Archaeology Dig Diary May 03, 2006

Archaeology Dig Diary - Wednesday, May 03

Last year, we spent most of our time excavating the remains of a dwelling and its kitchen that turned out to be part of the farm that was standing when the Civil War came to Ferry Farm. We began the year thinking that this house might be related to the Washington occupancy, but slowly became convinced that it was built in the nineteenth century - after the Washingtons had sold the property. By the end of the dig season, it was apparent that these structures were built by a well-to-do Virginian named Winter Bray. We hoped to connect the material remains found in and around the farmhouse with Bray and to be able to talk about the consequences and stresses of war on the civilian population. With the help of John Copley, who examined records from three counties, this thesis began to unravel one thread at a time. It turns out that Winter Bray probably did build the house and kitchen—not to live in, but to lease. His subsequent death, in 1852, resulted in the transfer of Ferry Farm to his underage sons. The boys' mother remarried and her new husband, John Trible, assumed control of the operation until the boys came of age. Trible was probably leasing the farm in 1862 when his tenants appear to have abandoned it as they fled from the advancing Union army.

On May 15 of that year, Issac Cooper, a soldier in the 7th Wisconsin, described Ferry Farm’s occupants as an old secessionist and his black “wife” and their children. Prior to the arrival of Union troops, a number of local planters abandoned their farms only to have squatters move in and pilfer what they could. Cooper’s description fits individuals on the margins of Virginia’s antebellum society—most likely squatters exploiting the turmoil created by the war.

Any hopes of connecting the stresses of war with the farm’s occupants have pretty much disappeared. That said, we did recover a large amount of material that details the daily life of soldiers situated in temporary camps and on picket duty (see the Sept 29, 2005 diary).

We also opened up a large section of site north and east of the Bray farmhouse, exposing several architectural elements, including a stone lined cellar, two sections of stone foundation, and a root cellar. Because we planned on returning to this portion of the site
in the spring, we pulled tarps over this area and then spread 100 bales of straw in order to keep the ground from experiencing the freeze/thaw cycle. I am happy to report that this worked out very well. The site was in great shape when we removed the straw and tarps last week and is ready for excavation.

The 2006 excavation is directed by Paul Nasca with the help of Kate Ruedrich. The first members of this year’s team arrived on May 1. Shelby Gunderman, Rebecca Meeusen, and Rachel Blaasch will shortly be joined by Heidi Krofft, Joe Lenow, and Brent Fortenberry. They will spend the entire five-month-long field season with us. Joining them are five regular volunteers – Dale Brown, Tom Cleland, Valerie Towns, Stella Sullivan, and a grizzled veteran of eleven years, Ray Castner. Anita Dodd will oversee the processing of artifacts with the help of Melanie Healy-Marquis and Erin Goslin.