The Center's Past Projects

Inventory of Center for Historic Preservation
Cultural Resource Management Projects
1987-2001

1. Project title: Stratford Mill (1999-01)
   Sponser(s) & Location: Robert E. Lee Memorial Association; Stratford Hall Plantation, Fredericksburg, VA.
   Purpose: Prior to the insertion of a drainage pipe on the north and south sides of the mill, The Center will excavate ten shovel test pits to record deep soil profiles and study artifacts.

2. Project title: Fielding Lewis Store (1999)
   Sponsor(s) & Location: Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc.; Fredericksburg, Va.
   Purpose: The Center assisted architect Joseph Dye Lahendro in studying this building prior to repair and restoration activities. Archaeological research included a series of test units to reveal architectural features and the building's landscape history.

3. Project title: 704 Caroline Street (1999)
   Sponsor(s) & Location: City of Fredericksburg, Office of Economic Development and Tourism; Fredericksburg, VA.
   Purpose: Mitigation and archaeological study of the alley way between 704 and 706 Caroline Street, the northeast corner area of the parking lot adjacent to the Visitors Center, prior to the construcation of an outdoor rest area for visitors. Project studied the foundations of the two early 19th-century buildings and a series of deposits in the alley.

4. Project title: Carriesbrook Redoubt (1998-99)
   Sponsor(s) & Location: Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR); near Winchester, Va.
   Purpose: Mitigation project on the Civil War site (44FK66) known as Carriesbrook Redoubt, a Union earthwork of 1864-65. Conducted through the VDHR's "Threatened Sites" program, the project included historical research, mapping of the earthworks, a metal-detector survey, and the excavation of test units. Project provided information on earthwork layout, materials used in construction, artifact distribution, and comparison with documentary information/expectations.

5. Project title: James Monroe Museum Alley (1998)
   Sponsor(s) & Location: Mary Washington College, the James Monroe Museum; Fredericksburg, Va.
   Purpose: Limited archaeological testing in the alley at the Museum prior to utility work. Artifacts derived from highly disturbed contexts, revealing the extent of modern building disturbances. Nonetheless, the materials are similar to those found in the Masonic Cemetery, and in that general sense, reference domestic and business life in that area between the late eighteenth century and the modern era.

6. Project title: Belmont (1998)
   Sponsor(s) & Location: Mary Washington College, the Gari Melchers Estate and Memorial Gallery (Belmont); Falmouth, Stafford County, Va.
   Purpose: Center Staff implemented a limited number of archaeological test units around the studio complex at Belmont to check the area for artifacts, earlier structures, and information regarding historic landscapes prior to anticipated changes in the studio area. Changes such as, building conservation measures, utility work, or the addition of more enclosed space. The area included a former icehouse at the south end of the studio structure. The Project recovered prehistoric artifacts and those dating from between the late 18th and early 20th century representing architectural and domestic (ceramics, glass) debris.

7. Project title: North Wales (1998-99)
   Sponsor(s) & Location: private owner; near Warrenton in Fauquier County, Va.
   Purpose: Center staff assist the owner of this manor estate with historical research, a National Register nomination, archaeological and architectural studies, and preservation planning. North Wales represents a late eighteenth-century manor house of stone construction that was enlarged considerably (to over 30 rooms) during the early to mid-twentieth century when the property became an equestrian and steeple chase center, and an upper class social center for the local region. Walter P. Chrysler was one landowner during this era. A formal Colonial Revival landscape became part of the mansion complex at this time, as did a considerable number of support buildings across this 1500+ acre estate.

8. Project title: Menokin (1998-99)
   Sponsor(s) & Location: The Menokin Foundation; Richmond County, Va.
   Purpose: The Center is assisting the Menokin Foundation, a non-profit group undertaking the research and eventual restoration of the former plantation house Menokin, which served as the home for Francis Lightfoot Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Rebecca Tayloe between 1770 and 1797. The Center also has agreed to serve as the repository for archaeological information related to this site and property. Center staff typically perform small mitigation projects, such as, testing areas prior to the installation of a trailer/office, power and telephone lines, and a framework of protective supports for the mansion ruin.

9. Project title : Harper Farm (1998)
   Sponsor(s) & Location: private owner; Dinwiddie County, Va.
   Purpose: Provided services included an archaeological investigation of the house and grounds to assist the property owner in determining areas of archaeological importance and the location of earlier outbuildings and landscape features. These findings will guide planning for the house's anticipated restoration of this late eighteenth-century house, which is a rare survival of period frame architecture.

10. Project title: St. Clement's Island (1997-98)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Maryland Department of Natural Resources, cultural resource management firm of Dames & Moore; St. Mary's County,
    Md.
    Purpose: The Center tested a prehistoric, Native American oyster shell midden on this small island in the Potomac River which is threatened by erosion. This mitigation excavation occurred prior to the building of a revetment. The midden is considered potentially eligible for Maryland Register of Historic Properties.

