The Luck of Third Street Historical Archaeology Data Recovery Report for the Caltrans District 8 San Bernardino Headquarters Demolition Project (P36-010399, CA-SBR-10399H; P36-010400, CA-SBR-10400H; P36-010820, CA-SBR-10820H) Old District 8 Office, 247 W. Third Street, San Bernardino, EA 08-482900 Prepared for: David Bricker, Environmental Cultural Studies Chief California Department of Transportation District 8 464 W. 4th Street, San Bernardino, California 92402 Prepared by: Julia G. Costello, Ph.D., Principal Investigator Foothill Resources, Ltd., P.O. Box 288, Mokelumne Hill, California 95245 and Kevin Hallaran, M.A., and Keith Warren Applied EarthWorks, Inc., 3292 E. Florida Ave., Hemet, California 92544 With contributions by: Margie Akin, Ph.D.; Sabrina Carli; Deborah C. Cook; Pamela R. Easter; Joan George; Sherri M. Gust, M.S.; Laramie Hickey-Friedman, M.S.; Virginia Popper, Ph.D.; Karl J. Reinhard; Susan J. Smith, M.S. USGS 7.5′ San Bernardino South (1967, photorevised 1980): Township 1S, Range 4W 7.7 acres Resources: P36-010399, CA-SBR-10399H; P36-010400, CA-SBR-10400H; P36-010820, CA-SBR-10820H Keywords: Location—San Bernardino, San Bernardino Valley, Warm Creek; Resources—Chinatown, Starke’s Hotel, Mormon Fort San Bernardino, privies, Chinese roasting ovens, Chinese temple, dog burial, drains, Chinese gaming artifacts, Asian coins, Chinese ceramics, historical pollen, historical macrobotanical remains, historical fauna, historical parasites 2004 Finalized 2010 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS This report has been prepared for the California Department of Transportation to document cultural resource mitigation measures taken related to the demolition of the former District 8 Headquarters building in downtown San Bernardino. The project area encompasses approximately 7.7 acres and is bordered by Second Street to the south, Third Street to the north, Arrowhead Avenue on the west, and Warm Creek and Meadowbrook Park on the east. The purpose of the investigations was to achieve compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act. A Phase II testing program identified six locations containing archaeological features potentially important under criteria for eligibility to the California Register of Historical Resources. A data recovery program was designed to retrieve the information from these remains prior to their destruction. This report presents the results of implementing that program. It includes information obtained during extensive documentary research, archaeological excavations, artifact identification and analysis, consultation with cultural communities, public outreach, and specialists’ studies. The general strategy for the placement of excavation areas was based on the results of the Phase II testing and the further likelihood of encountering intact archaeological deposits within the historical lot boundaries. The research design identified types of archaeological remains that were likely to contain important information, such as privies, refuse pits, cooking features, and sheet refuse (midden). As the daily activities that produce such features tend to occur a discrete distance from the main structures, principally in the rear lots, the strategy for feature discovery focused on those areas as well as areas that demonstrated archaeological potential during Phase II testing. Eight Phase III excavation areas, representing nearly 1.0 percent of the project area, were selectively stripped of overburden using two backhoes. Excavation area boundaries were refined through ongoing evaluations of stratigraphy, integrity, and resource potential. At the end of the 2001 excavations, 60 features had been identified. Of these, 21 were determined to be legally important and were excavated in their entirety (see Table A). Excavation of important features was done by hand following natural soil layers, and soil was passed through 1/4-inch mesh screen. Standard stratigraphic recording methods were used, the relationships of soil layers and interfaces were charted on a matrix, and the resulting associations were identified according to activities and temporal “phases.” Artifact assemblages were analyzed according to these associations. Four of the important features are related to the operations of the prominent Starke’s Hotel between about 1885 and 1897. The remaining 17 features are associated with San Bernardino’s Third Street Chinatown spanning the years between about 1880 and the 1930s. A list of important features that were excavated and analyzed as part of this study are presented in the following table. Analysis of the recovered collections followed standard