University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology Anthropology 2016 The Making and Remaking of Portland: The Archaeology of Identity and Landscape at the Portland Wharf, Louisville, Kentucky Michael J. Stottman University of Kentucky, [email protected] Digital Object Identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2016.011 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Stottman, Michael J., "The Making and Remaking of Portland: The Archaeology of Identity and Landscape at the Portland Wharf, Louisville, Kentucky" (2016). Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology. 18. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/anthro_etds/18 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Anthropology at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. 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Jefferies, Major Professor Dr. Sarah Lyon, Director of Graduate Studies THE MAKING AND REMAKING OF PORTLAND: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF IDENTITY AND LANDSCAPE AT THE PORTLAND WHARF, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY __________________________________________ DISSERTATION __________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kentucky By Michael Jay Stottman Louisville, Kentucky Director: Dr. Richard W. Jefferies, Professor of Anthropology Lexington, Kentucky 2016 Copyright © Michael Jay Stottman 2016 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION THE MAKING AND REMAKING OF PORTLAND: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF IDENTITY AND LANDSCAPE AT THE PORTLAND WHARF The town of Portland, Kentucky was founded over 200 years ago as a speculative venture to profit from its advantageous location at the base of the Falls of the Ohio River. The Portland Wharf was the economic and cultural heart of the town. Throughout its history, the community has experienced much change. These changes are visible in the landscape of the Portland Wharf which reflected changes in the community’s identity. Identity and landscape are topics that have been of great interest to archaeologists and this dissertation builds on previous works to examine identity as something that is reflected in the practices of people and can be unconscious, as well as overt. Identity can only become visible through contrast of differing aspects of culture, which is often created by researchers. The landscape is one place where the contrast necessary for making identity visible takes place, as it is where identities can be created, modified, and maintained. This study utilized archaeological, historical, and ethnographic data to examine changes to Portland’s identity and landscape over time. The archaeological analysis of deposits at two house lots at the Portland Wharf has allowed for a reconstruction of Portland’s historic landscape that when compared to that of Louisville created the necessary contrast to expose Portland’s independent identity. This identity was developed amongst Portland’s contentious and symbiotic relationship with Louisville and manifested in the landscape and the way privies were constructed. The process of identity continues present day, as the people of Portland reach into their past to deploy versions of history that are loosely based on events that are no longer materialized in the landscape when their identity is threatened. As the community plans to reanimate the Portland Wharf landscape to create and maintain identities based on the community’s past, archaeologists must recognize their role in the process of identity and I argue that such responsibility can and should be used for activist goals for the good of the community. KEYWORDS: Historical Archaeology, Identity, Landscape, Activist Archaeology, Public Archaeology Multimedia Elements Used: JPEG (.jpg) ______Michael Jay Stottman _________ ________January 28, 2016___________ THE MAKING AND REMAKING OF PORTLAND: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF IDENTITY AND LANDSCAPE AT THE PORTLAND WHARF, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY By Michael Jay Stottman _____Richard Jefferies___________________ Director of Dissertation _____Sarah Lyon______________________ Director of Graduate Studies ______January 28, 2016__________________ For Beth, Sam, and Luke iii ACKNOWLEGMENTS This dissertation greatly benefited from the efforts of many people. First, I want to thank my dissertation chairs, Dr. Richard Jefferies and Dr. Kim A. McBride, their insights and direction were essential. Next, I want to thank my complete dissertation committee and outside dissertation reviewer: Dr. Richard Jefferies, Dr. Kim A. McBride, Dr. Chris Pool, Dr. John van Willigen, Dr. Richard Schein, and Dr. Andrew Wood for all of their instructive comments. Their insights and comments improved this dissertation substantially and challenged me to make it a better scholarly work. I am especially grateful to Dr. Kim A. McBride, who has been my mentor since she first took a chance on championing my start in graduate school, I hope that I can live up to her fine example. I also would like to thank several instructors, who inspired me throughout my course work including Dr. Scott Hutson, Dr. Michael Crutcher, and Dr. Lisa Cliggett. I greatly appreciate the assistance of many friends and colleagues who provided comments and support throughout the process. Lori C. Stahlgren and my fellow activist archaeologists helped me greatly to work through the many writing obstacles. Thanks to Dr. Juliana McDonald for her insightful comments regarding applied anthropology methodologies. I am in debt to David Pollack and my colleagues at the Kentucky Archaeological Survey without whom I could not do activist archaeology. Archaeology is truly a collective effort and their skill and work were essential to the collection and processing of the rich data I used for this dissertation. They are more than colleagues they are true friends. iii I want to thank historian Rick Bell, Nathalie Andrews and Teresa Lee of the Portland Museum, and Chuck Parrish of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for all of their assistance collecting and compiling the vast archival resources available and their dedication to the Portland Wharf project. I also appreciate the efforts of John Swintosky of Louisville Metro Parks, for his endless and unwavering dedication and support for the Portland Wharf project. This dissertation could not have been completed without the people of Portland. Their willingness to help me and participate in public programs and interviews were essential. They are what this dissertation is all about. I also want to thank Hayward Wilkirson and Donna Gilbreath for producing the archaeological profile and map graphics used in this dissertation. Thanks to Tom Law and Voyager Media for locating some of the wonderful historical images used in this dissertation, taking the artifact photos as part of the KAS historical archaeology video, and the digital reconstructions created by the University of Cincinnati-CERHAS. The illustrations used throughout this dissertation were either in the public domain, or were created by myself or those previously acknowledged unless otherwise noted. The source of Illustrations was referenced when the original or published copy was not used. Finally, I want thank my family for all of their support during this process. Their sacrifice gave me the time and support I needed to complete this work, especially my wife Beth. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................1