News and Public Dig

Most archaeological digs get local media attention at one point or another. We were no exception, and it was fun to have newspaper and radio coverage. See the video and photos at: http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2667108#

We went one step further, however, and invited the public to participate. One of the local farmers had harvested his wheat, and cleared the stubble for us to set up a 10m x 10m survey location. People came to look for artifacts in the plowed field, and connect with local history. The property had been occupied between 1850 and 1970, and was littered with 20th-century artifacts.

There was also a free BBQ at the museum, and I gave a public talk on our results, showing some of the more interesting artifacts found to date. All in all, it was an excellent public relations event for the museum, highlighting the importance of black heritage.

When Things Heat Up

Luckily the weather has now broken, but we were working in rather hot and potentially dangerous conditions: 101° with 55% humidity.

It is common for people to think, "it's just hot." They do not wear a hat, they choose to wear clothing that leaves skin exposed, and they invariably do not drink enough.

Last week, we were working in the upper orange zone on this chart. Red signals the potential danger of heat stroke, whereas orange marks the danger of sun stroke and heat exhaustion. What is the difference? Potential death, for one. Heat stroke should not be messed with. It is potentially life threatening!

When suffering from these conditions, body temperature rises above tolerable limits. With heat stroke, it rises to the point where serious consequences can occur.

To avoid heat stroke, sun stroke, and heat exhaustion in such conditions: (1) elect to stop working and get out of the heat, (2) do things less strenuous if remaining in the heat, and (3) wear a hat when outside and drink plenty of water, even if not apparently thirsty, to stay hydrated. For a medical guide on how to prevent heat stroke, visit: http://www.medicinenet.com/heat_stroke/article.htm.

If you were on an excavation in Greece, or the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile, or anywhere where hot conditions are common, and you refused to wear a hat, cover skin, and drink water on a regular basis throughout the day, you would be put on a plane and sent home.

Google (Earth) Me Up!

Had Marc Bloch only had Google Earth a century ago! (This is the same Marc Bloch who laid the foundation for French social history, and who was shot by the Gestapo during WWII). What Bloch noted was that the 20th-century arrangement of farms in France mirrored the layout of feudal times. Change happens slowly in rural landscapes.

Buxton's present-day farm layout reflects (not surprisingly) how the community was first laid out into 50 acre lots. The distance between major roads N-S and E-W encompasses 600 acres, or twelve 50-acre farms.

Google Earth can help us a great deal today, as we re-survey the area. Each lot can be easily identified, as can its modern condition. Ground inspection can confirm the location of sites. Along with surface collection on farms, which we have done now in several test cases, the debris scatter on the fields can be used to pinpoint the location of a past site (primarily its trash area). Along with GPS, which is accurate up to 3 meters in Buxton, it is possible to be fairly precise about site locations.

Of course, without Google Earth, aerial photography performs the same function, and did during the time of Marc Bloch. But it is now much easier to examine these kinds of data.

A Shot in the Dark

Many people often ask, "how deep do you have to dig" and "how do you know how old things are now." The truth of the matter is that these things vary. Sometimes you don't have to dig very far at all, and sometimes you haven't got a clue about the time period.

So, archaeologists are always looking at bits of everything to try to figure out "time" and "space." It means that you have to have odd bits of knowledge from time to time.

Digging at the Colbert-Henderson house site is just one of those examples. In a 1m x 1m pit, down at about 20 cm, we uncovered the Smith & Wesson 32 caliber cartridge seen here. It is one of the more datable finds.

Immediately we know that we are post-1856, which is the year that Smith & Wesson manufactured the world's first metallic cartridge. But there are other clues here as well.

The cartridge is a 32 caliber. If we look up information online, we find that Smith & Wesson introduced a 32 caliber pistol around the time of the Civil War. But that gun was rim fire, whereas our shell casing in center fire. We note that the Montgomery Ward catalog of 1895 lists a H. & R. Premier double-action, self-cocking revolver for $4.00. That pistol is listed as using S&W 32 center-fire ammo.

