New York State
Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Archeology Unit, Bureau of Historic Sites
Peebles Island, Waterford, N.Y.
May 1996
Contents
LOIS M. FEISTER
All excavations were conducted using small hand tools and, except where noted,
all soil was sifted through .-inch mesh screens. Extensive field notes were taken, artifacts were
collected in labeled bags and assigned catalog numbers specific to each
individual context, and records were stored in fire-proof files.
The cement basin (Fea. B) contained loam that was a little darker than that of
Stratum I around it, along with some asbestos tile fragments. Asbestos tile fragments
like these were removed from the buildings at John Jay Homestead State Historic
Site by the New York State Education Department in the 1960s. Thus, the basin
probably was filled in and covered over at that time. The basin, as mentioned above,
was 6 inches deep and more than 3 feet wide. It was interpreted by the excavators as
a large flowerpot. Doell& Doell (1990:97) describe the garden as having had a
"circular mass of flowers at the center." These probably were planted in this large
basin. More flowers apparently were planted around the basin between the concentric
circles of rock. When the Doells studied the site in 1989, they noted only the line of
rocks that still remains today. Because the site had been backfilled in 1975 to protect
the garden features from foot traffic, the Doells were not aware of these charming
features.
The pathway (Fea. D) was almost 4 feet wide, started at the base of the stone steps
into the schoolhouse, and went south for a distance of more than 7 feet. It continued
to the south outside the limits of the excavation unit.
No deeper excavations occurred below Stratum I on this side of the schoolhouse.
Therefore, all of the material found here came from a 20th-century layer. Numerous
artifacts were recovered. The majority are 20th-century construction materials mixed
with some 19th-century machine-cut nails. Also found were fragments of 19th-
century bottles and a piece of early-19th- century Chinese hand-painted porcelain,
along with fragments of whiteware, unglazed redware flowerpots, and hundreds of
window glass pieces that are of three different colors, indicating fairly frequent
window replacement(!).
Two particularly interesting artifacts are a copper alloy key and two fragments of
pearlware which were part of a toy teapot. The key and the pearlware fragments (cat.
#198) were found together directly associated with the stone steps(Fea. C). The key
is 3 3/8 inches long with a single tooth. The head is broken on one side and
measures almost 1. inches across. This type of key would have been used in a simple lock,
probably that for the schoolhouse door. The pearlware fragments are rim
pieces, one with an inset lip to hold a lid. The rim of the teapot was about 2 inches in
diameter. No design is visible on either piece.
Many of the fragments of thin glass were manufactured of fine lead glass. Some
of them may have been parts of lamp chimneys; others were parts of drinking
vessels. According to oral tradition (Feister, Fisher, McEvoy, and Briggs 1994), the
school teachers lived in the top floor of the schoolhouse. Perhaps some of these types
of vessels belonged to them; some may have been given to the children as
playthings.
All of the strata contained 20th-century artifacts, mostly construction material,
indicating extensive repair work on the building in this century. The construction
material consists of both machine-cut (ca. 1790-1890) and round(after ca. 1890)
nails, broken window glass again of three different colors, cement fragments, and
brick fragments. Items more closely associated with daily living included a fragment
of 18th-century creamware, some mammal bone fragments, pieces of molded 19th-
century glass bottles, and flower potsherds. Three features were found: one was
associated with a tree stump; one was a repair trench for the building and was devoid
of artifacts; the third was a pipe trench. Enigmatic was the presence of brick chunks
lying parallel to the stone foundation of the building at the base of Stratum II. Hand-
made, these bricks were manufactured probably in the first half of the 19th century.
Their position in the ground would suggest they were removed from this building
and deposited along the wall, but no explanation for this has been offered. Brown,
however, in her report describes "brick jack arches" as being present in all openings
above the basement (Brown 1974:43). In addition, there are brick linings in the
fireplace and chimney. The hand-made bricks deposited along the foundation wall
probably once were a part of those features.
Evidence that the schoolhouse was built as early as the late 1820s is offered
through documents, also. Accounts dating to 1828 mention a payment to J. Powell
for one day's work at the schoolhouse (Doell& Doell 1990:29). Correspondence
dated January 4, 1829, and August 19, 1830, each refer to Mr. Van Kleek, the
probable schoolmaster. The schoolhouse itself again was mentioned in the 1829
letter and in a letter from May 1831 (Brown 1974:40-41). Documented changes to
the building date to the 20th century. In 1935, Mrs. Iselin remodeled the
schoolhouse as a study for author Frederick Faust (whose pen name was Max Brand,
a writer of Western stories) who was living in the farmhouse. In the 1960s, the New
York State Education Department replaced the roof (Brown 1974:42). Archeological
evidence suggests an earlier renovation than that of 1935, probably one dating to the
Iselin children's occupation of the building about 1913. Through time, the
schoolhouse basement also was used for growing beds for mushrooms and as a
storage area for potatoes (Brown 1974:42; Doell & Doell 1990:64, 65).
The archeological project conducted in 1975 thus helps to answer questions about
the original construction date of the schoolhouse and about garden features
constructed there about 1913. The artifacts help to document the on-going
occupation and restoration histories associated with this small structure.
Nine test units were completed, all but three encountering a layer of coal cinders
between 6 inches and 20 inches below ground surface, depending on the amount of
overburden above. The cinder layer was left untouched in most of the units in order
not to disturb the evidence; in two of them, however, the cinders were removed to
examine the structure of the support underneath. This proved to be rock and coarse
sand which was the base for the court; the 2-inch-thick cinder layer above probably
helped to fill in the surface of the sand/rock layer and assist with drainage. No actual
playing surface was left above the cinder layer, but the absence of any pieces of
asphalt suggests it was either a clay or a grass court.
The archeological crew was called away to do the previously unscheduled test
unit along the north wall of the schoolhouse before all of the proposed test units in
the tennis court area were finished. However, they succeeded in identifying the north
and east boundaries of the tennis court: between N374 and N392 for the north
boundary and between N328 and N325 for the east boundary. (It should be noted
that these coordinates, which appear on the base map, were the planned locations for
the test units. Once the field work commenced, however, N374 was moved 1 foot
north to N375; N325 was moved south to N321). The north and east edges of the
court were identified by the absence of the cinder base in all or parts of the above-
listed test units. The cinders continued to the south beyond test unit N301 (actually
excavated at N304) and to the west beyond N343.
Only one artifact was found other than fragments of the coal cinders, a sample of
which was collected. This one artifact is a piece of clear window glass found on the
surface of the cinder layer in unit N304 (mapped as N301).
Based on the results of the testing, approval was given on August 18, 1974, for
the tennis court area to be graded down to the level of the clay loam layer above the
cinders. Apparently, however, this grading did not occur.
Test trench #1, located 30 feet to 33 feet from the northwest corner of the 1818
wing, revealed a laid stone pavement. Running over this pavement was a cast-iron
pipe no longer in use and a copper alloy fuel line tube connected to a fuel tank.
Excavation was halted in order to preserve the laid stone.
Test trench #2 was excavated along the 1818 wing, but closer to the southeast corner
of the courtyard area. Solid concrete was encountered at a depth of 5 inches from the
existing ground surface, and the trench excavation was abandoned. The concrete had
been poured over pipes from the roof gutters which meet in this area and then drop
down under the foundation of the 1818 wing.
Test trench #3 was located against the wall of the 1925 wing from 10 feet to 13
feet from the northeast corner. A shallow builders' trench was revealed here that
extended from 8 inches to 16 inches below ground surface. Both 18th- and 19th-
century artifacts were found mixed with 20th-century construction materials in the
trench, demonstrating that the construction of the 1925 wing had cut through earlier
intact deposits. Subsoil was encountered at about 15 inches below ground surface.
Test trench #4, also located against the 1925 wing wall but farther south,
contained a thick layer of undisturbed soil as well as a 42-inch-deep pipe trench
containing a cast-iron pipe which ran parallel with the foundation.
Test trench #5 was located in the corner of the courtyard where the wall of the
1818 wing and the wall of the 18th-century house meet. The soil layers in this corner
were totally disturbed and contained more of the abandoned cast-iron pipe found in
trench #1. The trench was excavated to subsoil partly in search of earlier undisturbed
layers and partly to expose the foundation walls so that their condition could be
examined by the restoration crew. The walls were in such poor condition that when
Sarah Bridges, the archeologist in charge, was asked to leave the test trenches open,
she expressed concern about exposing those walls for any period of time.
In summary, of the five trenches excavated, only trenches #1 and #4 indicated a
potential for extracting further information about the history of the John Jay house.
It was recommended that the pavement found in trench #1 be preserved, and it was
hoped the intact soil layer in trench #4 would be datable. Later analysis revealed that
the layer dated to the late 19th century.
Thus, the porch probably had a solid base under its concrete surface rather than just
stone footings. It was suggested by site personnel that the porch was built ca. 1860
when John Jay II put in French doors from the main house through the wall.
According to then site manager Lino Lipinsky, the porch was removed by the New
York State Education Department in the 1960s. He believed that removal of the
porch led to some of the drainage problems, since the porch had shed the water
farther out into the courtyard than since its removal (Wentworth 1982).
Machine-cut nails were found below the porch foundation along with a clamshell.
Layers below the porch support consisted first of brick dust and sand and second, a
layer of clean sand fill. The archeologists noted that the foundation wall of the house
was "finished" or "dressed" to a depth of about 20 inches below ground
surface. The undressed stone footer for the house wall gradually increased in width between 20
inches and 30 inches below ground surface. Excavation thus ceased at 30 inches
below ground surface because the rock from the foundation
protruded into the trench making further excavation not possible. The restoration
crew unfortunately had to destroy most of the porch support in order to accomplish
the sill work but did not need to excavate into the soil layers below.
Glassware included parts of 18th/19th-century dark green bottles as well as
molded late-19th-century and 20th-century bottle fragments. One of the larger rim
fragments was identifiable as a bottle form from about 1830. Seven pieces of
glassware were of lead glass and probably represent table ware such as wineglass
fragments. Ceramic fragments included 18th-century creamware and delft, 18th- and
19th-century pearlware, 18th- and 19th-century Chinese porcelain, and 19th-century
whiteware and ironstone. Except for the ironstone, all of the ceramic fragments are
plain or hand-painted with the exception of three pieces of blue transfer-printed
whiteware. The creamware and pearlware sherds are all small, split pieces so that
vessel forms are not identifiable. The early porcelain fragments were parts of a bowl
and a plate. The later pieces all were cups, bowls, and plates. A few fragments of
utility crocks also were present as well as numerous redware flowerpot fragments.
Finally, there were a few pieces of plain white claypipes.
With the exception of artifacts dating ca. 1860 and later, none of the material was
found in its original context. Because of the utility lines, drain lines, building
construction, and repair work, the courtyard had become largely reworked. There
still is some question about the possibility that a stone paving was once present there.
No traces of it were found after 1975, when it was located in test trench #1 against
the 1818 wing wall. It is possible such a surface still exists only adjacent to the wall
where it was missed by the installation of utilities. It also is possible the laid stones
were placed under the utility pipes to help support them.
Two archeological projects have been conducted outside the Laundry Building.