procedures for historical site archaeology, including functional classifications, determination of minimum numbers of items, and cross-matching between excavated strata. Specialists studied the recovered fauna, pollen, and macrofloral remains; parasites were identified in privy deposits; and fragile items were stabilized by conservators. The horde of more than 1,300 Asian coins from Privy 1035—the largest ever recovered from an excavation in North America—also was analyzed by a specialist. The Luck of Third Street: Historical Archaeology Data Recovery Report Caltrans District 8 San Bernardino Headquarters Demolition Project Table A Summary of Excavated Archaeological Features by Type and Association Feature Feature Artifact Fill/ EAa No. Type Association/Comments Construction Abandonment MNIa Rancho Period Deposits 8-1 1047 Bone Silted-over butchering remains 1840s — — concentration 8-1 1048 Bone Silted-over butchering remains 1840s — — concentration 8-1 1049 Bone Silted-over butchering remains 1840s — — concentration 8-1 1050 Bone Silted-over butchering remains 1840s — — concentration Starke’s Hotel/Bradford House Deposits 5-1 1009 Privy Starke’s Hotel/Bradford House 1888–1894 1897 301 5-3 1022 Pit Hotel refuse 1897 1897 222 5-1 1023 Privy Hotel refuse By 1885 1894 364 5-1 1025 Privy Domestic refuse; Anglo hotel By 1885 1897 603 employees (?) Chinatown Pits and Privies Filled with Artifacts 7-1 1032 Pit Mostly whole bottles 1920s 1920s 125 7-1 1035 Privy Replaced Privy 1058, filled with ca. 1910 1944 6,801 building contents during demolition 7-1 1056 Privy Earliest privy 1880s ca. 1900 312 7-1 1058 Privy Replaced Privy 1056 1900 ca. 1910 1,745 Sheet Refuse and Artifact-filled Drains 7-1 1002 Drain Wood-lined; filled with Sheet 1880s 1910 480 Refuse 1057 7-1 1057 Sheet Refuse Backyard midden, filled Drain 1002 1880s 1930s 403 7-1 1031 Drain Contemporary with Drain 1002 1880s 1910 309 7-1 1060 Drain Replaced by Drain 1002 ca. 1800 1870s 9 Cooking Structures 7-1 1001 Roasting Stone floor; backyard 1880s ca. 1930 49 Oven 7-1 1033 Cooking Backyard wok stove? 1880s ca. 1900 45 Feature 8-1 1036 Roasting Brick; south of temple; replaced ca. 1930 By 1944 44 Oven Roasting Oven 1001 Other Features 8-1 1003 Building Wong Nim Store and Temple By 1890 1944 — Footing 8-1 1005 Dog Burial Backyard; near fence line By 1942 — 1 Total 11,813 a - EA = excavation area. b - MNI = minimum number of items. iv The Luck of Third Street Interpretation of the recovered data was guided by topics posed in the research design, but ultimately focused on aspects of archaeology and history specific to this site. Deposits associated with Starke’s Hotel in the 1890s revealed backyard activities of the hotel staff as well as the types of meals served from the kitchen. Interpretation of life in San Bernardino’s Chinatown included topics of demographics, the Kuan Yin Temple, ceramic serving and storage vessels, pig roasting ovens, and foodways. A remarkably large number of artifacts were related to traditional gambling, and several sections of the report address this topic. Finally, the demise of the Chinese community is documented in historical and archaeological sources, providing closure to this important period of San Bernardino’s past. Summary of Findings v vi The Luck of Third Street CONTENTS SUMMARY OF FINDINGS......................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................................ xi LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................................ xiv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................... xix 1 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1.1 1.1 The Headquarters Project............................................................................................1.1 1.2 Location and Setting ...................................................................................................1.1 1.3 Archaeology and the Law ...........................................................................................1.6 1.4 Key Personnel.............................................................................................................1.7 1.5 Reports and Other Products ........................................................................................1.9 Collections ..................................................................................................................1.9 Reports ......................................................................................................................1.10 Public Outreach.........................................................................................................1.10