood recovered from these pits finally answered the tions of foundations provide a window into the daily Social patterning enables archaeologists to com- return in the Millennium and their desire for a “divine yards, which were concentric planting patterns for question as to who had created the thousands of pits lives of a boomtown which existed for only five years. pare the household inventories for evidence of a economy.” the gardens, rather than the radiating ray pattern observed by European settlers. Initial archaeologi- person’s or family’s status through the artifacts. By Both of these concepts are reflected in the layout depicted in the historic interpretation. A brick-lined cal testing revealed that as early as 1410 A.D., native 10 Graeme Park utilizing historic documentation and oral histories, of Old Economy Village and the gardens established root cellar located within the foundation of a shed/ peoples were utilizing oil for medicinal purposes. Graeme Park is located in Horsham, Montgomery archaeologists begin to pattern the past through by the Society. Gardens were planned in four sections cow barn, produced examples of dishes and glass- Additionally, European settlers skimmed the oil from County, a suburb of Philadelphia. Keith House, the the remains of this early industrial community. This that consisted of vineyards, a Grotto (a stone struc- ware. These tablewares help to paint a picture of the the seeps and used the petroleum as a source of only existing home of a colonial Pennsylvania Gover- archaeological research provides a voice for these ture for meditation and retreat), fruit trees, flower values and lifeways of the Harmonist culture. lamp fuel and machinery lubrication. nor, was constructed about 1722 by Sir William Keith. under documented peoples.