The first, in 1992, was to expose part of the foundation of the building in order to
assess its condition; the second, in 1993, was to test the area east of the building prior
to drawing up plans for new uses for the structure and its environs. Proposed
changes included installing restrooms, handicapped access, and a parking lot. All
excavation units were 2-foot squares, and all but one were dug using hand tools. All
tests were excavated to subsoil.
Two test units were placed directly against the walls of the building in 1992, one
on the north wall and one on the west wall. Strata I through III were essentially
similar in both tests: mottled soils with coal and round nails. These soils were
backfill in a trench that had been dug along the piers of the laundry building in order
to pour the cement wall support that is there now. This repair trench apparently was
wider than the 1992 test units. At the base of Stratum III in the test unit on the north
wall and at the base of Stratum IV in the west wall test unit a lip of cement was
found. This lip was the ground surface in the trench when the new supporting
foundation was poured; some of the cement oozed out onto the surrounding soil.
Under the cement lip was subsoil. Probing under the cement wall at this depth
demonstrated that the test unit excavation had reached the base of the foundation at
12 to 16 inches from existing ground surface on the north side and at 24 inches
along the west wall. The cement foundation was in excellent condition.
Artifacts found in 1992 all were from the repair trench fill and thus came from a
variety of time periods. The finds ranged from 18th-century lead-glazed buff
earthenware and shiny brown-glazed Nottinghamware to pieces of 20th-century
sewer tile and cast iron conduit bracket. Both 18th-century ceramic fragments
probably were once parts of mugs. A piece of lead glass also could be from an 18th-
century vessel. It had a flared rim; the vessel form remains unidentified.
In 1993, six test units were excavated in the area east of the Laundry Building.
Scattered over the landscape, they were designed to provide an overall look at the
archeological resources in the area proposed for development. In most of the test
units, a buried surface was found that appears to relate to the occupation and use of
the Laundry Building in the years after ca. 1885. The surface varied in thickness
from 2 inches to 5 inches and was composed of silt and gravel. The stratum seems to
be a work yard level. In addition to its being a hard gravel surface, it contained 18th-
and 19th-century artifacts but no artifacts from as late as ca. 1930. Consequently, the
archeologists concluded that, based on this preliminary survey, they would need to
do more work if and when the project proceeded. Test unit #5, placed farthest north
of the group, did not contain a stratum correlating with that found in tests dug closer
to the structure. Thus, it should be possible further to delineate the work yard space
around the Laundry Building and conduct an archeological study of it.
Artifacts found in Strata II/III, the work yard surface, included two fragments of
18th-century lead-glazed buff earthenware (pieces too small to determine vessel
form), seven pieces of hand-painted pearlware (manufacturing dates of ca. 1800 to
1830), and 30 fragments of Chinese export porcelain, a type commonly brought into
this country in the first third of the 19th century. Hand-painted blue and white, this
porcelain has a characteristic rim design called "Canton,"named after the port from
which the material was shipped. The design consists of a "wide band of blue,
roughly hatched with lines of a slightly darker blue" (No.lHume 1970:262). Many
fragments of such ware have been found in all areas of the Jay property; there was an
unusually large concentration here at the Laundry. Perhaps older ceramic vessels
were being used as part of the laundry process. Part of a pressed glass tumbler, a
piece of lead glass bottle, and the glass liner of a canning jar also were found. The
glass liner contained molded stops for the lightning closure in use after 1877 (Jones
and Sullivan 1985:167). The John Jay Homestead example has molded letters and
numbers which indicate its patent was applied for in 1882, thus dating its deposition
after that date. The layer below the work yard surface was natural subsoil; that above
dated to the 20th century, probably beginning with the heavy restoration work in the
1930s.
The identification and the opportunity to study such work surfaces is rare; further
archeological work and sampling here could provide information on the people who
carried out the washing and drying tasks on the Jay estate during the late 19th and
early 20th centuries.
A test unit dug in 1974 came within 20 feet of the Laundry Building
(N165.5E157). Artifacts were found only in Stratum I, and Stratum II appeared to be
natural subsoil. Therefore, the work yard surface probably does not extend to the
south side of the building.
In 1986, a cave-in occurred in an old, previously unrecorded catch basin near the
Laundry Building, at the bottom of the driveway up to the house. The catch basin
thus exposed was a square structure about 4 feet by 5 feet in size and about 4 feet
deep. All four sides were built of flat fieldstone. On top, four wooden beams
supported large flat stone slabs which served to cover the structure. Four layers of
soils were deposited over the top. Inside the structure, there was a drain opening that
seemed to come from the direction of the icehouse foundation on the hillside above.
Thus, the structure is believed to have functioned as a catch basin for the icehouse
located near the Jay house (Building #26).
Almost a year later, June 12, 1972, Paul Huey and Joseph McEvoy examined the
already-excavated drainage field located west of the sewer trenches dug the year
before. The drainage field covered a large area and was located across the dotted
contour lines drawn by Schoeneck on his sketch map. Huey and McEvoy reported
that the soil profile in the cut between the upper drainage tier and the middle tier
showed a sequence of soils, as follows. The first 28 inches from ground surface
represented the recent topsoil and a fill deposited in 1925. The fill contained
considerable debris, possibly from remodeling the house. The next level was thin
and consisted of white sand. Under this was a 12-inch-thick buried topsoil which
contained only charcoal. The next layer downward was only 3 inches thick and was
a sandy gravel. Below that were layers of natural subsoils. There were few artifacts
found, but those that were collected included garbage bones, brick kiln wasters,
glazed redware, 18th-century Chinese porcelain, and sherds of Canton porcelain.
After 1972, a total of twelve test units were excavated west of the John Jay house
(see map). These included units dug for a drainage line in 1976 and for a water line
in 1980 and one unit dug in 1974 as part of the site survey (N88 W214). Both the
1976 and 1980 projects were reported previously (see Appendix A), and those results
will be summarized briefly here. The artifacts found in all of these twelve units
excavated west of the house are combined for analysis.
The five excavation units excavated in 1980 indicated that the area close to the
house had been disturbed by the cellar hole excavations for the 1920s wing. Sandy
fills ranging in depth from 2 feet to more than 4 feet were found. Test unit #5 was in
the location of a road, and more than 14 inches of roadfill were found there.
The 1974 test unit was a 2-foot by 6-foot trench with its long sides running north-
south. Although the excavator differentiated three strata below the first, all were
differing shades of yellow sand with various stains and probably also were fills
deposited there after the construction of the 1920s wing.
The 1976 test units were excavated farther away from the house and did locate
undisturbed areas. Test units #1 and #2 revealed buried topsoil layers filled with
artifacts that dated to the years of John Jay's occupation, the first quarter of the 19th
century. Augering around the location of the two test units demonstrated that the
entire feature was about 6 feet wide and 8 feet long, perhaps a small midden or a
privy. The other test units in 1976 were excavated to find a route for the drain line
away from the location of this feature. Shovel tests A, B, and C together with test
units #4 and #5 were successful in doing so.
N90.5 W184.5-74 N149.5 W39.9-74 WL25-80
WL6-80 WL21-80 WL27-80
TP1-77 WL17-80 WL23-80
WL7-80 WL10-80 WL26-80
N100 W109.5-74 WL9-80 N230 W35
EL1-80 N109.7 W32.2-74
TP2-77 TP4-77
EL2-80 N172.1 W3.7-74
N106 W69.5-74 N190.6 W26.4-74
WL8-80 WL11-80
TP3-77 WL24-80
For the most part, the excavations revealed two to three loam layers over a yellow
silt subsoil. The subsoil contained deteriorating rocks and was located about 1 foot
below ground surface. Those test units in the road area immediately behind the
house revealed that the road surface was of small stones 2 inches to 4 inches in size
laid on a sand bed on subsoil. The road surface was about 7 inches thick. There were
few artifacts associated with the road, but test unit EL2-80 revealed a round nail
(dating after ca. 1890) under the stone road. This dates the construction or at least repair
of the road in this location to the 20th century.
Test unit EL1-80 revealed that the earthen bank north of the house once was
terraced. When the loose soil was cleaned off the bank's surface prior to beginning
the excavation unit, five terraces were revealed, each 1 foot high (see profile).
Stratum I in each terrace was a rich loamy soil appropriate for garden use; Stratum II
was a mottled sandy loam, the mottling having been caused by root action and
deteriorated rock in the soil matrix. The depths of Stratum II in each terrace varied
considerably, but all continued down to a yellow silt subsoil with large, severely
decomposed igneous and metamorphic rocks. Unfortunately, no artifacts were found
in any of the soils so that dating the terracing of this area was not possible. At some
point in the past, however, each of the five levels probably was planted with colorful
plants and flowers, giving the bank a lush appearance.
Three test units (WL17-80, WL21-80, and WL10-80) were placed near the north
wall of the 1904 extension of the north wing. Test unit #17 revealed large foundation
stones protruding from the wall, the stones filling up the test unit by the time it had
reached 12 inches in depth. Much building debris was found in the fill above the
rock, fill which continued alongside the rock to a depth of 24 inches below ground
surface. Artifacts dating to the 18th and 19th centuries were found below the fill, but
they were mixed together in the same stratum. All of the fill layers here are the
result of the construction of the wing. In test unit #10, an oil line was found in a
trench filled with mixed soil, located at the south end of the unit. Three different
road surfaces were found at the north end of test unit #10. Again, much building
debris was found in the soils. Road surfaces also were found in test unit #21 built
over subsoil. Excavations ceased at 2 feet below ground surface because of the large
rock present in the subsoil.
The most puzzling find was a rock feature in test unit N172.1 W3.7. As in the
survey units excavated near the house in 1974, the excavation was 6 feet by 2 feet in
size. (The unit shown on the base map is representative of the location, not the size
of the excavation.) Large rocks were uncovered in Stratum II which seemed to form
a dry-laid wall. The rocks ran east to west, two of them abutting each other and both
supported underneath by smaller rocks. Smaller cobbles and rock appeared along the
south wall and was interpreted by the excavator as a "stone floor." Because the
excavation unit was only 2 feet wide, only two rocks together were exposed.
However, these rocks form a man-made feature. It could have been part of a small
structure similar to others which once stood nearby (#33 and #26 on the base map).
No artifacts were found below Stratum I to help date or identify the structure.
Further excavations should be conducted here to explore this interesting feature.
Only one other unit, N109.7 W32.2, appeared to have intact stratigraphy, that is,
undisturbed layers. This unit was located at the east end of the study area, on the
bank north of the oldest section of the house. Here, the top layer contained many
artifacts apparently brought to the surface during work at the site in recent years.
Stratum II dated from ca. 1890 to ca. 1945; Stratum III from between ca. 1850 and
ca. 1890, and the earliest two strata to ca. 1790 to ca. 1850. The dates were
determined by the presence of certain artifacts: round nails for layers after ca. 1890,
coal for layers after ca. 1850, and ceramic types with no coal for layers dating
between ca. 1790 and ca. 1850. The earliest strata contained blue shell-edged
pearlwares, representing a ceramic type popular in the first quarter of the 19th
century. In the artifact analysis below, the finds in this excavation unit are discussed.
Therefore, the collection was treated as one deposit, and the horizontal
distribution of artifacts across the landscape was studied. The study is based on the
supposition that the artifacts probably were removed from their original contexts and
then backfilled in almost the same location. Only the pearlwares and the nails
revealed any kind of patterning.