11. Project title: Mary Washington College, Facilities Resources (1997)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Va.
    Purpose: The Center assisted the College in two ways. First, by using a computerized map and photographs, the Center recorded the amphitheater behind Trinkle Hall prior to the renovation activities that resulted in the removal of the rear stairs of the amphitheater stage and most of its concrete benches. Second, the Center archaeologically tested the area between the City of Fredericksburg canal, the College soccer and practice fields, and the slope up to Goolrick Hall prior to the installation of a storm/sewer line.

12. Project title: Cabin Run Site (1997-98)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Archeological Society of Virginia; Warren County, Va.
    Purpose: The Center analyzed artifacts from a 1960s excavation treating the Middle and Late Woodland periods (ca. 500 to 1500 A.D.) at this site.

13. Project title: Fox Site (1997-98)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Archeological Society of Virginia; Smyth County, Va.
    Purpose: Same as Cabin Run above, completing the analysis of the prehistoric ceramic collection from this site dating to the 1200-1400 AD period.

14. Project title: Jeffreys Rockshelter Site (1997-98)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Archeological Society of Virginia; Loudoun County, Va.
    Purpose: Same as Cabin Run above, completing the analysis and reporting on the artifact collection from this Woodland period site along the Potomac River.

15. Project title: Stafford County School Site (1997)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Stafford County School Board; Courthouse Road area, Stafford County, Va.
    Purpose: A limited, reconnaissance archaeological survey of the 65-acre parcel slated for the construction of a high school. Project recorded two small archaeological sites, a prehistoric Native American encampment dating from about 500 B.C. to 3,000+ B.C., and a 19th- and 20th-century house that was demolished in recent decades.

16. Project title: Hilldrup (1996-97)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Spotsylvania County School Board; Spotsylvania County, Va.
    Purpose: Phase I (inventory) archaeological study of the proposed site for an elementary and middle school on Cartharpin Road. Project included background research, fieldwork, archival study, architectural recording & assessment, and management recommendations. The survey discovered six sites (prehistoric and historic) and evaluated a 19th-century farmhouse.

17. Project title: Hunting Run Reservoir (1996-98)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Spotsylvania County (Public Utilities); Spotsylvania County, Va.
    Purpose: Phase III (excavation prior to destruction) mitigation of two prehistoric sites (44SP222 and 227) found by previous surveys and determined eligible for National Register of Historic Places prior to inundation for the reservoir. These Woodland period, Native American archaeological sites and their artifact assemblages were small, upland encampments of a type rarely studied to date. One of the most significant findings from this project is the discovery of surviving evidence for a prehistoric house, which marks the first house pattern (of postholes) in an upland setting in Virginia.

18. Project title: Galemont & Thoroughfare Gap (1995-99)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Preserving Historic America; Prince William and Fauquier Counties, Va.
    Purpose: Preparation of National Register nominations for these two properties. Thoroughfare Gap involves landscapes, houses, and other buildings related to the Civil War battle of Thoroughfare Gap, while the Galemont House is a 19th- and 20th-century building with architectural merit.

19. Project title: Bosher's Dam (1994)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) in James River above the City of Richmond, Henrico County, Va.
    Purpose: Same purpose as Embrey Dam Study (see above). Phase I (reconnaissance) survey of approximately 50 acres located one prehistoric sites and recorded several features (canals, earthworks, revetments) associated with the James River & Kanawha Canal system. Study included an architectural assessment of Bosher's Dam as a historic structure.

20. Project title: Ashland Mills Dam (1994)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF); in South Anna River, Hanover County, Va.
    Purpose: Same purpose as Embrey Dam Study (see above). Phase I (reconnaissance) survey of 1,000-foot area along the dam and an architectural assessment of the dam as a historic structure. Project recorded no sites near this ca. 1916 dam, which represents a typical gravity mass construction.

21. Project title: Embrey Dam Study (1994)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF); City of Fredericksburg; Fredericksburg, Va.
    Purpose: A historic resource assessment study that included development of a historical context for hydroelectricity, an evaluation of archaeological resources within the dam's vicinity, and an architectural assessment of Embrey Dam as a historic structure. Project focused on this 1910 dam and hydroelectric facility located at the fall line of the Rappahannock River, with the objective of determining relation to proposed construction of a fish passageway. The review determined that Embrey Dam is a significant resource and is potentially eligible for the National Register. Project also reviewed 27 archaeological resources (18 historic, 9 prehistoric), including three previously unrecorded sites and made recommendations regarding their future treatment.

22. Project title: Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (1993?-1998)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: U.S. Navy (Dahlgren); King George County, Va.
    Purpose: In response to growth and reorganization requirements at the Dahlgren base and to maintain compliance with Federal environmental and preservation legislation regarding cultural resources, the Center was contracted to provide a series of historic preservation services. These included: Phase I (inventory) archaeological surveys and Phase II (testing and evaluation) archaeological assessments, National Register nominations, inventories of military ordnance, photographs and museum collections and exhibitions. The latter, for example, involved the Center procuring funding from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Legacy Project to produce an exhibit on the base's African-American community history. Phase II studies included the Quesenberry Farm site and the Payne Site (44KG105), a National Register-eligible oyster shell midden dating to the Woodland period. Archaeological assessments resulted in the development of a sampling and the predictive modeling of archaeological site location to guide future land management decisions. Center staff also assisted Hooe family descendants and the King George County Parks and Recreation department with information and artifacts from a preliminary archaeological survey at Barnesfield, a former plantation and Potomac River ferry site located within what is now a wayside park along Route 301. The reconnaissance work at Dahlgren represents probably the largest systematic and scientific archaeological survey in the Potomac River valley.

