Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

Kitchen

The existing kitchen at the Brush-Everard House is a brick structure measuring 28' 7 ½" x 17', with a large brick chimney on the south end. It is the only extant 18th-century brick kitchen in Williamsburg. Initially constructed as a frame structure around 1730, it was altered twice during the 18th century. Archaeological excavations were conducted at the kitchen in 1946-47, and again in 1967.

The 1946/47 excavations took place around the exterior foundation walls and located evidence that the kitchen was originally a frame structure. The existing chimney, the south wall and parts of the east and west walls of the kitchen were built on the original chimney foundation. These excavations also located step foundations at the southeast comer of the kitchen, at the former location of a 19th-century door, and a support or retaining wall built beside the original chimney. Apparently no excavation occurred inside the kitchen foundations at this time.

During the 1967 excavations, under the direction of Noel Hume, the entire interior of the kitchen was excavated. This revealed two brick floor sequences and several features cutting into a clay layer which seemed to represent the earliest floor in the structure. A rectangular pit or root cellar filled with ashes in the early 19th century was located to the west of the hearth. Ashes and iron slag beneath the clay floor, evidence of John Brush's 9 gunsmithing operation on the property, indicated that the kitchen was not in existence during Brush's occupation. For a full description of these excavations, see Frank (1967).

Smokehouse

When the Restoration acquired Brush-Everard in 1928, a frame construction smokehouse, set on a shallow brick foundation, was standing to the east of the kitchen. Archaeological investigations conducted in 1946 revealed the brick foundations of a small outbuilding (8' 1½" x 8') between the Brush-Everard House and kitchen. The wood ashes scattered inside led to the interpretation of this structure as the original location of the smokehouse. It was hypothesized that the existing smokehouse east of the kitchen had originally been located on these foundations; and moved sometime in the 19th century. The frame smokehouse use was consequently moved back to its original and present day location on the west side of the kitchen.

Potting Shed or Office

The Frenchman's Map depicts a small wing on the south side of the Brush-Everard House. Attempts to locate evidence of this wing through excavation (1947) revealed the foundation of an outbuilding, but no addition to the main house. The purpose of this structure, measuring 16' 2" x 12' 3", was not determined, but in the present property interpretation is being treated as a gardener's shed. There was no indication of a chimney foundation on the structure, and the building has been reconstructed in accordance with these findings. It may be important to note here that in Maryland, buildings which housed 10 documents were often constructed without fireplaces (Kandle 1984), perhaps indicated its original use as an office.

Laundry

Twenty nine feet north of the present brick kitchen, archaeological excavations uncovered the brick foundations of an outbuilding similar in size to the kitchen and containing a large chimney on its north end. Archaeology indicates that, like the kitchen, the building was originally 20' 4" NS in length; with a later addition constructed to the south. The building was interpreted as a laundry, perhaps on the basis of its large fireplace. The date of its construction is not known.

Wellhouse and Dairy

A well, 3'0" in diameter, was located 23' north of the laundry. Although the well head foundation was of modern construction, the brick well lining appeared to be colonial. Although the archaeological excavations of 1946/47 did not define the location of a dairy on the Brush-Everard property, a small dairy (9 EW x 9'NS) has been reconstructed immediately north of the laundry.

Palace Power Plant and Pond Area

This structure, measuring 40' EW x 20' NS, is located on Lot 172, at the comer of Spotswood and Scotland Streets. Built in 1933, the building housed boilers for use in 11 heating the Governor's Palace. Although specific reference to an organized archaeological excavation at that time could not be located, later memos (dating to 1946) bear evidence to a small amount of digging which occurred on the lot. When questioned in 1946 about the work (which apparently took place at or near the time of the boiler plant construction), no one at the firm of Perry, Shaw, and Hepburn could remember details of the excavation. The boiler plant was reconstructed, apparently relying on the Frenchman's Map for dimensions of the 18th-century building which had once stood there.

Located to the east of the Palace Power Plant and bordering on Scotland Street is the reconstruction of a colonial pond. Archaeological excavations were conducted in this area by James Knight in 1946 in order to locate the old silt lines of the pond. These excavations revealed a brick dam running east-west at the northern edge of the pond, with a small outbuilding foundation located at the western edge of the dam. A 6" wide opening in the dam wall suggested the former presence of a water wheel or a mill in the dam. Various letters and memos concerning this dam and the possible interpretations of the site were written in the late 1940s/early 1950s. No agreement could be reached about the possibility of the small outbuilding being a shop or millhouse, and it was finally reconstructed as a privy. The privy was built on the location of the original outbuilding foundations.