A total of 30 machine-cut and hand-wrought nails were excavated from the test
units north of the house. The largest concentration was in N109.7 W32.2-74.
Secondary concentrations were in nearby units N172.1 W3.7, N149.5 W39.9, and
N106 W69.5. A single nail was found in N100 W109.5. No hand-wrought or
machine-cut nails appeared farther west than N100 W109.5. This also matches quite
closely the west extent of the house in John Jay's time. Thus, the nails dating to John
Jay's occupancy cluster behind his original structure, with none found behind the
1925 wing. This suggests that the original assumption about artifacts being
redeposited close to their original location is correct.
The pearlwares clustered at the east end of the house, also. Forty-one fragments
were excavated from N109.7 W32.2, the same unit where most of the nails were
found. At least two vessels were represented in the pearlware sherds, one a bowl and
one a plate. The flatware piece was a blue shell-edged plate; many of the flat plain
sherds probably were part of that vessel. One of the flat basal fragments has an
impressed mark ...& SONS. Unfortunately, the informative part of the mark was
missing, but the use of such an impressed mark could indicate the piece was
manufactured during the last two decades of the 18th century or early in the 19th
century (Godden 1975:11-12). A few of the fragments cross-mended with each
other, but all of them were so small that trying to reassemble all of them would be a
difficult task. Sixteen more fragments of pearlware came from N172.1 W3.7, the
same unit where the stone wall was found. The blue shell-edged fragments found
here were of the same design but were from two different vessels, a plate and a
platter. Neither were the same blue shell-edged design as that in unit N109.7.
The only other pearlware fragments found north of the house were two pieces at
the extreme west end of this grouping of excavation units, N90.5 W184.5, in the
road. These two fragments probably were deposited there during 20th-century
roadwork.
The clustering of pearlwares and nails on the hillside behind the east end of the
Jay house suggests a trash disposal pattern. Room 110 in the basement of the 1800-
1801 section of the house is interpreted as an early kitchen. By 1818, a new wing to
the house was built projecting to the north and located so that it overlapped the 1800
section. Thus both before and after the 1818 addition was built, access to the exterior
grounds along the north side of the house was easily available from the kitchen for
trash disposal. Both construction material and broken pottery may have been thrown
up on the hillside directly behind the house while more odoriferous waste, such as
food bone, was dumped elsewhere. Over the years, much of the soil from the
hillside, along with the artifacts it contained, probably eroded down the slope behind
the house. The present road behind the house was built or rebuilt in the 20th century.
Machines probably removed the soil that had been collecting there, thus also
removing the artifacts.
In the early 1960s, then site manager Edwin Cotter retrieved some white clay
tobacco pipe fragments from two locations, and in 1978 he transferred them to the
Archeology Unit. One of the locations from which they came was in the cellar of the
1818 section of the house, under the concrete cellar floor. The concrete was broken
up then and the rubble removed from underneath. White claypipes and a single
musket ball were found under that rubble. Of the 29 claypipes recovered, 17 are
plain stems with bore sizes of 5/64 inch, a size common to the mid to late 18th
century. An additional stem has a green-glazed end tip to make smoking the pipe
more comfortable and less hazardous for the smoker. Glazing the tips of pipe stems
with a lead glaze in this way was "by no means common" (No.lHume 1970:302).
Two of the pipe bowls have a spur heel attached and traces of vertical ribbing above
the heel. The ribbed design dates the pieces to the 1790s. The musket ball had not
been fired nor had it been smoothed off and finished after casting, as the mold seam
still remains. The ball is 3/8 inch in diameter.
Also found was a Masonic-marked white claypipe bowl under a concrete slab in
front of the screened-in porch at the top of the driveway. After the slab was broken,
the pieces were removed along with gravel and stone. The pipe bowl was found
underneath. Topsoil then was added to the area and grass seed put down. The pipe
bowl had the following molded symbols on it: a G set in a diamond motif, a series of
stars around this symbol, with flutes and leafy stems set vertically up the bowl. This
type of pipe was popular in the first quarter of the 19th century. It is uncertain,
without further research, whether John Jay was a Freemason, but it is known that
both his son and his grandson, William Jay (1789-1858) and John Jay II (1817-
1894), were Freemasons (McLean 1996).
First "line," Waterline 1978: test units 1-8; Survey unit 1974: N32 E198
Second "line," Electric line 1977: TP 5-8
Third "line," Waterline 1980: test units 12-22; Survey units 1974: N134 E144, N169
E35, N166.7 E119.5, N165.5 E157, N164.2 E198.2.
Test unit W1 was a 2-foot square unit located about 10 feet east of the 1904
addition to the house and about 2 feet away from the well. The surface was grassy,
but Stratum II revealed a gravelly driveway surface. Under the old driveway was a
layer of mixed fill and gravel. Together, these three layers, all 20th-century and
perhaps even 1960s deposits, raised the level of the ground surface more than a foot
on this side of the house.
The next two strata dated to the second half of the 19th century, although they
also contained artifacts in common use in the 18th century such as creamware, early
pearlwares, and hand-wrought nails. These layers also contained an early piece of
Chinese porcelain, a design dated by Mudge (1986:131, 132, 149) to the 1750s (Cat.
#543). This sherd represents a plate or platter that probably was brought to the farm
by the Jay family from their former home. Utility wares represented include glazed
redware, buff stoneware crocks, and a pearlware bowl with blue and white banding.
The layers were deposited after ca. 1850, however, because they contained both coal,
a fuel in common use after that date, and molded bottle glass. Under these 19th-
century layers were subsoil silts and rock.
While the archeologist was excavating test unit W1-78, then site manager Lino
Lipinsky watched the excavations with the hope of finding square red tiles that he
had previously observed laid in a pattern on this side of the house. None were found
here, and Lipinsky concluded that the tiles must be located only outside the 1818
section of the north wing. (Test unit W1 was outside the 1904 addition.) Future
excavations near the 1818 section of the house may encounter this feature.
Test unit W2 also revealed the former driveway gravel in Stratum VI which ended
at about 12 inches below ground surface. Under this layer were fill layers found to
relate to two separate pipe trenches of different dates. One pipe trench contained
three small copper lines found 17 inches below ground surface. When the waterline
installation was monitored, these copper lines were determined to be oil lines. The
second pipe was a 1.-inch-diameter iron pipe located at 22 inches below ground surface at the
west end of the unit and at 29 inches below ground surface at the east
end. An earlier trench containing a 2-inch iron pipe was found at 32 inches below
ground surface. This earlier pipe was interpreted as the waterline coming from the
stone pump house to the main house. The excavator noted that the end of the pipe
was visible in the basement of the house, apparently in the 1818 section.
The most recent pipe trench containing the oil lines had been dug from the top of
Stratum IV, which dated to the 20th century. The second pipe trench was dug from
the top of Stratum VIII, which dated to the second half of the 19th century. This
second trench intruded into the earliest one which also had been put in place
sometime in the second half of the 19th century.
While monitoring the installation of the waterline in November 1978, the
archeologists noted new information about the areas around test units #1 and #2.
During backhoe work next to the well, a concrete housing was observed. The
housing consisted of a circular concrete tube 24 inches high. Below the surround, at
a depth of 2 feet, a wall was found. The wall was built of very large rock and
probably was part of the original surround for the well before the concrete casing was
installed. A sherd of creamware and a white clay tobacco pipe stem were found near
the wall. (The field notes also mention a large sherd of creamware or pearlware at a
depth of 39 inches near test unit W1; these three artifacts are not, however, with the
artifacts collected that day.) Backhoe digging between test units W2 and W3
revealed that the heavy crushed rock driveway layer continued under the current
drive. Some delay was caused by the pipes in test unit W2, but the machine then
began following the route of one of the iron pipes. One of the archeologists cleaned
the trench profile under the center of the driveway between test units W2 and W3
and found a round wire nail under the road. This dates the current driveway to the
20th century. Between test units W2 and W3, the number and size of rocks increased
dramatically. At first they were found at 49 inches below ground surface, but within
15 feet of test unit W3 they were found at 24 inches below ground surface. At 12
feet west of unit W3, a very large round boulder was encountered. Immediately east
of this obstacle, the coal ash deposits began. These coal ash deposits were found to
form most of the slope south of the road. The two iron pipes, both water pipes,
continued between test units W2 and W3. One was removed by the machine. By the
time the backhoe reached the location of unit W3, because of the large rock, the
trench width had increased from 2 feet to 8 feet(!).
Test unit W3 contained 20th-century fill layers for about a foot below ground
surface, similar to units W1 and W2. At that depth, however, the dumping of coal
ash began the formation of the present-day slope. Stratum IX, found at that level,
was a mottled surface which contained 13 window glass fragments, all of dark green
colors and probably original to the house. A sawed bone was recovered at 16 inches
below ground surface, and a piece of flowerpot was at 22 inches. Rocks found in
Stratum X probably were part of a road base, an earlier 19th-century surface. The
rocky surface was uneven and included some large pieces of red hand-made brick.
When removed, the rocks were found to be large, round, and deeply set (see profile).
Stratum XI underneath also contained some smooth round rocks mixed in but not
laid in place like those in Stratum X. The next layer, XII, had very large, heavy
rocks and represented the beginning of subsoil.
Strata IX and X in test unit W3 appear to be surfaces dating to the occupation of
the original Jay family. Artifacts were few but included foodbone, creamware,
window glass, partial hand-made red bricks, clamshell, and a flowerpot body
fragment.
As monitoring of the water line installation continued, the coal ash was readily
apparent in the vicinity of test unit W3. More broken hand-made brickwere found on
top of the rocks that formed the early road base. Perhaps the surface of the road itself
was made of wasters from the brick kilns.
Test unit W4 was placed on the south edge of the current driveway and contained
seven layers of 20th-century driveway surfaces and fill down to a depth of about a
foot. Below that, beginning with Stratum VIII, were two fill layers consisting of coal
ash and sand, part of the fill used to form the slope. Strata X and XI also contained
coal but seemed to be original ground surfaces rather than fill deposits. Stratum X
dated to after ca. 1890 since it contained a round nail. It also, however, had 18th-
century lead-glazed buff earthenware and Chinese porcelain fragments as well as a
single undecorated white clay tobacco pipe bowl. Stratum XI was earlier, probably
dating between ca. 1850 and 1890. It contained food bone, 18th-century lead-glazed
buff earthenware fragments (part of a bowl), and a copper alloy token. The token had
raised molded letters along one edge: ATTS PA, was 1 inch in diameter, and remains
unidentified as to function. More rock was found in this layer, and the 18th-century
buff earthenware was found among the rocks when they were removed. Underneath,
Strata XII and XIII contained only 18th-century materials and probably represent
ground surfaces from the early 19th century and the late 18th century. The early-
19th-century surface contained an oyster shell and a red earthenware vessel fragment
with a clear glaze and a crimped pie-crust edge. Its top opening would have been
about 6 inches across; it was probably a shallow milk pan. The late-18th-century
layer, Stratum XIII, contained only bone fragments and more of the 18th-century
buff earthenware pieces. Under this layer subsoil was found at about 3 feet below
ground surface. The results of the excavation work in unit W4 suggests the 18th-
century surface was more than 2 feet below the current ground surface, while the
surface in the last half of the 19th century was about 20 inches below ground surface.
