REPORT: HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT SURVEY LONG WHARF PIER STRUCTURE NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT Prepared for Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc. March 2008 Archaeological and Historical Services, Inc. Author: Bruce Clouette 569 Middle Turnpike P.O. Box 543 Storrs, CT 06268 (860) 429-2142 voice (860) 429-9454 fax [email protected] REPORT: HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT SURVEY LONG WHARF PIER STRUCTURE NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT Prepared for Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc. March 2008 Archaeological and Historical Services, Inc. Author: Bruce Clouette 569 Middle Turnpike P.O. Box 543 Storrs, CT 06268 (860) 429-2142 voice (860) 429-9454 fax [email protected] ABSTRACT/MANAGEMENT SUMMARY In connection with environmental review studies of proposed I-95 improvements, the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) in August 2007 requested “information regarding the historic use, development chronology, and archaeological integrity of the Long Wharf pier structure” in New Haven, Connecticut. Extending approximately 650 feet into New Haven harbor, the wharf is the home berth of the schooner Amistad. This report, prepared by Archaeological and Historical Services, Inc. of Storrs, Connecticut, presents in detail the information about the structure that was requested by the SHPO. In its present form, Long Wharf is a concrete slab and riprap structure that was created in the early 1960s in connection with a massive urban renewal project. The base of the modern wharf, however, is a stone and earth-fill structure built in 1810 by William Lanson, a prominent and sometimes controversial member of New Haven’s African American community. That structure was a 1,500-foot extension of an 18th-century timber wharf, making the whole, at some 3,900 feet, the longest wharf in the country at the time. The 1810 wharf is clearly visible at low tide, especially on the east side, where modern riprap was placed on top of the historic masonry. On the west side, the 1810 masonry appears to have been partially displaced by the riprap. The 1810 wharf is also visible for about 100 feet beyond the south end of the modern structure. Begun in the first half of the 18th century by a consortium of New Haven merchants, Long Wharf was a key component of the city’s commercial prosperity. Inns, warehouses, stores, and shipping offices crowded the surface of the wharf, and New Haven’s custom house was at one time located at the north end of Long Wharf in what was then known as Custom House Square. Ships from around the world discharged and took on cargo at the wharf, sustaining New Haven as one of Connecticut’s leading ports. The wharf, formally known as Union Wharf but commonly called Long Wharf as far back as the early 1700s, addressed a timeless geological force that constantly threatened the usefulness of New Haven harbor: the deposit of silt from the Quinnipiac River and other large streams. New Haven merchants were repeatedly forced to build out the wharf to reach water of sufficient depth to handle shipping. Toward the end of the 19th century, only the tip of the wharf could be used. By that time, much of the north end of the wharf (the pre-1810 part) had been filled in for railroad and other industrial purposes. Other wharfs were more useful for steamships and rail-to-ship transfer of goods, and Long Wharf steadily became obsolete. In the early 1950s, the north end of the remains of Long Wharf were filled in to create a high embankment for the Route 1 Harborfront Relocation, a project that quickly became part of I- 95's predecessor, the Connecticut Turnpike. Project plans indicate that stone walls from 1810 such as those visible at low tide beneath the present wharf structure lie buried under the highway fill. It is recommended that the visible and likely buried remains of Long Wharf be considered an archeological resource that is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The wharf played a significant role in New Haven’s economic history, and it has an important historical association with the city’s African American community. The wharf remains also have the potential to shed light on early marine-engineering technology. Current project plans call for improving I-95 and the parallel frontage roads using only the existing highway right-of-way. Although additional fill may be needed to create the slopes necessary for the expanded roadway, no disturbance to the depth of the 1810 wharf is anticipated by any of the alternatives. Therefore, it is recommended that the project be considered as having no adverse effect on the historic resource. i LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Location of project and present-day Long Wharf, plotted on U.S.G.S. New Haven Quadrangle, 7.5-Minute Series, scale 1:24000. Figure 2 Excerpt from plans for Alternative 2B, with outline of 1838 Long Wharf and shoreline added Figure 3 Long Wharf as shown on the 1748 Wadsworth map Figure 4 Long Wharf as shown on the 1775 Stiles map Figure 5 Two advertisements typical of the mention of Long Wharf (Union Wharf) in 18th- century New Haven newspapers Figure 6 Long Wharf as shown on the 1811 Warren