Borrow Pit

One feature, north of the present house, consisted of a large circular hole, approximately fifteen feet in diameter, excavated into the clay subsoil. This pit had been left open to partially silt in, and was later filled with yellow clay. Very few artifacts were found in the pit fill, and included only non-datable artifacts, such as animal bone and pipestems.

At the present time, it is believed that the pit may have been excavated in the 17th century as a borrow pit for the recovery of clay for brickmaking. The hole was left open, silting in to a depth of about eight inches, until it was later deliberately filled with clay, possibly when John Brush excavated the cellar for his house after purchasing the lot in 1717. The stratigraphic position of the pit, sealed by an early 18th-century layer, and cutting through sterile soil layers, suggests the 17th-century date assigned to the creation of the feature. Borrow pits, sometimes dug near the site of 17th-century structures, were often used as garbage dumping areas for the households (Edwards 1987). The lack of artifacts recovered from this pit suggests that the structure for which these bricks were intended did not stand nearby.

Slot Fence

A second Middle Plantation feature, a slot fence, was discovered on the southern portion of Lot 165, south of the garden shed. Portions of this fence, running from southwest to northeast, had been discovered in 1967, running under the kitchen and smokehouse. Similar slot fences have been discovered on various 17th-century sites including Wolstenholme Towne (Noel Hume 1979), Nansemond Town in Suffolk (Luccketti 1988) and along the Hampton River (Edwards et. al. 1989). These fences were constructed by digging a narrow ditch about a foot deep. Planks were placed upright side by side in the ditch and then soil was packed around them to secure them in place. Such slot fences were used to keep animals from gardens or yards (Edwards et. al. 1989:92). There were no artifacts recovered from the slot fence at Brush-Everard.

Privy

An unexpected discovery was made on the south end of the property at the end of the second field season. The truncated remains of a small (8' x 10') brick foundation outbuilding, representing a privy, which had been missed by earlier archaeological work on the property, were uncovered (Figure 5). This feature is the only 18th-century example of Figure 5. 17 a privy yet discovered in Williamsburg. The structure, which contained a 4' deep underlying pit (6' x 5'), had been built after 1717 and destroyed by 1727 (Figure 6). Although the bottom of this pit contained organic waste, it was primarily filled with household garbage and gunsmithing debris from the John Brush occupation of the property. The numerous gun related artifacts recovered from this tightly dated assemblage will allow a detailed study of John Brush's gunsmithing operation in the early 18th century.

Figure 6.

The short use span of this building, which appears to have been constructed by John Brush when he acquired the property and abandoned less than ten years later, may be explained by a boundary dispute. The building straddled the property line between Brush's Lot 165, and lot 164, owned during most of this decade by William Levingston. The property boundary was represented by a long standing fence line discovered during the 1967 excavations. Numerous repairs to the fence were evident, attesting to its long life, with artifacts recovered from the holes suggesting that it was constructed after 1730 and stood until at least 1850 (Frank 1967). Several postholes and repairs, along this fence line, cut through the privy fill. Although no evidence of a boundary dispute has been located in the York County records, it is possible that Levingston, or later owner Archibald Blair may have wanted the building removed since it encroached on their property.

The quality of the ceramics and tablewares recovered from the privy suggests that Brush, a middle class artisan, enjoyed a much higher quality of life than previously thought. The ceramics from the privy included English delftware tablewares and teawares, including one blue handpainted Chinoiserie cappucino cup (Figures 7 and 8). These ceramics, plus Figure 7. 19 the listing of a tea table in the 1727 inventory of John Brush's estate, indicate Brush's participation in the rituals of tea taking. Fragments from two Silesian stemmed wine glasses, a style popular in the 1720s, were also recovered and attest to Brush's acquisition of expensive and elaborate table glass. A number of whole wine bottles, including four pint bottles were recovered from the fill of the privy (Figure 9). Why these bottles, which were normally reused until broken, were discarded whole, is a mystery.

Figure 8.

Figure 9.

Performing pollen and parasite analysis on the soil layers filling the privy revealed interesting information about the diet and daily fives of the Brush household. Seeds and pollen from plants such as broccoli, blackberries, French parsley, potatoes, and capers, testify to the varied diet of the family, while the presence of intestinal parasites suggests that the household may not have enjoyed the best of health (Reinhard 1988, Mrozowski n.d.). The parasite eggs, which included human whipworm and intestinal roundworm, were from species that are transferred by contact with human excreta (Reinhard 1988). This privy provides us with the first documented evidence of the unsophisticated sanitation practices of Williamsburg's early 18th-century citizens. Such intestinal complaints were common in colonial Virginia. Landon Carter frequently records his slaves suffering with worms in the mid-18th century (Greene 1965).

