Field Dispatch 2. Friday, 20 July 2007 Photograph 1 Photograph 2 Kankakee Week Two HOPKINS PARK (SECOND WEEK) We are in the second season of our budding archaeology program at Hopkins Park, IL Archival and walk surveys in 2006-7 led to the successful discovery of the farm which was once owned by Mr. Joseph "Pap" Tetter, presumably, one of the pioneer African-American residents in Hopkins Park, Illinois. Although the settlement of African and Europeans to Illinois occurred much early, the established of settlements dominated by African Americans in the north was rare. Movement for free and enslaved African-Americans was severely curtailed by the then existing discriminative laws and social conservatism. Thus, even after the emancipation of Africans, the existing legal benchmarks and prejudice, discouraged free movement of non-white peoples. Towns and villages that were less discriminatory or prejudiced and were more open to the influx of people from both foreign countries and southern states after the civil war were relatively rare in Illinois. Hopkins Park seems to be one such refuge in this part of the state. We believe that the establishment of an African-American in central Illinois in mid-nineteenth century was a unique event that is of great interest to the understanding of early African-American history in Illinois. The Joseph "Pap" Tetter Site The present owner of the site is Mr. Quincy Smith of Chicago. Mr. Quincy secured the property by purchase from Mr. Dennis Ballinger of Decatur Illinois. Over the last 165 years, the property has passed through a series of ownership, beginning in 1855. According to the Kankakee Historical records, the property has been owned by the Tetters from ca. 1870-1938. The site follows an old diagonal road that was throughout this section in 1881. We carried out a pedestrian walkover survey of the entire property of approximately 20 acres and established that the site had been utilized albeit intermittently, continuously over the last 165 years. The survey established four distinct localities with high concentrations of artifacts. Artifact clusters dominate these localities, which we separate into Tetter Sites 1-4. We describe each cluster in some detail below. Tetter 1 Tetter 1 is located on the east portion of the property in the only area on the farm that is still farmed. The locale is located closest to the east road (15500 E. Rd.). Tetter 1 artifacts range from glass, porcelain, ceramic, stoneware, and iron artifacts to building debris, primarily of limestone fragments, and flat window glass. A number of hand-forged nails suggest the locale is an older one. A prehistoric site (Woodland Period) also occupies this sandy knoll, with fire-cracked-rock, chert flakes, and pottery recovered from the surface. Tetter 2 Tetter 2 located along the west end of the property was composed of three main artifact clusters, primarily mid-to-late 19th century glass, porcelain, and iron artifacts. There were also miniscule amounts of limestone. There appears to have been a swamp, pond, or wetland in the vicinity. Presumably, these three artifact clusters are remains of three cabins placed at the edge of the pond, although a relatively square area nearly devoid of artifacts may be the cabin site. Across this cluster of artifacts, close to what would appear to be the oldest oak tree on the property, was a slightly sunken area of about 2 meters in diameter. Metal and porcelain artifacts were recovered in the sunken area. A probe encountered resistance, which strongly suggested the possibility of a subterranean structure. We hope to excavate this locale to determine what this structure and artifact cluster entail. Tetter 3 Tetter 3 is a ruined cinder block house. The use of cinder blocks as building materials became widely used in the 1930s. So we assume that Tetter 3 was a post Tetter family residence, since the family had sold the land in about 1940. Tetter 3 was the last major structure erected on the property. Artifacts visible at the locality included cinder blocks in what appears to be a sunken structure, which we believe to have probably served as a walk-out basement or cellar or that was formed when the house was destroyed and the blocks recycled. Large volume of clear glass, porcelain, wire, and metal debris is distributed across the locale. The locale may have been used as a dumping site after the house was abandoned. Ceramics are clearly post 1930. Tetter 4 Tetter 4 was located to the southeast of the property in an area that is no longer farmed and is reverting to savanna forest. The locale is on a raised mound covering an approximately 30 square meter area. Recent artifacts including plastic chairs, bicycles, mattresses, and carpets dominate the artifacts visible at this locality. This cluster very likely represents the last residence on the property, a picnic site abandoned, or an illegal dumping site. Farmers, quite often temporarily use abandoned properties as dumpsites. Thus, it is not unusual that neighbors have been illegally dumping their refuse on the Tetter farm for sometime. Nearly every road in has debris piles, and nearly every residence has several surface dumps that are periodically burned. Presumably, Tetter 1 and 2 (describe below) are the oldest residential areas. Tetter 1 is located close to the current road while Tetter 2 is located close to a water source. Our goal is to establish the relationship between there four locales. We will do so by answering the following questions: (a) What is the relationship between Tetter 1 and 2? (b) Are they both Tetter residents? ; (c) And if they are, which one is older? ; (d) Why did he abandon one for the other?; (e) did water availability or security play a significant role in choice of locale for erecting a cabin? ; (f) Who built the cinder house at Tetter 3?; (g) How was the land used and managed-In other words, what kinds of crops and livestock were raised on the farm, and how did they eke out a living? In general the present Hopkins Park ecosystem is savannah like but appears to have been composed largely of high sand dunes and wetlands at the time the Tetter family moved to the Kankakee region. Reclamation by the Army Corp of Engineers in the mid nineteen hundreds has somewhat altered the land. However, compared to the surrounding communities, Hopkins Park sandy soils are not as rich as prairie soil, but are still very suitable for specific crops. How did the early settlers make a living on this land? What is the relationship between soil and water quality and settler identity? Who was Pap Tetter and what led him to Hopkins Park? In general, life for African-Americans, immediately following the civil war and declaration of emancipation was full of uncertainty. There were many social, economic, political, and juridical issues to be addressed. All Americans needed courage to deal with them. The South, smarting from a humiliating defeat, would have found African-Americans, especially those who fought for the Northerners, unwelcome. The North would have found it equally uncomfortable to deal with large numbers of indigent African American refugees in their communities, towns, and neighborhoods. What circumstances led to the creation of Hopkins Park. Were the early residents free or marooned settlers? There are the key questions raised by this week's surveys. Our excavations in the next three weeks will seek answers to these questions. Image 1 caption: This is a photo of our first lab day. Kids are washing artifacts that were recovered from the site. Washing ceramics, glass, stoneware, brick and limestone with water; dry brushing metal (don't want to create more rust on the iron objects). Bone and shell do not get washed (they will split when dried if they get wet). Image 2: Students excavating a unit. Archived Dispatches >>