So, for the moment, until we might be able to nail things down a touch better, it seems that we are around the end of the 19th century, at the earliest, when we are 20 cm down at the site. This seems to fit well with other clues from bottles as well, and gives us "a shot in the dark."

Update on a Button

Turns out to be Civil War! Yes.

The back stamp states Horstmann Bros & Co, which places it directly as a Civil War era button, made between 1850 and 1863.

It is unusual to find such a button, all the more so in Canada. But we know that men from Buxton returned to the States to serve in the Civil War, fighting for the union army. So, it is not impossible to find these sorts of gilt buttons from time to time.

This one comes from the Buxton Settlement itself. What makes it even more intriguing is that it was found on land once owned by Henry K. Thomas, whose son is known to have served in the union army.

The full story is that the Thomas lad returned to Buxton, only to come down with small pox within a day or two. The entire household was quarantined, and all eventually got ill with the dreaded disease. Miraculously, only one died. Is it possible that this button was from a uniform burned and buried in fear of the deadly disease? Perhaps. One thing is clear, this is a precious find for Buxton, in recognition of its original settlers and their remarkable history.

Buxton in Context

Lest anyone think that Buxton is the "usual" example of a planned black settlement, I would like to relate the following:

In Ontario, there were other such settlements, but they were earlier. There were also similar settlement attempts in the United States in the 19th century.

In Ontario, there were also the Wilberforce and Dawn settlements. Wilberforce was established with the aid of Quakers, who bought land in Canada for a safe haven for blacks struggling in Cincinnati under Ohio's 1829 Black Code - a requirement to post $500 bond for residence and a certificate of freedom. In 1829-1830, about 300 to 500 blacks left Cincinnati to join Wilberforce. The settlement struggled from lack of adequate financing, and came to an end around 1850. The Dawn Settlement also had Quaker interest in its set up. A school known as the British-American School, was established there in 1842 with 12 students. Shortly after, the community grew around that institution. But the settlement's debts, which rose to nearly $5000, plus bad financial management, brought Dawn to an unhappy end as well.

What makes Buxton unusual is the degree of success that the community had. The factors that have led to this success have been touched on by various historians. It appears that proper financial management in the setting up of the community was a key matter. So too was the lack of success of a segment of Chatham's racist population, who tried to prevent the settlement from taking root. For me, the mark of success of this community is that today, descendants remain in Buxton farming the very same land their ancestors cleared and cultivated - before the end of slavery in the American South.

Folding in Social History

There is a great deal that is known about the Buxton Settlement historically. Census records, church records, tax records, and several historical accounts indicate that it was a prosperous farming community.

For anyone interested, there is a social history that was written by Jonathan Walton in 1979, entitled "Blacks in Buxton and Chatham, Ontario, 1830-1890: Did the 49th Parallel Make A Difference?" Ph.D. Dissertation, Princeton.

The total size of the settlement is about 9,000 acres. By 1852, 350 acres had been cleared and 204 were under crop. By 1854, this area of cultivation had doubled, and by 1857, almost doubled again, bringing a total of 1220 acres under cultivation. Roughly 1/3 was corn, another 1/3 wheat, oats, and potatos, and another 1/3 buckwheat, turnips, hay, and beans. The average number of people per cultivated acre was 2 for Buxton, or roughly half that elsewhere in Raleigh township.

A number of children went to local schools. As early as 1850, there were 16 students. A mere five years later, that number had climbed to 150. This was quite sizable for a town of about 1,000 souls.

In 1861, Buxton had 4 shoemakers, 2 carpenters, 1 blacksmith, and 1 printer. By 1871, there were 4 ministers, 2 shoemakers, 1 harnessmaker, 1 doctor, 1 carpenter, 1 barber, 1 blacksmith, and 1 cooper. Most residents, of course, were farmers.

Perhaps one of the more striking differences between 1861 and today, there were a total of 229 young men and boys and 299 young women and girls below the age of 20 living in Buxton. Today, there are less than 5% of that number.