Thus, the slope between the barns and house was much flatter than it is now
.
Monitoring the installation of the waterline between the locations of test units W3
and W4 revealed more large boulders and a 4-inch iron pipe laid 54 inches below
surface, running north-south. The pipe was found 15 feet east of unit W3 and about
15 feet west of unit W4 and was left intact. No more hand-made bricks were found
after leaving the vicinity of unit W3. The coal ash layer was continuous between the
two units but became thinner going downhill toward unit W4.
Test unit W5 also contained intact strata under a foot of 20th-century driveway
surfaces. Below those were a series of late-19th-century surfaces containing coal and
sand fills. Stratum VII revealed a silver dime at 28 inches below ground surface. It
is a Seated Liberty dime dated 1838 which was dropped here after ca. 1850. Found
with the coin were clamshells, food bone, creamware, plain and printed pearlwares,
porcelain, white clay tobacco pipe stems and bowls, and coal.
Machine digging between units W4 and W5 revealed a few more large rocks (up
to 2 feet in size) but none as large or embedded as those found farther uphill. A
fragment of ironstone from an eight-sided plate, more food bone, a sherd of
whiteware, and a piece of lead-glazed red earthenware crock were found and
collected.
Test units W6 through W8 all were 1-foot squares excavated south of the 450-foot
contour line. They did not contain the soil fills found in the first five units. Unit W6
contained two loam layers over the silt subsoil which was located at about 12 inches
below ground surface; the loam layers dated after ca. 1850. Unit W7 had three loam
layers to a depth of 2 feet, but there were no artifacts. The test unit may have been
placed in a hole dug in order to plant a nearby chestnut tree. Test unit W8 contained
three loam layers with subsoil being found at a depth of about 10 inches below
ground surface. The earliest loam layer and the only one that contained artifacts was
the one just above subsoil. It dated to after ca. 1850.
Unit N32 E198 was a 3-foot square dug as part of the 1974 survey work. It was
located next to the west wall of Building#8, a carriage barn/stable built ca. 1800.
Three loam layers were found over subsoil, which was uncovered at a depth of about
a foot below ground surface. Here, however, it appeared the layers had not been
disturbed by later development. The top two layers dated to the 19th and 20th
centuries, but the third may been a ground surface that built up around the building
after ca. 1800. This lowest loam layer contained oyster shell, transfer-printed and
hand-painted pearlware, creamware, blue-tinted window glass, and 146 fragments of
hand-made brick fragments. All of these artifacts date to the first half of the 19th
century.
The excavation units located north of the road included two roughly parallel lines
running west to east from the house. One consisted of a series of tests excavated in
1977 for the installation of an electric line: TP 5 through 8. Also in this "line" was
unit N134 E144 dug in 1974. The other "line" of units included testing for a water
line (1980) and survey tests from 1974:
WL12-80
N169 E35-74
WL13-19-80
N166.7 E119.5-74
WL20-22-80
N165.5 E157-74
N164.2 E198.2-74
TPs 5 through 8 excavated in 1977 for a new electrical line route revealed very
little. The test units were located right along the driveway and, consequently, the
soil layers there were found to have been disturbed. TP 5 contained bulldozed soils
for a depth of 2 feet; the rest contained roadway fills for depths of about a foot. This
is less than what was found south of the driveway where more fill was added to
provide a more level surface for the drive. There were no artifacts found in TPs 6
and 8, and TP 7 contained only a single brick fragment and a piece of coal. More
artifacts were found in TP 5, which was located closer to the house than the others,
but the artifacts were in the bulldozed soils. They included single fragments of
creamware, pearlware, black-glazed Jackfield-type redware, porcelain, three pieces
of window glass, and nails. Once again, most of these objects probably at one time
were associated with deposits dating to the occupation of the first Jay family, but are
now in later deposits due to site development. Slightly to the north was a test trench
dug in 1974 but which inadvertently was left off the base map. The unit, N134 E144,
was 2 feet by 6 feet in size. A cobble pathway was found in the western part of the
trench at a depth of about 4 inches below ground surface. The pathway was left
undisturbed, and the soils were excavated. These soils contained large pieces of
coal(not saved) as well as other 19th-century artifacts toward the top. The layer then
graded into sterile subsoil. This stony surface no doubt is evidence of a stone path
known to have run from the Laundry Building to the east side of the Jay house
(Onorati 1994). The stone path was added to the base map as a result of the
interview with Guido Onorati in 1994 (Feister, Fisher, McEvoy, and Briggs 1994).
The third "line" of test units, actually the second "line" of excavation
units north
of the driveway, contained fifteen more units. Unit WL12, located nearest the house,
had only 8 inches of loam over subsoil. The only artifact was a hand-wrought nail.
WL units 18-16 were clustered together because they were dug in the proximity of
small outbuildings #33 and #26. Many artifacts were found here, but they all were in
Stratum I. The materials included clamshells, unglazed and glazed redwares, plain
and transfer-printed pearlwares, a pressed lead glass tumbler fragment, a single piece
of dark green bottle glass, and coal. Unit N169 E35, located between the water line
tests, also contained several artifacts, all again in Stratum I. Because of heavy rains,
the unit suffered some damage, and some early artifacts were collected from soils
that collapsed into the pit. The entire collection from this 2-foot by 6-foot unit
included oyster shell, dark green bottle glass, a fragment of brown bitters bottle,
black-glazed and unglazed redwares, creamwares, pearlwares, window glass, hand-
made brick, white clay tobacco pipes, and coal.
Part of a walkway surface was found in unit WL18. The rocky surface was
uncovered at 5 inches below ground surface and was found to extend to a depth of 12
inches below surface. Below this walkway was a silty soil with clear-glazed
redware, brick, and coal ash. The coal ash dates the feature above it to after ca. 1850.
Found in the soils around the rocks that make up the walkway was a machine-cut
nail, brick, and coal ash. Thus, the feature was installed in the late 19th century,
probably to serve as a pathway to the small outbuilding nearby.
The remainder of the test units, located east of unit WL18, contained shallow
loams above subsoil reached at depths of about a foot. Artifacts included more
glazed redwares, window glass, a fragment of 18th-century porcelain, nails, food
bone, and coal.
2 and 3, 1976, for drainage work
S25 W18 and S30 W80, 1974, for boxwood plantings
EL 1 and 2, 1993, for an electrical line
S91.2 E84.3, 1974, for survey work
SG1, 1979, for the swing gate
Previous reports have been produced for the drainage project (Feister 1976:5-8)
and the boxwood plantings (Feister 1978); therefore, only a summary of these is
presented below.
The layer just above subsoil, a red-brown sandy loam, dated to the late 18th
century. It was the ground surface when the house was built, and it contained over
60 artifacts. Some of the porcelain found was a special type, English soft-paste (Cat.
#15). The fragments were part of a tea cup hand-painted with the Chinese bridge and
house motif. The interior of the cup had a cross-hatched band just below the rim.
Soft-paste porcelain fragments are rare on American sites. Manufactured in England
in the 18th century in an effort to copy Chinese hard-paste porcelains, the wares
were expensive to produce, and the soft-paste porcelains "did not occupy a major
place in the material culture of the colonial period" (Miller and Stone 1970:91). At
New York State Historic Sites, soft-paste porcelain has been found at Johnson Hall
in layers dating to the 1770s. Other ceramic types include creamware bowl
fragments, sherds of delft, and red earthenware with clear lead glazes. One find was
the iron tine from a late-18th-century shoe buckle (Cat. #15), the type the Jay men
would have worn.
Above this late-18th-century layer was a gray silt deposit which contained almost
2,000 artifacts. The layer dated to the first quarter of the 19th century. Many of the
finds were pieces of red brick, but the large number of artifacts also indicates the
occupants of the house were disposing trash on this side of the house. Sixteen of the
total were creamware fragments including a plate rim of the Royal pattern, bowls,
teacups with overglaze enamel decoration (a very expensive type), and chamberpots.
Creamware, during the early years of occupation of the site, clearly was the ware
used most for functions, on the basis of this evidence. Also found were blue-
decorated delft fragments, slipped redwares, black-glazed Jackfield-type redwares,
gray salt-glazed stoneware, pearlwares, and porcelains. Personal use items included
an early hand-made straight pin (Cat. #16), a copper alloy thimble (Cat. #16), and
white clay tobacco pipes (one of Dutch manufacture instead of English), besides the
window glass, hand-wrought nails, and the hand-made brick. Strata above also
contained many artifacts from the late 18th/early 19th centuries.
The unit dug for Boxwood A (S30 W80) revealed disturbed soils but again many
artifacts. It is clear that the south side of the house was an area used for refuse
disposal in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The large samples of ceramics and
personal use items found here in situ offer valuable information for the Homestead
furnishing plan.
Unit S91.2 E84.3 was a 3-foot square located next to a concrete curb southeast of
the house. Almost at the surface was a layer of gravel which lay next to a layer of
angular rock found at a depth of about 2 inches below ground surface and extending
down to about 6 inches below ground surface. The majority of the artifacts here
were found in a thick sand layer below these cobbles. The most recent artifacts in
this layer were machine-cut nails, types which dated after ca. 1820. This suggests
that the cobble surface was installed sometime in the 19th century, thus sealing off
and protecting the layer beneath. A fill layer was found below this layer which
contained no artifacts but appeared to be a mixture of subsoil silts and decaying rock.
Then below this was a dark brown buried topsoil which probably dated to the early
occupation of the site. The only artifacts were a single green wine bottle fragment
and hand-made brick fragments. Below that was the orange silt subsoil and rocks.
The east half of the test unit, under the gravel, was disturbed by the excavation and
filling of a recent trench. However, this excavation suggests that even in the busy
modern entrance drive area, some of the early layers have been preserved in place by
the addition of later fills and rock surfaces.
This, however, was not true at the swing-gate location near the parking lot. This
1.5-foot square was placed along the macadam drive up to the house. Stratum II was
gravel fill for the road construction, and a layer of blacktop was uncovered at a depth
of 3 inches below ground surface in the south section of the unit. Also in the south
section of the unit was a layer of brown clay loam and pea gravel, probably part of
the shoulder of the road. Under the blacktop surface were large rocks which served as
a bed for the asphalt road layer. Under this was a compact subsoil with deteriorating
quartz rock. The unit was excavated to a depth of about 2 feet below ground surface;
no artifacts were found. The building of the road between 1959 and 1964 had
removed all evidence of site occupation. The macadam road apparently was wider at
one time and only recently has become partially covered. Although the excavation
continued to a depth of 21 inches below ground surface, no earlier road surfaces were
found.
N161.5 E235.8-74
FT1-4-78 (behind Building #9)
C1-4-79 (inside Building #9)
TP7 and 10-77
Trench A-E 1978
Note that unit N21 E198-74 next to the west wall of Building #8 was included in
previous discussions.
A large rock feature was found at the south end of this unit. It consisted of large
rocks closely packed into an approximately 2-foot-square area and covered over with
soil containing 20th-century artifacts but no plastic or Styrofoam. It probably was a
dry well built before ca. 1945 that was intended to accept drainage off the roof of the
nearby building. The rest of the archeological trench contained some rock rubble and
mottled soils. Artifacts dating to the original Jay family occupation included
porcelains, pearlwares, machine-cut and hand-wrought nails, and white clay tobacco
pipes. Also included in the collection was a hand-wrought pintle 3 inches by 1. inches in size,
strap metal fragments, and a 2-inch-long carriage or wagon bolt. All of
these no doubt are remains of hardware once associated with the function of the
nearby building.
