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Field Dispatch 2.
Friday, 20 July 2007 |
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Photograph 1 Photograph 2
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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 >>
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