PHASE I ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE GOVERNOR'S LAND AT TWO RIVERS JAMES CITY COUNTY, VIRGINIA Submitted to: Governor's Land Associates, Inc. Post Office Box EJ KilYiamsburg, Virginia 23187 May lYYl James River Institute for Archaeology, Inc. 77ze Yeardley House Jarnestown, Virginia 23081 (804) 229-9485 PHASE 1 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF TIIE GOVERNOR'S LAND AT TWO RLVERS JAMES CITY COUN'IY, VIRGINIA JAMES RIVER INSTITUTE for ARCHAEOLOGY, INC. 2080 Jarnestown Road Williamsburg, Virginia 231 85 (804) 229-9485 ABSTRACT Beginning in 1988, the James River Institute for Archaeology, Inc. (JRIA) conducted a Phase 1 archaeological survey on a 1,440 acre tract of privately-held land called the Governor's Land at Two Rivers, planned for residential and recreational development by Governor's Land Associates, Inc. The project area is located in James City County, Virginia, adjacent to the confluence of the James and Chickahominy rivers. The objective of the Phase I survey was the identification of all archaeological sites in the project area. Research supporting the project was multi-disciplinary and consisted of a review of archaeological site forms and reports for the study area on file at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR); archival research including a land title search and review of other sources of pertinent historical documents and maps; and a comprehensive archaeological survey of the entire property. In general, the results of the survey indicate that site locations are closely associated with water resources, relatively arable and moderately well-drained soils, and roadways. Few indications of prehistoric and historic occupation were observed within large tracts of poorly drained land within the interior north-central portions of the property. This evidence corresponds with the current understanding of settlement patterns in the region. A total of 94 sites were investigated during the survey. Of these, 49 have been recommended for Phase I1 significance evaluation (see Tables I and 11). TABLE OF COATTENTS Page Abstract ................................................... ii List of Figures ............................................ iv List of Tables ............................................. v Introduction ............................................... 1 Environmental Setting ...................................... 7 Prehistoric overview ....................................... 28 Historic Overview .......................................... 39 Previous Research .......................................... 90 Prehistory ............................................ 92 Historical ........................................... 101 Research Design ............................................ 104 Survey Methods ............................................. 115 Survey Conditions ..................................... 127 Survey Results ............................................. 128 West Tract ........................................... 128 East Tract ........................................... 185 Summary .................................................... 215 Proposed Paspahegh District Nomination ..................... 235 Bibliography ........................................ 253 Appendix A .Finds Lists ................................... 264 West Tract ........................................... 264 East Tract ........................................... 325 Appendix B .Site Forms .................................... 354 West Tract ........................................... 354 East Tract ........................................... 431 iii LIST OF FIGURES Page 1 . Location of Governor's Land at Two Rivers ............. 2 2 . ~oundariesof the Survey Area ......................... 5 3 . Soil Characteristics of the Survey Area ............... 26 4 . Virginia Discovered and Discribed. 1610 ............... 44 5 . Chart of Virginia. 1608 ................................ 45 6 . Virginia and Maryland. 1670 ........................... 66 7 . [Untitled Map of Virginia]. 1681 ....................... 67 8 . Virginia and Maryland. 1690 ............................ 68 9 . Survey for Thomas Lord Culpeper. 1683 .................. 70 10 . A Map of the Most Inhabited Part of Virginia. 1755 ..... 72 11 . Plan du terein a la Rive Gauche de la Riviere de James. 1781 ......................................... 77 12 . Hare's Map of the Vicinity of Richmond and the Peninsula Campaign. 1862 ............................... 82 13 . Map of New Kent. Charles City and James City Counties. 1863 ........................................ 83 14 . James)River. Virginia. from College Creek to Chickahominy River. 1873-1874 ......................... 85 15 . Chickahominy River. 1873-1874 ......................... 86 16 . Plat of the Pine Dell Land Company's Land. 1940 ........ 89 17 . Location of survey zones .west tract ................... 119 18 . Location of survey zones .east tract .................. 120 19 . Location of archaeological sites .west tract .......... 129 20 . Location of archaeological sites .east tract .......... 130 21 . Proposed Paspahegh Archaeological District ............. 237 LIST OF TABLES Table I . West Tract Site Recommendations ....................230 Table I1 . East Tract Site Recommendations ...................233 Table I11 . Sites Containing Native American Components Within Proposed Paspahegh Archaeological District ...... 239 Table IV . Sites Containing Historic Colonial or Later Components Within Proposed Paspehegh Archaeological District .......................... 241 INTRODUCTION Governor's Land Associates, Inc. contracted the James ~iver Institute For Archaeology, Inc. (JRIA) to conduct a Phase I archaeological survey of approximately 1,440 acres that will be impacted by a planned residential and recreational community called the Governor's Land at Two Rivers, located in James City County, Virginia (Figure 1). The Phase I survey was originally undertaken as a proffer to James City County by Governor's Land Associates, and represented the county's first large-scale archaeological proffer . The survey was initiated by the property owners in anticipation of the presence of important archaeological remains within the property which would require identification for management purposes. At the time of the survey, there were no federal permits or jurisdiction on the property. Since December, 1990, no archaeological work has been conducted on the property. The survey area is a contiguous tract of land, roughly rectangular in shape, extending north from the shores of the James River and west from Shellbank Creek to the confluence of the Chickahominy ~ivernear Barrets Point. The average north-south width of the project area is one mile, and its length is approximately 3.5 miles. The northern boundary of the survey area corresponds approximately with State Route 5. This property is known as the "Governor's Land" because of its proximity to the 3,000 acre 17th-century tract associated with the governor of 3 Virginia from 1618 to 1699. Yet, the property has a complicated history which does not clearly define it as part of the historic Governor's Land estate, although at times tenants and occupants appear to have moved freely between the neighboring settlements. The Governor's Land at Two Rivers property consists of a diverse series of broad and dissected terraces of coastal lowlands and interior uplands adjacent to the confluence of the James and Chickahominy rivers. The property contains discrete areas of prime farmland and large tracts of poorly drained soils within the predominately forested tract. The results of the recent JRIA survey, combined with the results of previous studies by the College of William and Mary, have produced an important body of archaeological and historical information for one of the last large undeveloped tracts of riverine land in James City County. Decades of previous interdisciplinary research in the middle section of the James-York Peninsula (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation 1986) have produced a body of comparable data through which the Governor's land at T'wo Rivers tract can be understood within local, regional, and national contexts. In order to meet the planning needs of the property owners, JRIA identified all archaeological resources on the property, and prioritized the most important of these for avoidance or redesign 4 of construction plans, if practical, in place of data recovery. The present report includes revisions as suggested by the State Historic Preservation Office in Virginia required to bring the project in to compliance with federal preservation legislation, regulations, and guidelines concerning the affect on cultural resources of activities conducted under federal permit. The original field survey was conducted by the staff of JRIA, under the field supervision of William Leigh 111 and the direction of Senior Archaeologist Nicholas Luccketti. The field survey was conducted from July 13 to November 4, 1988; during July 1989; and from March 14 to April 21, 1990. The entire 1,440 acre tract was examined in an attempt to identify and inventory all cultural remains on the property (Figure 2). The property was surveyed using practical and comprehensive sampling techniques designed to accommodate the varying conditions of surface exposure in the area. The principal authors of the archaeological sections of the report are Nicholas Luccketti and Charles Hodges. The original survey data were compiled by Luccketti and William Leigh. Beverly Straube and Todd Behrens cataloged the historic