and Gillet map Figure 7 The portion of Long Wharf shown on the 1824 Doolittle map Figure 8 Long Wharf as shown on the 1830 Buckingham map Figure 9 Long Wharf as shown on the 1838 U.S. Coast Survey chart Figure 10 Long Wharf as shown on the 1852 Whiteford county wall map Figure 11 Buildings at the head of Long Wharf in 1864, ships’ masts in background Figure 12 Long Wharf with lumber schooner, undated (ca.1875?), showing timber-pile fender system Figure 13 Long Wharf as shown on the 1868 Beers atlas map Figure 14 Long Wharf as shown on the 1877 Bogart and Andrews map, based upon the 1875 U.S. Coastal Survey chart Figure 15 Buildings at the north end of Long Wharf, as shown on the 1879 Bailey and Hazen bird’s-eye view Figure 16 Long Wharf as shown on a montage of maps from the 1888 Hopkins atlas Figure 17 Undated photograph of the end of Long Wharf, looking south Figure 18 Long Wharf as shown on the 1934 Fairchild Aerial Survey photograph Figure 19 The Long Wharf area as shown on the 1947 U.S.G.S. New Haven Quadrangle ii Figure 20 Hydraulic fill plan, State Project No, 92-60, March 27, 1951, Connecticut Department of Transportation File No. 162-12 Figure 21 Hydraulic fill profile, State Project No, 92-60, March 27, 1951, Connecticut Department of Transportation File No. 162-12 Figure 22 Long Wharf as shown on the 1951 U.S. Department of Agriculture aerial photograph Figure 23 Long Wharf area during the construction of the Connecticut Turnpike, May 1956, aerial view looking north Figure 24 Long Wharf area during the construction of the Connecticut Turnpike, May 1956, aerial view looking west Figure 25 Remains of Long Wharf, ca. 1960, looking southeast Figure 26 Long Wharf redevelopment area, 1963, showing present-day wharf completed Figure 27 The Sperry & Barnes pork-packing plant, ca. 1960 Figure 28 Historical extent of Long Wharf and the shoreline of New Haven Harbor plotted at intervals on an enlargement of the current U.S.G.S. New Haven Quadrangle iii LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS Photograph 1 Overview of Long Wharf, east side, camera facing southwest Photograph 2 Detail of stone work underneath modern riprap, east side, camera facing southwest Photograph 3 Detail of west side of wharf, showing modern riprap that has obscured and/or displaced the historic 1810 stonework, camera facing east Photograph 4 Detail of displaced piece of cut stone from the 1810 masonry, west side, camera facing northeast Photograph 5 Remains of 1810 stone walls and fill, visible at low tide from the end of the existing wharf structure, camera facing south Photograph 6 Detail of the west wall of the portion that lies beyond the end of the existing wharf structure, showing 1810 stonework, camera facing northeast Photograph 7 Remnants of timber piles on the west side of the wharf, camera facing north Photograph 8 Remnants of timber piles on the east side of the portion of the wharf beyond the end of the existing wharf structure, camera facing southwest Photograph 9 Piece of European flint ballast cobble lying in situ on the surface of the fill in the portion of the wharf that lies beyond the end of the existing wharf structure Photograph 10 Lighted navigation marker located beyond the end of the existing wharf structure, camera facing south iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT/MANAGEMENT SUMMARY ...................................... i LIST OF FIGURES ..........................................................ii LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS ................................................... iv I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................1 II. METHODOLOGY .......................................................3 III. RESULTS OF FIELD INSPECTION .........................................6 IV. RESULTS OF BACKGROUND RESEARCH ..................................7 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES ELIGIBILITY .....................16 VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..............................19 VII. REFERENCES ........................................................20 APPENDIX I: FIGURES ....................................................24 APPENDIX II: PHOTOGRAPHS .............................................54 APPENDIX III: HISTORIC RESOURCES INVENTORY FORM ....................65 v I. INTRODUCTION A. Scope of Work The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CONNDOT) is studying alternatives for widening Interstate 95 in the Long Wharf neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut. In commenting on the environmental studies undertaken in connection with the project, the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) requested clarification regarding the potential historic status of the present-day Long Wharf structure and concluded: the Long Wharf pier structure may possess historic importance and moderate to high sensitivity for industrial archaeological resources. We recommend that a professional assessment survey be undertaken by an industrial historian and/or industrial archaeologist who meets National Park Service qualifications guidelines in order to comprehensively evaluate the historic and archaeological aspects of the Long Wharf pier structure (Senich 2007).