Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. . , Before construction started for the Southwest Corridor Project, a team of archeologists from the Museum of Afro American History excavated eight archeological sites in the project area. One site, the "stone jail", was located on Ruggles Street, between Columbus Avenue and Tremont Street. A stone building once stood on the site and was known as the "Stone Jail" The archeologists first tested the site to see if anything remained below the ground which could tell them what the building had been used for and how old it was. the testing uncovered remains of other buildings, clues to the construction date of the building, and evidence that it had been a stable. Below these nineteenth century remains the archeologists found more soil levels which dated to a time before the building was built. When the site was excavated more extensively in December of 1979 and April of 1980 more things were found out about the site. First the stone building had probably been both a stable and a blacksmith shop. Horseshoes, harnesses, bits and other items related to horses were found. Slag, a by-product of blacksmithing, was also found. Artifacts found near the foundation of the building suggested that it had been built sometime in the 1830's. No evidence was found that it was a jail. Later wooden buildings had been added on to the stone structure. Beneath these layers was a thick burned layer which contained eighteenth century artifacts, which as pieces of pottery, glass and clay pipes. This evidence that someone had lived on this property long before the stone building was constructed, possibly before the American Revolution. , Beth Bower, [Captions:] , The excavated soil was put in buckets and screened to retrieve smaller artifacts the archeologists may have missed., A grid of two meters was laid out over the site, and each soil level was excavated separately. A soil level represents a distinct activity at a specific time. The upper levels in this square (from the black line) date to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The lower levels represent the ground surface on Ruggles Street in the eighteenth century, which was about three feet lower than it is today., The excavated soil was put in buckets and screened to retrieve smaller artifacts the archeologists may have missed., The artifacts from each soil level were carefully cleaned and placed in labeled bags indicating where the artifacts had been found. When the artifacts were found the soil level could be dated., Careful notes were taken on each soil level found. Measured drawings and photographs were done to record the excavation., The archeologists dug carefully with mason's trowels and whisk brooms to uncover artifacts buried in the soil., Bottles and bottle fragments representative of bottles found in the dig. They were made between 1857 and 1903, by blowing molten glass into a mold., A brass clock gear which is 2½ inches in diameter., A freeblown glass inkwell made before 1857. It is aqua colored and there are traces of a cork inside it., Agatware doorknob and three clay marbles. Early marbles were made of clay as well as glass., An iron horseshoe and a cast iron horse bit. Both of these artifacts relate to the building's use as a stable., A cast iron harness buckle with a stitched leather harness piece attached., Many fragments of clay tobacco pipes were found at the "Stone Jail" site. This is an example of a late nineteenth century pipe., The oldest dry goods store in Boston stood at the corner of Washington at Ruggles Streets. These three drawings were actually postcards of the store, as it appeared in 1814, in 1855, and in 1911., In the earliest (the lowest) levels of the site, fragments of white salt glaze stoneware pottery were found. This type of pottery was manufactured in Staffordshire, England 1720 to 1780. These fragments are from vessel similar to the tea bowl, which was found at another site in Roxbury and was made around 1755.