Life on Grove Street: Victorian Households in Hayes Valley, San Francisco

Summary

During the mid to late 19th Century, Hayes Valley was a San Francisco neighborhood transitioning from working to middle class. Residents included European immigrants and transplants from other parts of the US. Many families rented the single and multifamily residences that lined the streets. In 2013, Pacific Legacy, Inc. conducted testing and archaeological monitoring excavations for the construction of a multistory building on Grove Street in the Hayes Valley. These investigations unearthed two privies associated with 19th century residences. The privies, which date from the 1860s-1890s, contained a diverse array of artifacts including those associated with Catholic religious practice, women, and children. The privy contents as well as the documentary record demonstrate the transitional nature of this San Francisco neighborhood, the efforts of families to conform to the middle class Victorian norms, and their various economic strategies.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Spanish to the Silicon: The Diversity of San Francisco Historical Archaeology

Keywords

Spatial Coverage