Units FT1 through FT4, excavated in 1978, were for the burial of a new fuel tank.
The original plans called for the fuel tank to be installed behind Building #12, but
excavations there (to be discussed later) revealed a cobblestone courtyard. Therefore,
site personnel chose a new location behind Building#9. A 6-foot by 8-foot area was
laid out here so as to avoid a buried waterline and to place the fuel tank away from
the porch. Each excavation unit was a 1-foot square placed east of a small porch and
steps leading from the north side of Building #9. Building #9, the coachman's house,
was constructed ca. 1800.
Three units uncovered a buried topsoil at a depth of about 15 inches below ground
surface. No artifacts were found to help date the layer. This former ground surface
had been covered over by a rocky fill, probably in the late 19th century. Above the
fill were loam layers with 20th-century artifacts. The two units placed farthest from
Building #9 (FT3 and FT4) came down to large rocks through which excavation was
not possible. These rocks may have been the beginning of subsoil, since augering
down to depths of about 3 feet below ground surface revealed only silty clayey soils.
There were no early artifacts found; ceramics dated to the late 19th century or
were redware flowerpot sherds. Nails were either machine-cut or round wire types,
and there were many fragments of coal. Although Building #9 was constructed ca.
1800, the yard area behind it has been reworked.
In 1979, however, workmen undertook the replacement of the footings under the
porch and stepson the north side of the coachman's house without prior archeological
testing or rescue excavation. In these square excavations, the workmen found many
artifacts which then were forwarded to the Archeology Unit. Although most of the
finds were late-19th/20th-century materials (molded bottles, round nails, pieces of
plastic), there were also some earlier artifacts found, especially in Footer #3, located
at the west corner of the porch structure. These included dark green bottle glass,
dark green window glass, pearlware, white clay tobacco pipe stem fragments, and
hand-wrought as well as machine-cut nails. Eleven fragments of Chinese Canton
porcelain are included in the collection (Cat. #707), but no specific location was
recorded. Canton porcelain was manufactured in China and exported to the west
mostly between ca. 1800 and ca. 1830, thus making it a ware that was in use during
the occupation of the original Jay family. These fragments were of at least five
different vessels, one an octagonal plate, the others round plates or saucers, and,
finally, bowls. All were hand-painted with the house, tree, boat, and bridge design.
One interesting item, from Footer #4 located at the east corner of the steps, was a
large lead glass stopper (Cat. #708). The piece was 3. inches long including its flat-sided top; the
diameter of the stopper was . inch, and the diameter of the top was 5/8 inches. The piece
probably fitted into a large decanter. Another interesting piece
apparently was found on the surface of the ground since it is not very rusted. It is a
complete iron box lock 4 1/8 inches by 3 inches in size; its interior mechanism is 2. inches by 2.
inches in size (Cat. #700). It probably once was attached to a trunk lid. The 3-inch-long iron key
also was included. The key fits the lock and works the mechanism easily. The artifacts found as
part of the porch and steps repair suggest that undisturbed and significant occupation strata may
be found closer to the walls of Building #9 as compared to the back yard area. Any future plans
to work on the restoration of this building should take that possibility into consideration.
The next group of excavations took place along the south wall of Building #9, the
side facing Building #8. Here a series of trenches was excavated before restoration
work began on the building. When the archeologists arrived, the top of the
foundation stones of the south wall had been exposed.
Trench #1 was established on the exterior of the building. It was a foot wide and
15 inches long and ran north-south at right angles to a large rock in the wall line.
The rock was directly in front of the door leading to the steps that go upstairs in the
coachman's house. The rock was 18 inches thick and was at ground surface, level
with the cobblestones in the courtyard south of the building. Excavations showed
that the large rock was surrounded by a fill that contained rotted wood, white lime,
and rusted nails. The rock itself contained an interesting drill hole in one edge,
possibly from quarrying or from splitting a larger field boulder. The base of the
large rock sat on subsoil. Thus, it appears that the foundation of the building was
built on subsoil, with fill soils placed around it.
Trenches #2, #3, and #4 were excavated inside Building #9. Each revealed a
variety of fill deposits suggesting again that soils were brought in after the
foundation was laid. This meant that the workers who built this building cleared
away all of the topsoil down to subsoil before bringing in the rock to build the
foundation wall.
The majority of the artifacts excavated came from the exterior trench, #1. They
date mostly to the 20th century but also include dark green bottle glass, lime mortar,
and hand-made brick. A reproduction 64th Regiment button also was found. On the
interior of the structure, more lime mortar and machine-cut nails completed the
assemblage of finds in the fill around the foundation walls.
When the repair work was done on the foundation walls, excavations also
occurred at a previously untested doorway farther east than the four archeological
excavations. The workmen found many artifacts, and they collected them by
location: "found between location 1 and 2," etc. All of the finds probably came from
the fill soils around the foundation wall. Most of the artifacts, again, are of 20th-
century origin; the earlier artifacts are items such as blue window glass, hand-
wrought nails, and dark green bottle glass. One brown-colored glass bottle base has
the molded raised mark, DYOTTVILLEGLASSWORKS PHILA. This glass factory
was in business between 1833 and 1923 and produced many of the famous flasks so
valued by today's bottle collectors. No way has been found to date this particular
piece from the mark or by context.
The two test excavations conducted in 1977 were 1-foot squares. These
established that the open space once had been cobbled, a type of surface that site
personnel had not previously suspected existed here. The cobbles were removed in
order to ascertain that this was a man-made feature. The only artifacts recovered
were machine-cut nails and a clear molded bottle fragment.
The following year, a 49-foot-long trench for the electric line, water line, and
telephone line was excavated from west to east by the archeologists through the open
area between the buildings in order to rescue information about the cobblestone
courtyard feature that would otherwise be lost if the work was done by machine. The
trench was 3 feet wide in order to provide a utility corridor sufficiently wide for
future use.
First, the local fire company assisted by removing the loose surface accumulation
of sandy, pebbly gravel along the proposed route of the corridor with a high pressure
hose. This revealed that the cobbles were laid closely packed together but not in a
pattern, except for those along the north edge. Here, the stones were laid in a fancy
arrangement of triangles and squares. The rest of the surface sloped slightly
downhill to Building #8, the carriage barn. Early-20th-century intrusions already
present into this cobbled surface were a gasoline pump and tank, as well as a large
underground cistern built of concrete in the southeast corner of the space.
The west end of the 49-foot-long trench was located at the large stone sill at the
entrance to the stable yard. This slab was one of three laid between the two gateposts
there. Two workers from the Taconic restoration crew came to help with the
loosening, labeling, and lifting of the cobbles. The larger cobbles were assigned
numbers within Trenches A, B, C, D and E. Trenches A-D were 10 feet long; Trench
E was 9 feet long. Later, using the codes, the cobbles were reset in their original
locations. As the cobbles were pried up, using a pick-axe, the sand and gravel bed
immediately underneath was sifted for artifacts. This was done for the entire width
of the trench, and the artifacts were saved by trench unit designations. There were no
artifacts dating later than ca. 1890. But the soils did include many earlier artifacts:
glazed red and buff stoneware crocks, creamware, pearlware, porcelain, molded
bottle glass, whitewares, window glass, hand-wrought and machine-cut nails, and
some coal.
Under the bedding for the cobbles was a layer of gravel and sand. Below that
were numerous other cobbles which seemed to form an earlier paved layer. This
layer was not completely intact. Around this second, deeper layer of cobbles was a
yellow-brown sandy clay. The layers both above and around this second layer of
cobbles contained many of the same types of artifacts as found above it except that
they dated between ca. 1850 and ca. 1890. Below these, at depths of between 15 and
20 inches below ground surface, was subsoil. It would seem likely that this earlier,
much disturbed cobble surface was constructed about the same time as the two
buildings it serves. However, because of the many "holes" which developed in the
feature, later artifacts were pushed down into the soils that probably were deposited
during the first half of the 19th century, thus making the feature appear to date to the
second half of the 19th century. A 3-foot square unit within Trench B was excavated
to a depth of 3 feet below ground surface in order to ascertain if there were any other
buried surfaces. None were found.
Beginning in 1974, several test units have been placed around all four sides of
Building #12, as well as between it and the stone wall near the Brick Cottage. This
group of tests, beginning with those west of Building #12 is composed of:
N110 E274-74 TP11-77
N157.1 E274-74 TP12-77
FTA 1-4-78 EL-80, rock feature
S1-5-78 TP13-77
1-73 N65 E273-74
A rock feature was found in unit N110 E274, a 2-foot by 6-foot trench excavated
in 1974. The feature was found in the east end of the unit and was left unexcavated.
The soils in the west end all dated to the 20th century. The feature itself remains
unidentified but formed some type of former surface located between 6 and 9 inches
below ground surface. These are similar depths for the upper layer of cobblestone
courtyard just over the wall west of this test unit's location. Possibly the courtyard
once extended farther east; rocks were found at this same depth in other units nearby,
but none formed as intact a surface as in this one.
Another 2-foot by 6-foot test unit, N157.1 E274.6, was excavated to the north of
the first. Here, a 19th-century ground surface was discovered which had been dug
through in the 20th century for a pit. The pit then was filled with nails, window
glass, and wood. The 19th-century layer (Stratum II) contained almost 30 fragments
of machine-cut nails as well as molded bottle glass, porcelain, and shell-edged
pearlware sherds. The sod layer above contained almost 320 artifacts, including 290
machine-cut, round-wire, and unidentified nails. Obviously, the top of the ground
surface on this side of the stone wall had become a dumping ground in recent years.
Four 1-foot units placed behind Building #12 revealed another cobblestone
courtyard there. The tests revealed the unexpected feature at 4 inches below ground
surface, and then the entire 6-foot by 8-foot area was uncovered to study the layout
of the cobbles. Artifacts found in the two layers excavated above the cobbles dated to
the 20th century. This cobblestone feature was found to be very intact. Diagonally
across the 6-foot dimension of the unit large boulders were laid in a very straight
line. South of the line of boulders, the stone paving was rough and unevenly laid.
North of the line of boulders, the stone paving was carefully and evenly laid. The
stones themselves were irregular-sized field stones. No attempt was made to lift the
stones and date the construction of the feature. Building#12 is believed to have been
built after John Jay's death to replace an earlier frame barn. This surface was too
close to the modern-day ground surface to be that early. However, it is possible,
even probable, that an earlier cobblestone courtyard existed here that later was
covered over with a new one. Such a surface here, as elsewhere, in the 18th century
commonly would have served as a hard underbase for utility yard activities.
Shovel tests 1 through 5 were placed on two sides of Building#12 as a result of
proposed changes in a waterline route being installed in August 1978. Although the
new waterline was being laid in the old trench leading from the pump house to
Building #14, the home of maintenance supervisor Guido Onorati, it was found that
the water line originally had been laid through Building#12 where it emerged to the north
through a vertical joint between the old barn and its east addition. The site
manager, Emilie W. Gould, preferred to have the new line laid around Building #12.