What were the possible causes of these types of ailments? Steve Mrozowski, an archaeologist working in the Boston area, has suggested that the use of human fecal material as fertilizer on gardens could be one cause for the spread of such parasite problems. The virtual absence of 18th-century privy foundations in Williamsburg, plus the recovery of chamberpot fragments in trash pits and in open ravine areas suggests that the majority of human waste was being disposed of in the yards and other accessible places.

Ravine Fill

Excavations were conducted in 1987 and 1988 on the northern portion of Lot 16. Although Knight's excavations had not revealed traces of any buildings in this area, it was felt that perhaps a post construction building, of the kind easily missed Knight's 21 trenching techniques had once stood in this area. It seemed that this location, at the corner of Spotswood and Prince George Streets, would have been a prime location for a building of some kind, although this area was shown as vacant on the 1781 Frenchman's Map. What excavations did reveal were the remnants of a natural ravine which extended into the property from the north. Traces of this ravine are still evident today in the horse pasture directly east of the Governor's Palace. Throughout the 18th century, this ravine was used as a garbage dump by the owners of the Brush-Everard property. Traces of household activities, as well as architectural renovations on the property were evident in the ravine fill (Figure 10).

Figure 10.

The Brush ravine layer contained largely garbage generated within his household, with a small scattering of debris from his gunsmithing operation. As will be discussed later, the majority of the industrial waste was concentrated directly south and east of the house. Fragments of twenty different ceramic objects were recovered from the Brush period ravine fill. The majority of the ceramics were English delftwares (55%), ranging from table and teawares to ointment pots. Surprisingly, an English white salt glazed stoneware coffee pot and a Chinese porcelain plate were also found, suggesting Brush's acquisition of high quality ceramics. The ceramics from the ravine reinforce the data recovered from the privy that Brush's lifestyle was more comfortable than previously believed. Fragments of four delft fireplace tiles, decorated in blue, suggest a delft fireplace surround, and leaded window cames indicate the use of casement windows somewhere on the property during this early period.

Gilmer Trash Pits

During both 1967 and 1988 excavations on lot 164 (now partially contained within the Brush-Everard property), five trash pits from Doctor Gilmer's occupation of the lot were excavated. These pits varied in size from 4' x 4' to 11' x 12' and were filled with household and apothecary shop garbage during the period from 1735 to 1757. The majority of the ceramics (55%) were English delftware drug jars and ointment pots, in both handpainted and undecorated forms (Figure 11). These items were certainly associated with Dr. Gilmer's apothecary shop which stood on the corner of Nicholson and Palace Streets. 23 Figure 11. Other items from the shop included glass pharmaceutical bottles, pin tiles, and large bottles known as carboys, which were used for storing carbolic acid and other liquids. At least sixteen Piermont water bottles were also recovered from the trash pits; Piermont water, bottled in Germany (Noel Hume 1972:61), was advertised for sale in Gilmer's shop in Virginia Gazette advertisements from this time period.

Doctor Gilmer was also living on Lot 163, in the house constructed between 1716 and 1718 by William Levingston. Some of the garbage from the trash pits was generated by his household. In 1752, Dr. Gilmer wrote a letter to Mr. Walter King, a Bristol merchant. In that letter he mentions the set of china that King is sending to Mrs. Gilmer, and the closet which Gilmer is having constructed to hold it (Brock Notebook). Two matching blue and white Chinese porcelain plates recovered from the trash pits represent some of the china owned by the family (Figure 12). The Gilmer family also owned Chinese porcelain teawares in the forms of cups, saucers, tea bowls, and slop bowls, Tableware 24 forms included seven plates, a platter, and four punch bowls. Chinese porcelain made up nineteen percent of the Gilmer household ceramics, and was contained largely within the most recently filled trash pit on the lot.

Figure 12.

In addition to the porcelain, a number of ceramics of English manufacture were included in the trash pits. The sequencing of the trash pits and the preliminary analysis of these ceramics indicates that the Gilmer family was eating off of blue and white painted delft tablewares, replacing these with molded white salt glazed plates and Chinese porcelain around the mid-18th century. Teaware forms were also found in the Gilmer garbage in white salt glazed stonewares and in decorated English delft.

Post Structure

Some details about the appearance of the property during the 18th century were revealed through archaeology. One of the purposes of the 1987-1989 excavation was to locate remains of several outbuildings shown on the Frenchman's Map but not uncovered by James Knight during his 1947 excavations.

The construction dates on the reconstructed Everard outbuildings, such as the laundry, power plant and the garden shed are not known, although the Frenchman's Map, drawn in 1781 shows five outbuildings standing to the east of the house. One of these was the kitchen, which was constructed around 1730. It is likely that among the others was included the reconstructed laundry, a stable or coach house (reconstructed as the power plant), and a possible slave quarter. Construction dates for the reconstructed buildings will probably never be determined, since the archaeological trenching of 1947 and subsequent reconstruction destroyed all archaeological evidence useful for dating.

