First Baptist Church Archaeological Report, Block 38, Building 33Originally entitled: "First Baptist Church Archaeological Briefing"
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library Research Report Series - 1621
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library
Williamsburg, Virginia
1990
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH ARCHAEOLOGICAL BRIEFING
Introduction
The First Baptist Church is documented as having been constituted in Williamsburg in 1781, thus making it one of the oldest all black churches in the United States (John Asplund Register). The first documentary record of the group occupying Colonial Lot M on Nassau Street came in 1818. In the Williamsburg Land Tax records of that year, the Bryan Lot (Block 14) is described as bounded on the south by the Baptist Meeting House. Nothing further is known about this structure. Around 1855 a large brick-church (Figure 1) was built on the lot and this housed the congregation until 1955. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation purchased the property and demolished the church in 1957. Detailed information on the church and lot M are provided in a memo to Robert Birney from Linda Rower dated May 11, 1983, and in Mary Stephenson's 1959 report on Colonial Lot M, Block 14.
Summary of Archaeology
During the months of July through October, 1957, the Colonial Williamsburg Department of Archaeology conducted excavations on the former site of the First Baptist Church. Work was undertaken at this time in order to determine the presence of 18th century archaeological remains or features on the lots. Fieldwork was supervised by James M. Knight, under the direction of Ivor Noel Hume.
The excavation encompassed the area formerly owned by the trustees of the First Baptist Church as shown on the 1921 Sanborn Map (Figure 2). The northern edge of this property began at 191' south of the southern limit of Duke of Gloucester Street directly to the south of the Bryan Stable (Block 14, Building 15C). Fronting on Nassau Street, the property extended to the west 117.5' and to the south 61.75'. At the present time, this area is paved and is serving as an entrance driveway into the Block 14 parking lot (Figure 3).
According to monthly reports and daily records of the project, the lot was divided into 15' squares prior to excavation. A 3' wide east/west trench was excavated parallel to the southern border of the property. This revealed no evidence of 18th century features or structural remains. A second trench, extending north/south, located the southern brick foundation of the recently demolished Baptist Church, and small amounts of 18th century artifacts beyond the north wall of the church.
In an effort to attain faster results in locating structural remains, the excavation strategy was changed to one of cross-trenching the lot at a 45 degree angle. This would enable the archaeologists to quickly locate the brick foundations of buildings oriented in a north-south direction. Figure 4 shows the massive extent of the archaeological trenching conducted on the lot in 1957. The cross-trenching in the area to the west of the church produced no evidence of 18th century occupation.
A second east/west trench was excavated 20' from the northern extent of the property. This revealed an east/west running brick foundation, bonded with shell mortar. Jimmy Knight's archaeological map shows this structure as measuring 16.1' NS x 20.1' EW, and cut in numerous places by the subsequent construction of the First Baptist Church in 1855. The western wall of the structure had been removed, leaving only a robber's trench and a small section of wall as evidence of its existence. Towards the southwestern corner of the structure were brick and mortar remains which were interpreted as the remnants of entrance steps. Located around the steps and extending to the east was an area of brick bat paving, possibly denoting a sidewalk leading to Nassau Street. An interior support wall for the Baptist Church overlaid the brick paving.
To the west of the structure and possibly contemporaneous to it were the brick foundations of a small outbuilding. Measuring 6.5' EW x 12.5' NS, the building was constructed of brick which matched closely in size and color those in the larger structure. The monthly report for October 1957 suggests that this building was possibly a privy. No record of the deep pit usually associated with privies was mentioned in either the monthly report or the daily records, so this interpretation may be open to question. This structure was also heavily disturbed by the later construction of the First Baptist Church.
Other Archaeological Features
Fence Line
The 1957 archaeological map shows a series of round holes denoting a fence line along the eastern edge of the property. These fairly small holes (.4' diameter) are spaced approximately 6 feet apart and are labeled "remains of early postholes". No specific mention of the holes or any artifacts found associated with them was found within the excavation documents, thus preventing any statement about the dating of this fenceline. It is also not known whether these postholes were excavated, or merely recorded as they were uncovered.
Looking at the map, however, two things come to mind about these features. First, the small diameter of the holes suggests they were excavated with a posthole digger, which would date the fenceline construction to the 19th century or later. However, the postholes appear to stop at the southeast corner of the brick structure. Although the structure can at this point only be indirectly dated through evidence of its having been demolished prior to the 1855 construction of the First Baptist Church, its construction most likely dates to the 18th century. The 1957 archaeological map suggests that the fence line was in existence while the structure was standing. It is possible, in this case, for the round stains to represent postmolds, contained within a larger posthole. This type of posthole/postmold configuration would have been common in the period before the invention of posthole diggers. It is possible that the larger postholes were not mapped, and that the dark stains represent the actual post stain rather than the cut made by a posthole digger.
Brick Drain
Located to the north of the church foundation were the remnants of an east-west running brick box drain. This drain overlaid the north wall of the colonial building. This drain had been most likely associated with the Baptist Church and had served to carry away rain water from its roof.