Part of the new route had been tested previously for an electric line with negative
results; therefore, it was decided to excavate five shovel tests along the route of the
waterline. Artifacts were found, all in Stratum II, a yellow-brown sand and clay mix.
Above Stratum II were traces of rock/cobble road surfaces. The Stratum II artifacts
include a fragment of Canton porcelain bowl (dating ca. 1800-1830), a flowerpot rim
(of 20th-century type), a fragment of ironstone (dating after ca. 1860), and a sherd of
buff stoneware crock. The road surfaces, then, probably date to the 20th century and
covered over and buried the late-19th-century soils.
Test 1, a 2-foot by 3-foot trench, was established against the south wall of
Building #12 in 1973. It was located between the main door and the western aisle
door. T. Robins Brown, who was working on a report about the history of the
outbuildings at John Jay Homestead, requested archeological information regarding
the dating of both this building and #13. A trench was discovered at a depth of about
4 inches below ground surface. It was filled with large boulders, some more than 2
feet in size. There were no artifacts found in what little soil could be removed from
between the boulders, but it appeared that this was a repair trench dating to the 20th
century. The original builder's trench probably was obliterated here in the process of
doing the repair. Similar boulder-filled trenches have been found at Knox's
Headquarters and Johnson Hall, and they are believed to be the work of the New
York State Education Department. Above the rocks in the trench at Building #12
was a fragment of Canton porcelain and a round nail, a type used after ca. 1890.
Test units 11 and 12 were excavated south of Building #12 for an electrical line.
Road surfaces were found in both. Test unit 11 revealed a hard-packed crushed stone
road surface at a depth of 1 inch, then a second surface made of flat rocks set in silt.
Fragments of cement were found below the flat rocks, indicating a probable early-
20th-century date for that surface. Below was a third surface of rocks, also set in silt.
The second road surface was found between 3 and 11 inches below existing ground
surface; the third was found at 11 inches below. The third surface rested on subsoil,
but there were no artifacts found under it to help date its construction. It likely dates
to the early 19th century.
The excavation of test unit 12 revealed a hard-packed gravel and cobble surface
between 4 and 8 inches below the present ground surface level. Under that was a
thick layer of large rocks between 8 and 17 inches below the ground surface. The
size of the rocks made excavation difficult, but a fragment of an 18th-century wine
bottle was located below one. The artifacts in the soil over the large rocks dated to
the late 19th century. This suggests that the lower road surface, like that in unit 11,
was constructed in the early 19th century.
Test unit 13, also excavated for the electrical line, was located next to the stone
wall separating the barn complex from the Brick Cottage. Here, three layers of loam
were found over a rock-filled subsoil. There were no road surfaces here. Thus, it
appears that the roads on this side of Building#12 have been placed and replaced
along the same route that exists today, as represented by dotted lines on the map.
Unit N65 E273 was excavated in 1974 near Building #8. It was a 2-foot by 6-foot
trench which contained a concentration of pebbles in the first foot of soil. At that
depth, a dark sandy loam with cinders was found, and subsoil was located at a depth
of about 20 inches from ground surface. An incredible number of artifacts was found
here, suggesting that this was an area for disposing trash, perhaps by tossing it over
the stone wall east of Building #8. Almost 800 artifacts were excavated here, not
including coal fragments. The artifacts included many window glass sherds, nails,
molded bottle fragments, and utility crock sherds. The earliest layer, Stratum III,
dated to the early 20th century. A few earlier artifacts were found, including
creamware, pearlware, and hand-wrought nails, but these were mixed with later
artifacts. Manhole and water valves digging nearby may also have been the source
of some of this soil and the accompanying artifacts.
Not shown on the base map are test units dug for a new septic system east of
Building #8. One of the tests, unit #3, was a 3-foot square. It probably was
excavated at the location of the proposed holding tank, as shown on a sketch map.
During excavations, an iron pipe was found lying on subsoil at a depth of about 20
inches below ground surface. Test unit #2 was located on the proposed trench line
that was to come out from the east wall of Building #8. It was a 2-foot square. It
was abandoned part way through excavations into Stratum I for unexplained reasons.
There are no records for a test unit #1.
In the vicinity of Building #12, a rock feature was uncovered during installation
of the electric line in 1980. The feature appeared to be part of a foundation, perhaps
for a small outbuilding. Only one wall of the foundation was uncovered. It was
constructed of rectangular flat rocks 8 to 12 inches thick held together with a
Portland-lime mixture. The use of Portland suggests a date of construction (or repair)
after ca. 1890. The location of the feature on the map is labeled "EL-80."
20th-century disturbances were found here than in the area of the carriage barn and
coachman's house, perhaps because this area remained in private hands as a working
farm longer than did the rest of the site.
Before the archeological work was done in 1973, workmen had uncovered the
wall of the round silo located at the northeast corner of Building #13. Charles
Schoeneck, who was working for Paul Huey that summer, recorded the find in
August 1970 (see drawing).
In 1973, Test 2 placed against the west wall of Building #13 was 2-feet by 3-feet
in size. The area was chosen because it seemed less disturbed than other ground
surfaces around the building. A rich topsoil yielded several modern artifacts. A
layer of rocks lying along the eave line was removed to reveal a second layer of
rocks lying on subsoil. Excavations ceased at a depth of 20 inches from ground
surface. No builder's trench was revealed here. The foundations of the building were
found to be very shallow. The evidence suggests that during the construction of this
building, the workmen dug a large pit in the ground and laid the foundation stones
directly against the edges of the pit, thus eliminating any open builder's trench
alongside. The excavators did examine the nails utilized inside the building. In the
rafters, machine-cut types with hand-hammered heads were found. This type was
manufactured after ca. 1790 but was replaced by nails totally machine-manufactured
after ca. 1820. Although the machine-cut, hand-headed nails could have been used
any time after they were manufactured, it is probable that this building was
constructed before ca. 1830. Perhaps the most interesting artifact found in the
excavations was a copper alloy measuring scale calibrated into fifths and marked
"Stumpp & Walters, New York." Subsequent research showed that this
company was in the business of selling seeds between 1898 and 1951 when it merged with
another firm. Thus, the measuring scale probably was an advertising product given
to the occupants of the Jay farm sometime during that time period.
Archeological testing was conducted in 1981 where former outbuildings, mostly
chicken houses, had stood. Standing stone foundations were located as close as 12
feet away from test units. The purpose was to determine which of two proposed
septic systems would be used with the least impact on archeological resources. If an
area of no archeological significance large enough for a septic field could be
identified, that type of system would be installed at Building#14, home of Guido
Onorati and his family. As an alternative, three 8-foot by 8-foot dry wells were
proposed.
Test #1 was in the locality of the proposed distribution box for the system; tests
#2, #3, and #4 were at locations where drywells might be dug. The rest of the tests
were placed across the proposed septic field location.
At the approximate center of the 30-foot by 60-foot area tested, a stone feature
was uncovered. The rock feature was found at a depth of 13 inches below ground
surface in test unit #4 which was 9 feet long by 1 foot wide. The surface of the
feature was covered with smaller stones 1 to 4 inches in size; the base of the feature
was constructed of larger rocks each about 1 foot in diameter. It possibly was an
early drain or stone surface for one of the many structures known to have existed in
the area. More extensive excavations would have been required to identify and
rescue information about the feature. Taconic Regional engineers elected instead to
construct the dry well system, as archeological testing had shown no adverse impact
would occur where those tests were excavated.
Test 3-80 was dug in a garden area just south of the stone wall. Loam layers
containing flowerpot fragments covered the subsoil which was reached at a depth of
about 12 inches.
Test 4-80 was placed where the old farm road originally passed by the Brick
Cottage, a route that since has been changed. A gap in the stone wall still exists here
but only enough to allow a person to walk through. The rest has been filled in with
rock.
Nine separate layers of fill were found here above a late-18th-century stratum
which contained only hand-made brick and a mammal bone. The loam layer below
that was just above subsoil and may have been a layer that predated the 18th-century
occupation. Thus, the 18th-century occupation layer is 18 inches below today's
ground surface. The nine layers above these two strata were renewals of the road
surface. A cobbled surface was found in Stratum III; under that was a series of sand
and gravel deposits. Stratum VII was a hard-packed surface that probably
represented a road surface in use for many years. It was reached at a depth of about
11 inches below ground surface, and it was about 5 inches thick. Under that was a
layer of sand and cobbles that might have been an earlier road. Stratum IX was a
loam with gravel, pebbles, and some flat rocks that may have been the original road.
Stratum X, the layer containing the brick and bone, was a mixture of differently
colored silts and gravels that may have been spread around after the building of the
Brick Cottage in the 1790s. The loam layer under that, Stratum XI, predated any of
the roads and contained no artifacts. It may have been the original topsoil on the site,
predating the 18th-century occupation.
On the west side of the farm road, unit S14 E317 was excavated in 1974. It was a
3-foot square that contained numerous artifacts, all in Stratum I. Under this were
mottled soils that covered subsoil, which was reached at a depth of 17 inches below
ground surface. The artifacts included slipped and glazed red earthenware vessels,
red stoneware, creamware, a two-tined fork (Cat. #106), hand-wrought nails and a
hand-wrought bolt, blue window glass, brick and coal fragments. The topsoil layer
in which the artifacts were found was about 4 inches thick. Most of this material
probably came from the disturbance created when the road was changed to run
straight to the barns instead of going off at an angle closer to the Brick Cottage.
East of the road, beginning with TP14-77, a series of 1-foot squares was dug
along the proposed electrical line route. They were placed every 50 feet along the
2,000-foot-long length of the proposed utility trench. All of these tests revealed three
basic strata: a plow zone about a foot deep, a mottled silty clay loam about 6 inches
thick, and the yellow subsoil reached at depths of less than 2 feet from ground
surface. Few artifacts were found in these units (brick, nails, coal; some 19th-
century ceramics, bottle glass, and window glass). These test units were placed
about 20 feet east of the road, and no features were found until the area marked as the
Brick Lot on old maps was reached in the last 1,200 feet of the proposed utility line
route.
Test unit S322.5E291, a 3-foot square, was excavated in the vicinity of the potting
sheds west of the road in 1974. Here much coal was found, probably due to the many
deliveries to the heating unit now known to have existed under the north potting
shed. Under the coal-laden topsoil was a plow zone which contained some very
black mottling and flat rocks at its base. This layer was only a half-inch thick and
contained only clear window glass and red brick fragments. It probably represents a
wet area along the road where humus deteriorated and rocks were placed to provide a
firmer footing. The layers above yielded many artifacts, but the mixture was the
result of 20th-century work. The artifacts included bone, brick, nails from the 19th
and 20th centuries, coal, porcelain, whiteware, and pearlware.
The formal gardens also are located west of the road. Both the upper and lower
gardens were the subject of archeological study (Feister 1978, 1979). Excavation
units and numerous augering tests were used here to determine the depths of previous
garden changes and the nature of the soils. These tests showed that the what had
been a sloping hillside had been extensively filled to level the area for a garden. The
locations of previous walkways also were found. Loam layers ranging in thickness
from about 12 inches to 34 inches were found which contained flowerpot, window
glass, nail, brick, coal, and ceramic fragments. Using information obtained by
excavation of a test unit outside the garden area and comparing it to those dug across
the gardens, it was established that the gardens were constructed by grading away the
natural slope on the west side and filling in the slope on the east side to create a level,
sunken garden effect. This information correlated with discoveries in the upper
garden survey from the year before. Indications are that the current garden areas
have been in continuous use as gardens since at least the 19th century and probably
earlier.
