POLLEN AND MACROFLORAL ANALYSIS ON SAMPLES FROM BUILDING 48, HARPER'S FERRY NATIONAL PARK, WEST VIRGINIA

Summary

Pollen and macrofloral samples were examined fran three excavation units

in front of Building 48 at Harper's Ferry National Park inWest Virginia. Since

trash was dumped in front of this building, one or more of these excavation units

may include trash deposits. Building 48 was constructed during the 1820s and

probably housed the armory workers until the Civil War. After the Civil War,

Building 48 served as a tenement until the 1950s. It is the pre-Civil War period

that is represented in the majority of the pollen and macrofloral samples. Unit

10 provides an intermittent record from the 1820s to the 1990s, and was examined

in part for comparative purposes. Oily the earliest samples representing the

pre-Civil War occupation were examined from Excavation Units 5 and 1. Previous

pollen and macrofloral analyses of Package 116 at Harper's Ferry provided

information identifying formality of the landscape at the master armorer's

residence in the 1820s, and a subsequent decline in the landscapir^ after the

1830s and 1840s. This decline coincides with the acceptance of industry in the

United States during the 1830s and 1840s. The armory was modernized in the

1830s, and the armory grounds were renovated. The military took over the daily

operations of the armory in 1841. As a result, uniformity was created in the

architectural and landscape design of Harper's Ferry. Conditions around Building

48^during these times are represented in the pollen and macrofloral saiqples.

Evidence of the armory worker's diet may be seen in kitchen debris that was

dumped in front of the building. Evidence for diet will also be examined. These

samples will also be examined for evidence of formalization and possible

subsequent deterioration of the landscape similar to that noted at the master

armorer's residence.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• PaleoResearch Institute

Record Identifiers

PRI Technical Report(s): 91-062

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