Storm Sewer Cut
Located towards Nassau Street was a recent cut for a storm sewer. This feature was sealed by the brick rubble layer and cut through the thick layer of grey silt (These layers are discussed below in the Stratigraphy section).
Stratigraphy
From the photographs of the 1957 excavation, it appears that approximately one foot of soil covered the foundations of the 1855 church. This soil would represent fill brought onto the lot after the 1957 demolition of the church. This soil would not hold any potential for interpretation of the First Baptist Church. Following are descriptions of the soil layer which were recorded by James Knight in his 1957 excavations.
Rubble Layer--This layer was located towards the southern end of the James Knight excavation, and was ,composed of a mixture of brick rubble and slate. Based on the artifacts found in this layer, Mr. Knight dated its deposition as post 1880. These artifacts were assigned the context number E.R. 25, Level I. It it my belief that this layer represents deposition from the 1955 destruction of the First Baptist Church, located 11' to the north.
Grey Silt--This layer, sealed by the brick and slate rubble, extended throughout the length of Trench I. Testing at the eastern edge of the property boundary showed it to be a very thick layer, extending more than 5.75' below the street level. The evidence of this layer was also confirmed in the fall of 1983, when a sewer line cut down Nassau Street revealed this same layer(Samford, 1984). James Knight reported finding artifacts dating from the 18th to the mid-19th century in this layer. One find from this layer was a Goodyear's hard rubber button, patented in 1851. These artifacts were assigned the context of E.R. 25, Level II.
Storm Sewer--At the eastern edge of trench I, adjacent to Nassau Street, a large cut for a storm sewer was revealed. This feature was sealed by the brick and slate rubble layer, and cut the thick grey silt layer (E.R. 25, Level II). Artifacts from this feature were assigned the context E.R. 25.3.
Artifact Concentration--Directly to the north of the First Baptist Church was found a concentration of artifacts, described as dating to the 18th century. Examination of these artifacts showed several sherds of creamware and a red bodied slipware. Also included in the group, assigned context E.R. 26, was a fragment of a blue edged arrow motif whiteware plate, dating circa 1840-1850. This was the latest artifact from the group, with the other finds dating no later than around 1812 (Miller: personal communication). It is possible that this concentration of artifacts represents sheet refuse or yard scatter from the early brick structure located through James Knight's trenching.
Archaeological Potential
In 1957, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation demolished the First Baptist Church, placing fill over the remaining brick foundation walls. The lot was then left vacant until 1963, when the Foundation constructed a temporary parking facility on the property. In 1965, the parking area was paved with a bituminous surface. Although no specific reference to grading activities associated with the construction and paving of the parking lot were mentioned in the property records, there is a good chance that grading did occur. For example, in the parking lot behind the Williamsburg Lodge, the soil had been graded, and a .7'-1.0' thick layer of orange sand brought in to serve as a base for the parking lot. Recent archaeological excavations behind the Lodge revealed no soil stratigraphy remaining after the sand had been removed. Only those archaeological features which cut through sterile subsoil, such as postholes or building cellars remained intact at the Williamsburg Lodge excavation.
If grading was undertaken on the site of the former First Baptist Church, archaeological resources in this area will be considerably reduced. Since neither the church nor the earlier brick structure were recorded as containing cellars, most likely little or no trace of their foundations would remain. Various features associated with the structures, such as fence lines, privies, or trash pits should still be intact, cutting through sterile subsoil.
If the area was graded or minimally disturbed during the parking lot construction, the property has still been subjected to intensive archaeological trenching during the 1957 excavations. Structural foundations would still be intact, but all builder's trenches were commonly destroyed during James Knight's excavations. Most of the site's occupation layers would have remained intact, however. If there has been minimal or no grading of this area, the property contains moderate archaeological potential for information recovery on the early brick structure and its associated features.
The property to the south of the 19th century First Baptist Church location is currently believed to have been where the church congregation met in the late 18th century (Linda Rowe, personal communication). This area, owned by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, is undeveloped, and a marker commemorating the First Baptist Church has been placed there. It is not known whether there was a building on the property which served as a meeting place for the congregation. The Frenchman's Map (1782) and the Desandrouins Map (1782) do not show any structures on this property at the end of the 18th century. No archaeological work has been conducted on this corner lot. Three structures are shown in this area on the 1921 Sanborn Map. It is not known whether these structures contained basements or the amount of disturbance created by their destruction. Moderate potential for archaeological remains is predicted for this area.
References Cited
- Linda Rowe. Memo to Robert C. Birney on Baptist Church, Nassau Street; on file at Archives in Property File, Block 14, # 7, 1982.
- Patricia Samford. Nassau Street Sewer Line Archaeological Report. Unpublished manuscript on file, at the OEC, 1984.
- Mary Stephenson. Unpublished manuscript on Colonial Lot M, Block 14. On file at the Architectural Research Dept., 1959.
Francis Street
Block 14
First Baptist Church Foundations