Also previously reported have been the excavations at the north potting shed
(Feister 1994a, 1994b). Here, a buried vaulted chamber and stairway were found
under and just outside the east wall of the shed. The vault had been the location of
heating systems for the greenhouses since about 1833. Heat generated inside the
chamber, placed underground so heat would rise from there, circulated through the
greenhouse. The heating chamber was enlarged about 1890 when a second
greenhouse was added. This was accomplished by raising the flat roof of the
chamber to a vaulted one. The coal furnace inside functioned until the system was
dismantled and the entire complex filled over in the 1950s.
In 1974, a test unit was placed 30 feet from the southwest and northwest corners
of the pumphouse as part of the site survey. Unit S603 E344 was a 3-foot square
which was expanded to the north with a 3-foot by 1-foot trench when a charcoal stain
was found in the southwest corner and along the west wall. A dark loamy topsoil was
found under the sod followed by a mottled plow zone about 8 inches thick. A
mottled subsoil lay underneath at a depth of about 15 inches. The charcoal stain
probably was deteriorated carbon from plants growing in this wet region.
In 1981, a shovel test was dug near the pond. It was located about 20 yards south
of the farm road and about 25 yards from the west shore of the pond. The purpose
was to examine the proposed location of a dry hydrant. Because it was known that a
berm of soil next to the pond had been created by the dredging of the pond in 1979,
shovel testing was the methodology chosen. The 20-inch by 15-inch excavation
showed that about 3. feet of fill or dredging spoil exists around the pond. The fill is
there because 3. feet underneath it the soils are super-saturated muck. Archeological clearance
was given for the installation of the hydrant.
Extensive archeological excavations in the historic Brick Lot southwest of the pump house also have been reported (Sopko and Feister, 1994). Pits were found from which clay had been removed for the manufacture of brick. These pits then were refilled with brick wasters and charcoal from the kiln operations. Brick making must be done in a dry area, and stone drains were found which were designed to insure the area was well-drained. A later tile drain for the farm road also was located. In addition, a prehistoric hearth was found. Radiocarbon dating was done on the charcoal from the hearth; effluoresence analysis was done on the brick wasters. The hearth was built by prehistoric people about 2,000 years ago (ca. 220 B.C.); the brick clay was from Hudson Valley sources. The analysis of the brick clay will make it possible to identify similar brick at other sites. A study of the documentary evidence about brick manufacturing and the men who made the brick at John Jay Homestead helped to broaden the story of an early industrial process. It was found that the methodology of payment changed through time in accordance with the economy of the late 18th century. It also was established that although brickmakers ordinarily were paid wages similar to those awarded to other artisans, both John Jay and Philip Schuyler compensated their brickmakers at levels higher than the prevailing wage. These two wealthy men were willing to pay well in order to get the results they wanted.
Extensive archeological work has been done in the area south of the barn complex.
The excavations explored a former location of the farm road as well as the area on
both sides of it. Long trenches were placed in the historic Brick Lot area which
resulted in data on the manufacture of brick in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Excavations in the upper and lower gardens revealed the process used to create these
now-level spaces. Archeology at the north potting shed uncovered forgotten large
features that were important elements of the greenhouse operations and that can be
interpreted to the public.
The Smith house was occupied sometime after 1743 by Stephen Baxter, who also
was a tenant. Baxter lost the property in the American Revolution when he chose to
remain loyal to the Crown. In 1776, Baxter and his son were sent under guard to
New Hampshire; in 1778, he was sent to enemy lines as a Tory. By the Confiscation
Act of 1779, Tory land holders lost their rights to their properties. By April 1785,
Major Samuel Lyon had possession of Stephen Baxter's farm and was employed as
John Jay's overseer. Lyon probably lived in Baxter's house until the 1790s. At that
time, the house probably was torn down. In 1793, Jay had started construction of a
new house for Major Lyon, which work continued through 1794. This proved a
temporary arrangement, however, as in 1798, Jay made plans to build a substantial
brick house for his farm manager. While this was being done, Samuel Lyon's son,
John, was busy moving the old house to a new location. This probably was the 1793
house rather than the 1743 structure. The task was completed by November 1799
when Peter Jay reported to his father, "John has already moved His House & nearly
completed it. It stands about five rods in the Rear of its former situation upon the top
of a hill. He has new Roofed it, filled most of it with Brick & Was now siding the
last end."
A depressed area has been noted by researchers through the years in the southern
section of the State Historic Site property between the present entrance road and the
old farm road entrance. This location seemed to correlate somewhat with the
location of the Smith house shown on the 1743 map. Archeological testing was
conducted there in 1979, 1982, and 1988.
Documentary evidence was obtained from an item found in a 1967 New York
State Education Department report. The memorandum was from G. D. Christensen
to State Historian Louis L. Tucker, and it concerned plans for the development of
Olana. However, as an aside, Christensen noted "...the tragedy of the John Jay House
where the foundation stones of the first house built on the land were ruthlessly
moved without archaeological consideration, to make way for the present drive. The
stones are now heaped about 200 feet from where they were found. Lost forever is a
chance to learn of that house." It is unclear whether or not the foundation was visible
in the 1960s or whether the foundation was exposed during roadwork and the
decision made to continue. There is no extant record of where this foundation was
found or why Christensen was so positive that this was the foundation of the Smith
house. It may have been the location of an outbuilding instead. The pile of stones
heaped about 200 feet from their original location was gone by 1969 (Huey 1995).
The small scale on the Purdy map makes it difficult to decide on the location of
the house site. It proved easiest to transfer the location shown on the 1743 map to
the 1858 Reynolds map since some of the same boundary lines are shown on each.
The results suggest that the house site may be between 340 feet and 460 feet north of
Route 22. A change in the contour line at that distance north of the road (the new
entrance road runs through it) could be one possibility for its location. A second
change in the contours east and a little farther north of the new road is another
possibility for a house site. No archeological testing has been done at either place.
However, at locations where archeological work has been done a heavy
concentration of 18th-century material has been found. The archeological
excavations were located in the southeast section of the property just off the entrance
road and close to Route 22. Traces of what could be the foundations of outbuildings
were found along with the many 18th-century artifacts. It may be that these finds
reflect activities in a work area associated with the Smith/Baxter/Lyon house. It also
is possible that the area tested is the actual house location and the 1743 map is as
sketchy as it appears to be.
In 1979, an auger test was done at the extreme southwest corner, near the entrance
road, to determine whether or not there was sufficient soil coverage to suspect a
possible house site. The auger indeed pulled up about 28 inches of loam above
subsoil. Contained in the loam was a fragment of 18th-century creamware.
In 1982, a magnetometer survey was conducted across the area. The readings
from this indicated an anomaly located about 50 feet north of the stone pillar by the
entrance road.
In 1989, a grid was surveyed across the area and points established for test units.
The grid extended 125 feet north of the site entrance and 125 feet east from the east
side of the entrance road. The grid was laid out both to encompass the depression
visible on the landscape and the anomaly found in the 1982 magnetometer survey.
Eighteen 2-foot squares were excavated at points on the grid system. As
suspected, only a plow zone existed here over subsoil. The plow zone averaged about
1 foot in thickness and contained both 18th- and 19th-century artifacts. The artifacts
were concentrated in the southeast portion of the grid, that is, in those test units east
of N2 E75 and N50 E77. The loam in these units also was darker than elsewhere,
suggesting more organic deposits, that is, organic content derived from garbage
bones and other trash.
Five possible features also were found, a high number for only 18 test units.
These were:
This was once a busy activity area. In addition to a large pitand a posthole, three different possible walls were found.
More than 800 artifacts were recovered, including many pieces of coal, clam
shell, and brick. Putting these aside left 342 diagnostic artifacts, mostly ceramics and
nails. Of the diagnostic artifacts, 69% were 18th-century types. Nothing like this has
been observed anywhere else on the Jay property except in one of the boxwood tree
tests south of the house. There is no question that an 18th-century site exists in this
vicinity.
The artifacts found in the 1988 archeological survey reflect an occupation in that
part of the Jay property before ca. 1800. If the Smith/Baxter/Lyon house was torn
down in the early 1790s, as seems likely, it probably was located in the vicinity of
where this survey was done. Included in the collection are earlier wares such as
delft, whitesalt-glazed stonewares, lead-glazed buff earthenwares and Jackfield
redwares. Ceramics dating to the last quarter of the 18th century such as creamwares
and hand-painted pearlwares also were found. Almost all of the nails are hand-
wrought 18th-century types. Most of the window glass is of the dark green color
common at 18th-century sites.
No substantial foundation walls were located, however, which would have been
likely to appear given the close spacing of the test unit squares. This suggests that
indeed the Education Department actions removed most traces of the walls, unless
the house site is farther north of the tested area and survived the grading.
More archeological exploration should be carefully planned and conducted, both
to study the five potential features already discovered and to extend the survey
farther north in an effort to pinpoint the Smith/Baxter/Lyon site.
Summary of the Archeological Work Conducted Near the Smith/Baxter/Lyon
House Site
Map research suggests that the Smith/Baxter/Lyon house may have been located
between 340 and 460 feet north of Route 22. Documentary research suggests that
actions by the New York State Education Department in the 1960s removed part or
all of the stone foundation of this structure. Archeological excavations in
1988established the presence of evidence of 18th-century occupation in the far
southeast corner of the site between the entrance road, Route 22, and the stone wall
bordering that part of the site to the east. More work is needed to correlate these
various findings.
Of the total ceramic assemblage, creamware was 40% of the collection.
Creamware was a lead-glazed earthenware first produced by Josiah Wedgwood in
1762. It quickly became popular, partly because it became the official choice of the
Queen, hence its nickname, Queensware. Creamware probably was the everyday
tableware at the Jay house since so much of it became broken and discarded. Hence,
in the furnishing plan for the site, creamware should fill a dominant role.
Early creamware was manufactured with a dark yellow glaze, and there are a few
fragments of this darker-glazed ware excavated at the site. The majority of the
wares, however, are medium to light yellow in color, and this type of creamware is
widely reproduced today.
Almost all of the porcelain found at John Jay Homestead was manufactured in China, although there are a few sherds of English soft-paste porcelain present. The
Chinese hard-paste porcelain consists of 18th-century blue and white or hand-
enamelled pieces and of Canton porcelain which was manufactured mostly from
about 1800 to 1830. Together they represent 16% of the total ceramic assemblage.
If one eliminates the heavy utility wares from the grouping, then porcelain represents
21% of the finer wares. Either number is very high. Porcelain was expensive, and
its presence on sites in high relative amounts can help indicate the elite status of a
site's owner or occupants.
Percentages of porcelain found at other State Historic Sites have also been
calculated. At Schuyler Mansion, for example, porcelain is 13 to 15%; at Johnson
Hall, it is 11%. At Cherry Hill, an elite site in Albany, the amount is similar to that
of the John Jay site, 16%. In contrast, two tavern sites in the Albany area which have
been excavated yielded 4% and .6% porcelain each. Obviously, there is an
impressive, measurable difference here between sites of the wealthy and those of the
working class.