Although an extensive area was excavated directly south of the power plant, in the projected location of one of the structures seen on the Frenchman's Map, the remains of an early 20th-century house, and a large number of modern disturbances had unfortunately destroyed all 18th-century soil strata in this area. The 1988/1989 excavations focused on the location of the other structure depicted directly north of the reconstructed laundry on the Frenchman's Map. Excavation in this area revealed a brick walkway dating to the early 19th century, a spread of late 18th-century household artifacts, and several structural postholes indicating the former presence of a building.

Traces of a post-seated structure were uncovered on Lot 166, directly east of the reconstructed dairy and well. Six large postholes, spaced at five foot intervals, denoted a building with dimensions of 15' east-west and an unspecified distance north to south. The building was oriented with its long end facing Palace Street. It also appeared to run underneath the reconstructed laundry and for this reason, complete excavation of the post structure was not attempted. The stratigraphic composition of the soil and the artifacts 26 recovered suggest that this building was constructed in the second quarter of the 18th century, perhaps during Elizabeth Russell's or William Dering's occupation of the lot. It is not known at this time what function this building served. Later repairs to the postholes suggest that this building could have been standing during Everard's ownership of the property and was depicted on the Frenchman's Map.

Although no hearth was located within the extent of the excavations, one could exist within the portion of the building not yet excavated. If heated, it is possible this building was a slave house; if not, it could be a stable. Although complete excavation of the building was beyond the time and budget constraints of the project, the dimensions and possible function of the building could be determined through further excavation.

Polly Valentine House

Documentary evidence suggested the presence of a mid 19th-century slave house on the property, just south of the garden shed. Cynthia Beverley Tucker Coleman's published account of Williamsburg life describes in detail the Tucker family mammy, a woman by the name of Polly Christian (Coleman 1934). Polly was a gift to Nathaniel Beverley Tucker from his half brother John Randolph of Roanoke. When Polly married Jim Valentine sometime around 1840, a house was constructed for them, where they lived and raised a family until the outbreak of the Civil War. Archaeological excavations conducted on the Brush-Everard property in 1967 by Ivor Noel Hume and those done in 1988 did reveal evidence of a pier supported frame structure, measuring 15' x 25' (Figure 15). This type of pier construction building became a common form of slave housing in the mid-19th century and was described in numerous period volumes on plantation management The wooden frame house rested on brick and stone piers and contained a substantial brick Figure 15. 30 hearth. Remnants of five piers remained, allowing the dimensions of the house to be calculated. It was probably a one room structure, with sleeping or storage space above. Archaeological evidence seems to suggest that the house was destroyed during the Civil War, perhaps during the two-year Union occupation of Williamsburg.

The Polly Valentine House is the only known house built expressly for slaves in Williamsburg at any period during the 18th or 19th centuries. At the present time, an Anthropology graduate student is preparing her master's thesis on a comparison of the Valentine site with other slave quarters from the same time period. Her search of the extensive collection of the Tucker-Coleman papers at the College of William and Mary should provide additional information on Polly Valentine and other Tucker family slaves. The excavation of this structure, plus the excellent Tucker family documentation should combine to provide important information on the material life of mid 19th-century slaves.

Jefferson Bone Handle

One discovery of particular interest was a bone handle, believed at first to have been from a toothbrush (Figure 16). Actually part of a small knife, the handle bore the Figure 16. 31 incised inscription "TH JEFFERSON". Thomas Jefferson, in his capacity as the second governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, lived in the Governor's Palace between 1779 and 1780. It is probable that this item was left behind when Jefferson moved the capital to Richmond, and during the process of cleaning the Palace property after its destruction in the late 18th century, the handle was moved to the Brush-Everard property next door.

A search of the York County files did reveal two other York Country residents by the name of Thomas Jefferson. There is, however, no conclusive evidence that either of these men ever lived in Williamsburg. Additionally, each of these men died before the future president had ever been born. Although it is possible that this handle could have belonged to one of the other Thomas Jeffersons, its appearance in an early 19th century soil layer and its proximity to the Governor's Palace lead us to conclude that the handle actually belonged to President Jefferson.

Examination of the bone handle by members of the Collections Department revealed that the handle was not typical of 18th-century toothbrushes, and was more likely the handle to a comb, small brush or some other item from a men's toilet kit. The engraving, consisting of one quarter inch triangular block letter, appears to have been done by a jeweler and not Jefferson himself (Figure 17).

Figure 17.