In the summer of 2012, I worked as an intern with the Texas Historical Commission’s Historic Sites Division under the direct supervision of the Curator of Archaeology. The purpose of the internship was to learn about the curation of archaeological artifacts, why objects need curation, how to curate them properly, and the current state of many archaeological collections.
During my time with the Historic Sites Division, I worked on projects from four different sites. I worked briefly on large collections from the Magoffin House and the Landmark Inn. However, I mostly focused on two sites, the Varner-Hogg Plantation and Fort McKavett.
The Varner-Hogg Plantation is located in West Columbia, Texas. It is about 50 miles south of Houston and sits next to the Brazos River. Martin Varner first settled the land in 1824. However, the mansion was not built until 1834 when Columbus Patton purchased the land. Patton had the mansion built by his large slave population. The slaves made all the bricks by hand and they also constructed a sugar mill, smokehouse, and even built their own living quarters. Columbus Patton died in 1856 and the family sold the plantation in 1869. The plantation then went through several owners, none of which had much success on the land. Then in 1900, a hurricane ripped through the area and destroyed most of the buildings. In 1901, a former governor of Texas, James Hogg, bought the plantation. He purchased the land because he thought there was oil in that area. He had several oil derricks put on the land. Some of these derricks are still there today. During his time on the plantation, large quantities of oil were never found. However, after his death, his family found vast amounts on the land and became very wealthy. After that, the family did not reside on the plantation but used it for parties and vacations. Eventually James’ daughter, Ima, donated the plantation to the state of Texas in 1957.
The plantation today sits on only a fraction of the land it once did. The other portion is now a golf course. There are several buildings on the plantation grounds and plenty of pecan and magnolia trees with Spanish moss hanging from them. One of the old buildings has been converted to the main visitors center. Visitors can stop here first for information about the plantation and they can schedule a tour of the mansion. Most of the plantation is a self-guided tour, except for the mansion.
Fort McKavett is a military fort in west Texas, near the town of Menard. The fort overlooks the San Saba River and was established in 1852 by the 8th U.S. Infantry. It was set up to protect the settlers of west Texas and served as a rest stop for immigrants traveling to California. Unfortunately, it was abandoned only seven years later. Eventually, it reopened in 1868 due to an increase in hostilities with local Native American tribes. When the infantry abandoned it again in 1883, local settlers moved in to the buildings and started a town there. People were still living in the buildings until the 1970s. The fort was designated a historic site in 1968.
Currently the old hospital serves as the site’s visitors center (Figure 2), complete with exhibits about the site’s history. Fort McKavett has 19 restored buildings on the site that visitors can view at their own pace. All four of the famous Buffalo Soldier regiments made their home at this fort. The Buffalo Soldiers were the name given to the African American soldier regiments at that time. Several objects have been found that are directly linked to these soldiers, including an ID tag. The objects found here and at other sites are very significant and must be treated with great care and respect in the lab.
Each site has a collection of artifacts stored in the repository. The collections are often broken up into sub-collections based on excavation year or specific location. This allows them to be smaller and more manageable. All artifacts from storage must be properly prepared and documented for either long-term storage or for public display. The majority of the 700 boxes acquired from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Division have not yet been through the curation process. Most of these boxes have not been opened since they were excavated, which in most cases were the 1960s and 70s. Many of the boxes still contain the original paper bags from the excavation. To be properly curated, each bag must be opened and the items sorted by type of material into separate bags. The new bags must be special plastic bags that do not negatively affect the artifact. Each item must have its own tag with the site number, site name, lot number, item count, and analytical category of the artifact. The objects are then transferred to a new, acid-free plastic box that will not harm the artifacts.
The Fort McKavett sub-collection consisted of six boxes, half of which had already been conserved by the Conservation Research Lab (CRL) at Texas A&M University. The conservation process cleans the artifact and chemically treats it to prevent further decay. The conserved objects already had accession numbers assigned and only needed to be repackaged and documented. Accession numbers are unique numbers assigned to all artifacts. The second set of three boxes had not been conserved and needed to be assigned accession numbers. They also needed to be packaged correctly, tagged, and documented. These boxes were later taken to CRL for conservation when they were finished being processed.
The Fort McKavett artifacts were very interesting and consisted of several bottles and bottle fragments. There was also a high concentration of U.S. Cavalry artifacts, including belt buckles, horse bits, and cavalry buttons. Several of the U.S. Cavalry items needed to be researched so they could be more closely identified and dated to a specific time. The horse bit required a lot of research because the U.S. Cavalry issued several versions, each only slightly different. The one found at Fort Mckavett seems to be the 1859 edition. After the research, a full report is written for each item, including images and links to where the information was found.
The Varner-Hogg Plantation sub-collection consisted of fourteen boxes. Many of the artifacts were similar to the Fort McKavett items, but included items that are more personal. This was a site where people lived for long periods and the artifacts reflect that. This specific sub-collection was collected from the area of the slave quarters on the plantation. The HSD specifically wanted to see what they had from this collection and if it could help tell the story of the slaves that lived there. This is a very interesting site with a long and rich history. The artifacts included multiple ceramic pieces, utensils, doll parts, bottle fragments, slave made bricks, and several other items. It is still being determined if any of these objects will be useful in reinterpreting the site or if they can be used for display.
Working with the artifacts gives a good idea of how the site was used and who lived there. Curating these artifacts will allow them to be available in the future for any new research. Curation is vital to keeping our history alive. Sullivan and Childs say that “when curatorial practices are poor or nonexistent, everyone loses: Archaeologists suffer loss of irreplaceable research data, the general public suffers loss of an expensive and valuable educational resource, and those whose heritage may be linked to the collections lose that part of themselves”. The importance of curation cannot be overstated; it is our history that is at risk.
This internship at HSD not only taught me valuable skills in the lab but also helped focus my career objectives. Working in the lab showed me how to handle artifacts and the proper procedures for curation. I became familiar with the inner workings of the agency, learned how sites are interpreted, and the challenges of working within a budget. The people I worked with had vast amounts of knowledge to share with me and were passionate about preserving our cultural heritage. I was able to work with artifacts from a wide array of time and cultures.
Read the full report here.
References
- Sullivan, Lynne P., and S. Terry Childs 2003
Curating Archaeological Collections. AltaMira Press, Walnut Creek, California. - Texas Historical Commission http://www.thc.state.tx.us/ 2012 Texas Historical Commission Strategic Plan http://www.thc.state.tx.us/aboutus/abtpdfs/StrtgcPlan_FY13_17.pdf