Pearlware was another lead-glazed ceramic developed by Wedgwood. It replaced
creamware as the ceramic of choice during and after the American Revolution. Only
pearlware that is hand-painted was included in the list in Appendix B. Transfer-
printed pearlware became popular between ca. 1815 and 1850, but it is difficult to
distinguish which transfer-printed wares would have been at the site before John
Jay's death in 1828. Therefore, they were not included. Thus, the pearlware total
actually would be much higher than that shown on the printout. The hand-painted
(hp) designs that appear on the pearlware were vibrant yellows, greens, pinks, and
blues which are in sharp contrast to the sedate blue and white designs of most of the
18th century. Bright displays can be created by including these wares in a housing
funishing plan.
Finally, mention should be made of the buff earthenware entries. Buff
earthenware was a mid-18th-century ceramic with a yellow lead glaze. Often, under
the glaze, there were large dots or combed lines which formed a slip decoration.
Lead-glazed buff earthenware tended to be made into shallow dishes, mugs, and
candlesticks. Such wares were no longer popular by the time the Jay house was built;
an examination of the printout in Appendix B shows that much of the collection
came from the Smith/Baxter/Lyon site which dates earlier than the Jay house. Thus,
fragments of the buff earthenware found elsewhere than at the Smith/Baxter/Lyon
site probably relate to activities on the property before the Jay occupation.
It is very surprising how little winebottle glass was found at the site, at least in
comparison with most 18th-century sites. It does suggest, however, that the family
did very little drinking themselves and perhaps offered little of it while entertaining.
The amount of lead glass that was found, however, does suggest the presence of table
glass such as wine glasses.
The small number of personal items that were found is presented simply for
interest, although there are many fragments of white clay tobacco pipes. Most of the
pipe stems and bowls are plain, that is, they have no designs molded on them, which
is not very typical of the last decades of the 18th century when fluted pipes in
particular were ubiquitous. However, apparently the occupants of the site preferred
their tobacco pipes undecorated. Further research is necessary to determine whether
John Jay was a Freemason and may have owned the Masonic-decorated pipe.
Finally, a list was made of structural items which date from the occupation of the
site by the first generation of Jays. Dark green window glass would have been the
earliest used at the site, probably at the Smith/Baxter/Lyon house. Lighter colored
green glass was developed in the later years of the 18th century. However, the
green-colored pieces are outnumbered by fragments of blue glass, a color of window
glass usually associated with 19th-century buildings. Thus, the large amount of blue
window glass suggests the presence of several 19th-century buildings on the site,
buildings in which the blue glass eventually was replaced by clear glass when it
became available in the later 19th century and the 20th century.
Totals of all of the above artifacts were used to examine the distribution of
materials associated with the first Jay family occupation. On the accompanying map,
only collections numbering more than 20 are shown. As expected, the artifacts
clustered strongly around the Jay house and the barn complex. The second mapshows
not just raw counts of artifacts but adjusted totals. Because the test units were of
various sizes, comparison of raw counts is not truly useful. For example, those
excavated in 1974mostly were 2-foot by 6-foot trenches while later tests tended to be
2-foot squares. Therefore, the numbers of artifacts were re-calculated in terms of 2-
foot squares, and the number shown next to a 1974 excavation represents the number
of artifacts that would have been found within each 2-foot square within that trench.
In this way, comparisons can be made across the site.
Using the second map, areas of concentrations can be seen:
The above probably are dump areas where trash was deliberately deposited. By
mapping these areas, something of the traffic patterns on the site can be discerned.
Occupants of the house tended to throw trash to the south of the house and into what
is now the courtyard area west of the original house. The concentrations along the
driveway may been the result of deliberate dumping to build up the driveway area.
Throwing trash over stone walls is an almost universal western European behavior
trait. That apparently was occurring at the Jay site, also.
At the Smith/Baxter/Lyon site, an interesting pattern also is seen. The artifacts
are concentrated in two areas: a larger central area where the count tends to hover
around 30 fragments and a secondary concentration west of that in N27E50 and
N52E50. To the sides of these two concentrations, the numbers of artifacts drop off
abruptly. This suggests either a central dumping area or, more likely, the proximity
of a habitation site from which the material was dumpedor dispersed into a yard area
outside a house. Further work is needed there.
Finally, a map is offered which shows the locations of features found at the site.
Although soils around these features often were disturbed, the features themselves
still are intact. Therefore, future development at the site should take both the
concentrations and distributions of artifacts and the locations of known features into
account.
Brown, T. Robbins
1974 Farm Buildings and Outbuildings at the John Jay Homestead: A Historic
Structures Report. Revised draft copy. On file, New York State Office of Parks,
Recreation and Historic Preservation, Bureau of Historic Sites, Peebles Island,
Waterford, N.Y.
Doell & Doell
1990 Historic Landscape Report for John Jay Homestead New York State Historic
Site, Katonah, New York. Two volumes. On file, New York State Office of Parks,
Recreation and Historic Preservation, Bureau of Historic Sites, Peebles Island,
Waterford, N.Y.
Feister, Lois M.
1976 Archeological Testing for Proposed Drainage System at John Jay State
Historic Site. November. On file, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and
Historic Preservation, Bureau of Historic Sites, Peebles Island, Waterford, N.Y.
1978 An Archeological Sample From John Jay Homestead State Historic Site,
Located in the Town of Bedford, Westchester County, New York. January. On file,
Bureau of Historic Sites, Peebles Island, Waterford, N.Y.
1979 Field Report on the 1979 Archeological Excavations at John Jay Homestead
State Historic Site, Town of Bedford, Westchester County, New York. September.
On file, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation,
Bureau of Historic Sites, Peebles Island, Waterford, N.Y.
1994a Archeological Investigations of the Underground Chamber Found Under the
North Potting Shed, John Jay Homestead State Historic Site. January. On file, New
York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Bureau of Historic
Sites, Peebles Island, Waterford, N.Y.
1994b "Archaeological and Documentary Investigations of a Mysterious
Underground Chamber Found at John Jay Homestead State Historic Site,
Westchester County, New York." The Bulletin: Journal of the New York State
Archaeological Association. Number 108, Fall.
Feister, Lois M., Charles L. Fisher, Joseph E. McEvoy, and James Briggs
1994 Notes Taken While Interviewing Guido Onorati at John Jay Homestead,
October 11, 1994. On file, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation, Bureau of Historic Sites, Peebles Island, Waterford, N.Y.
Godden, Geoffrey A.
1975 Encyclopaedia of British Pottery and Porcelain Marks. Bonanza Books,
New York.
Huey, Paul R.
1995 Personal communication.
Jones, Olive and Catherine Sullivan
1985 The Parks Canada Glass Glossary. National Historic Parks and Sites Branch,
Parks Canada, Ottawa.
Lutters, Ken
1980 Memorandum to Emilie W. Gould, dated October 6. On file, New York
State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Bureau of Historic Sites,
Peebles Island, Waterford, N.Y.
McLean, Linda E.
1996 Personal communication, May 1.
Miller, J. Jefferson II and Lyle M. Stone
1970 Eighteenth-Century Ceramics From Fort Michilimackinac: A Study in
Historical Archeology. Smithsonian Institution Press, City of Washington.
Mudge, Jean McClure
1986 Chinese Export Porcelain In North America. Clarkson N. Potter Inc., New
York.
No.l Hume, Ivor
1970 A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Onorati, Guido
1994 Personal communication.
Sopko, Joseph S., and Lois M. Feister
1994 Archeological Investigations of the Brick Lot at John Jay Homestead State
Historic Site. December. On file, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and
Historic Preservation, Bureau of Historic Sites, Peebles Island, Waterford, N.Y.
Waite, John G., Paul R. Huey, and Martha Truax
1972 John Jay House An Historic Structure Report. New York State Historic
Trust, Albany.
Wentworth, Dennis L.
1982 Field notes. On file, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and
Historic Preservation, Bureau of Historic Sites, Peebles Island, Waterford, N.Y.
"Report on Test Excavations at Building 12 (the Main Barn) and Building 13 (the
Stone Barn) at John Jay Homestead." 1973
"Archeological Testing for Proposed Drainage System at John Jay State Historic
Site." 1976.
"An Archeological Sample from John Jay Homestead State Historic Site."
1978a.
"Archeological Testing of a Garden Area at John Jay State Historic Site."
1978b.
"Field Report on the 1979 Archeological Excavations at John Jay Homestead State
Historic Site." 1979.
"Field Report on the 1980 Archeological Excavations at the John Jay Homestead
Historic Site." 1981.
"X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of 17th and 18th Century Bricks from New York
State." 1983: Preliminary Study; 1991 final paper
"Archeological Investigations of the Underground Chamber Found Under the North
Potting Shed." 1994
"Archeological Investigations of the Brick Lot at John Jay Homestead State Historic
Site." 1994
"John Jay Homestead State Historic Site Ground Disturbance Chronology."
1994
View of the Top of the Underground Chamber, Uncovered in 1994
The Potting Sheds at John Jay Homestead in 1960
View of the Stairway Leading Down to the Doorway Into the Heating Chamber as
Revealed by Archeological Excavations, 1994
View of the Cobblestone Courtyard Between Buildings #9 and #8 Before Removal
for Installation of Utility Lines, 1978
Profile of Unit 1-80 on the Hillside Behind the Jay House. Note the Terracing Under
Stratum I.
Plan of the Rock Wall Discovered in N172.1 W3.7, 1974.
Profile of the Rock Wall Discovered in N172.1 W3.7, 1974
Profile of the Fill and Rock Found in Unit 3, 1978, During the Water Line Survey
South of the Driveway Leading to the Jay House
Plan of the Ice House North Wall (Building #26) and Postholes Found Nearby, 1970.
Field Drawing of the Silo Remains Found in 1970 on the North Side of Building #13
Location Map for the Catch Basin Found in 1986. Drawing by Lino Lipinsky
Two Plan Views of the Catch Basin Found in 1986. Drawings by Lino Lipinsky
Profile of Unit S91.2 E84.3, 1974
Plan View of the Cobbled Surface Found in N110 E274, 1974
Profile of the Rock Feature Found in N161.5 E235.8, 1974
Numbers of 18th/Early 19th Century Artifacts Found at Smith/Baxter/Lyon Site,
1988. Note the Concentrations of Finds in the Center of the Survey Area as Opposed
to the Test Units Excavated on the Edges of the Area
Locations of Excavation Units Near Buildings #12, #13, and #14
Locations of Excavation Units In the Barn Complex West of the Stone Wall
Examples of Artifacts Found in the Boxwood Excavations South of the Jay House,
1974
Locations of Excavation Units South of the Jay House
Locations of Excavation Units to the East, Between the House and the Barn Complex
Locations of Excavation Units West and North of the Jay House
Location of the Smith/Baxter/Lyon House as Transferred to the Reynolds Map From
the 1743 Purdy Map
Concentrations of 18th/Early 19th Century Artifacts, Adjusted Counts
The Locations of Features Located Archeologically
Concentrations of 18th/Early 19th Century Artifacts, Full Counts Over 20
Locations of Features on South End of the Site
Profile of One Wall of Water Line Unit 4-78 Dug on South Side of Driveway up to
the Jay House. Note the 18th-Century Loam Layers
Sketch Map of Location of Sewer Line Trenches, 1971