Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses Summer 1-1-2012 A Historical and Archaeological Study of the Nineteenth Century Hudson's Bay Company Garden at Fort Vancouver: Focusing on Archaeological Field Methods and Microbotanical Analysis Elaine C. Dorset Portland State University Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy . Follow this and additional works at: http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Dorset, Elaine C., "A Historical and Archaeological Study of the Nineteenth Century Hudson's Bay Company Garden at Fort Vancouver: Focusing on Archaeological Field Methods and Microbotanical Analysis" (2012). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 869. 10.15760/etd.869 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Historical and Archaeological Study of the Nineteenth Century Hudson’s Bay Company Garden at Fort Vancouver: Focusing on Archaeological Field Methods and Microbotanical Analysis by Elaine C. Dorset A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology Thesis Committee: Kenneth M. Ames, Chair Douglas C. Wilson Virginia L. Butler Portland State University ©2012 ABSTRACT The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), a British fur-trading enterprise, created a large garden at Fort Vancouver, now in southwest Washington, in the early- to mid-19th century. This fort was the administrative headquarters for the HBC’s activities in western North America. Archaeological investigations were conducted at this site in 2005 and 2006 in order to better understand the role of this large space, which seems incongruous in terms of resources required, to the profit motive of the HBC. Questions about the landscape characteristics, and comments by 19th century visitors to the site provided the impetus for theoretical research of gardens as representations of societal power, and, on a mid-range level, the efficacy of certain archaeological methods in researching this type of space. Documentary research related to the history of the HBC Garden was also conducted, including previous archaeology completed at the site. The results of these lines of inquiry are presented, providing insight as to the diverse roles this Garden fulfilled in the survival of the HBC in the region – as a commercial enterprise, as a microcosm of western societal practice, and in the health of its employees. i DEDICATION For my husband, family and friends who were ever patient and supportive. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project was completed with the support of the Portland State University Department of Anthropology staff and faculty, the National Park Service, the Northwest Cultural Resources Institute, the North Coast and Cascades Science Learning Network, and the Oregon Archaeological Society. Special thanks to my fellow employees, field school students, and volunteers at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, my thesis advisor Douglas Wilson and committee members Ken Ames and Virginia Butler. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT . i DEDICATION . ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . iii LIST OF TABLES . v LIST OF FIGURES . vi CHAPTER 1. Introduction and Background . 1 CHAPTER 2. Methods and Results of Archival Research . 10 CHAPTER 3. Summary of Research, Article and Publication Review Relating to Garden Archaeology Projects and Methods . 31 CHAPTER 4. Previous Archaeology at the Site of the Hudson’s Bay Company Garden at Fort Vancouver . 35 CHAPTER 5. Archaeological Research Design and Methods for the Fort Vancouver Garden Project . 43 CHAPTER 6. Archaeological Testing Results . 52 CHAPTER 7. Artifacts and Archaeobotanical Remains . 60 CHAPTER 8. Discussion . 85 CHAPTER 9. Conclusions and Recommendations . 106 SOURCES CITED . 111 APPENDIX A: A Review of Research, Articles and Publications Relating to Garden Archaeology Projects and Methods . 123 APPENDIX B: Results of Excavations by Unit . 144 APPENDIX C: WWI and Later Features Found at TA1 . 148 APPENDIX D: Phytolith Analysis of Samples from Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Washington . 152 APPENDIX E: Pollen and Phytolith Analysis of a Historic Garden at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Vancouver, Washington . 161 APPENDIX F: An Analysis of Pollen from Fort Vancouver Washington . 177 APPENDIX G: A Pollen Analysis of a Hudson’s Bay Company Non-Garden Provenience, Fort Vancouver, Washington . 235 APPENDIX H: Macrobotanical Analysis of Hand-picked and Wetscreen Samples from Fort Vancouver, Washington . 280 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1. HBC Features . 55 Table 2. HBC Garden and Village Artifact Count Comparison (artifacts per m 3). 63 Table 3. Primary modes of flat glass thickness and corresponding thickness . 69 Table 4. HBC Artifacts by Functional Classification . 73 Table 5. Introduced plants not previously known to have been grown at Fort Vancouver from historical documents, based on pollen analysis of Garden excavation sediments . 75 Table 6. Native plants with economic uses growing in the garden, or nearby . 76 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Looking northwest from the site of the WWI spruce mill at temporary housing on the HBC Garden site ...................................................................................................8 Figure 2. Detail of 1844 Line of Fire map with author’s annotations. ...........................................11 Figure 3. Painting attributed to John Mix Stanley, ca. 1845 ..........................................................13 Figure 4. 1854 illustration by Gustavus Sohon ..............................................................................14 Figure 5. 1855 Covington sketch ....................................................................................................15 Figure 6. Circa 1855 Hodges sketch (detail) ....................................................................................16 Figure 7. Stockade 1829-1834-36 ....................................................................................................17 Figure 8. Original stockade 1829 to1834-36 (green line) imposed over 1844 Line of Fire map ....18 Figure 9. Duke of Devonshire’s garden at Chiswick .......................................................................17 Figure 10. Duke of Devonshire’s garden at Chiswick, 1994 ...........................................................17 Figure 11. Horticultural Society of London arboretum ....................................................................18 Figure 12. A ca. 1870 photo of English Camp, with the formal garden in lower right corner ........32 Figure 13. Map of previous archaeology projects conducted within, and on the margins of the HBC Garden ..........................................................................................................36 Figure 14. Caywood profile ..............................................................................................................37 Figure 15. Aerial photo from The Columbian newspaper in 1974 ...................................................38 Figure 16. Cultural aspects of the modern landscape with 1991 Remote Sensing Results .............40 Figure 17. The relationship of anomalies found during remote sensing ..........................................41 Figure 18. Archaeological excavation Test Areas ............................................................................45 Figure 19. A typical profile of sediments at the HBC Garden site ..................................................54 Figure 20. Features 509, 509A and 509B in TA1 ............................................................................ 56 vi Figure 21. Profile of west wall of TA8, showing Feature 621 post on right (VII) ..........................58 Figure 22. Spatial distribution of all artifacts ...................................................................................61 Figure 23. Locations of excavation units used for artifact quantity comparison .............................62 Figure 24. Samples of beads from the HBC Garden excavations ....................................................64 Figure 25. Brass button illustrating effect of dezincification process ..............................................65 Figure 26. Emerald-colored glass trade ring inset ............................................................................65 Figure 27. Blue transferprint fragments ...........................................................................................67 Figure 28. Chinese handpainted porcelain fragment, possibly the rim of a flower pot, Nanking pattern ...............................................................................................................67 Figure 29. Rubber hose fragment. ....................................................................................................70 Figure 30. End fitting from a glass medical syringe. .......................................................................71 Figure 31. Spatial distribution of aster and marigold pollen found in HBC deposits .....................77 Figure 32. Spatial distribution of dahlia and zinnia pollen found in HBC deposits ........................78 Figure 33. Spatial distribution of Senecio and Solidago pollen found in HBC deposits .................79