23. Project title: Roxbury/Thornburg(1993)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: School Board of Spotsylvania County; near Thornburg, along the Po River.
    Purpose: Phase I (reconnaissance and sampling style) archaeological survey of approximately 200 acres, involving a series of testing operations designed to locate, identify, and assess any archaeological resources within the project area prior to the construction of two public schools. Historically, the survey vicinity included the main residential complex of the Roxbury estate, an 18th- and 19th-century plantation belonging to the Stanard family that later became a modern farm. Project resulted in the recording of seven archaeological sites within the tract, and two additional sites on an adjacent property. Eight of the nine sites represent historic occupations associated with either the Roxbury plantation or the twentieth-century farm there, while the ninth site is prehistoric in origin.

24. Project title: Neabsco Mills Ironworks(1993)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Prince William County Planning Office; Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR). Near Dale City, along Neabsco Creek in Prince William County, Va.
    Purpose: Phase I (inventory) and Phase II (testing and evaluation) survey of 160+-acre tract, the former location of the Tayloe family ironworks and industrial plantation dating from ca. 1738 to 1820. Project recorded three prehistoric sites, a mill race, and 30+ historic resources ("components") associated with the ironworks, such as, furnaces, work and domestic areas, quarries, and roads. Project included preparation of a National Register nomination for the ironworks complex.

25. Project title: Richmond County Archaeological Assessment (1993-94)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Richmond County Board of Supervisors & Planning Office, Virginia Department of Historic Preservation (VDHR); Richmond County, Va.
    Purpose: Project funded by a VDHR Survey & Planning grant and included: an assessment of the previously exiting archaeological inventory (55 sites); overview statements of local and regional prehistory and history; a field survey accounting for 125 new archaeological resources; an assessment of new resource inventory with respect to State planning guidelines, future research, predictive modeling, and preservation planning (use of GIS); and preservation recommendations for County's Comprehensive plan.

26. Project title: Commuter Rail Project (1992)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: City of Fredericksburg, RF&P Railroad; Fredericksburg, Va.
    Purpose: Assessment study of the two city blocks adjacent to the current train station prior to upgrade of facilities for commuter railway service and construction of parking lots. Project included historical research, archaeological sampling and preservation recommendations. Results include discovery of several building foundations, artifact distributions, and land use history for the two-block area during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.

27. Project title: Masonic Cemetery Sandstone Wall (1992)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Advisory Committee on the Masonic Cemetery, Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge #4; Fredericksburg, Va.
    Purpose: Archaeological testing of cemetery's surrounding sandstone wall prior to rehabilitation in order to determine wall's construction date, the cemetery's landscape history, and check for previous walls or enclosures. Results included: dating wall to post-1795; evidence for land use prior to cemetery; and evidence for landscaping during the late 19th and early 20th century as cemetery ground surface was leveled to more resemble a lawn.

28. Project title: Market Square, Fredericksburg (1991)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: City of Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg Area Museum & Cultural Center; Fredericksburg, Va.
    Purpose: Archaeological investigation of first Market House, ca. 1750s 1810s, situated on east side of Market Square, and its immediate landscape. Project involved a series of test units within the current alley at the Caroline Street end of the former public square, and resulted in discovery of the Market House walls foundations and artifact deposits.

29. Project title: Art Gallery Site, Mary Washington College (1991)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Mary Washington College; Fredericksburg, Va.
    Purpose: Reconnaissance archaeological survey for proposed art gallery building on campus due to environmental review process under guidance of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Project involved visual inspection and machine-drilled auger test holes, and resulted in recording of stone-lined spring head.

30. Project title: Stratford Hall Plantation (1987-present)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Robert E. Lee Memorial Association; Westmoreland County, Va.
    Purpose: Center provides mitigation services to test and record archaeological resources prior to impacts from utility work, building repair, timbering, etc. Stratford also serves as the location for the Department's six-week archaeological field school (HISP 465), which between 1993 and 1997, focused on examining landscape and archaeological resources within the plantation core surrounding the Lee family mansion complex. Besides tracking the design, structure, and evolution of this historical landscape, the project has studied features and sites associated with the plantation's former enslaved African-American community.

31. Project title: Enchanted Castle Site (44OR3) at Germanna(1987-99)
    Sponsor(s) & Location: Historic Gordonsville, Inc., Center for Historic Preservation; Orange County, Va.
    Purpose: Archaeological investigation of ca. 1720-1745 plantation mansion complex and landscape associated with Lt. Governor Alexander Spotswood, and archaeological survey of surrounding 62-acre property, owned by State of Virginia and administered by Mary Washington College through Center. Property includes site of Fort Germanna, a frontier settlement for German immigrants dated ca. 1714-1718. Excavation and research has supported the Center's and the Department's educational and public outreach missions.