Smoking Hams and Pumping Hickory: The Armstrong-Rogers Site in New Castle County, Delaware

Summary

From the beginning, initial studies at the Armstrong-Rogers site left more questions than answers. Located within the floodplain of Drawyers Creek just north of Middletown, Delaware, survey and testing efforts uncovered the partial remains of a stone foundation and many eighteenth- and nineteenth-century artifacts. Was this the home built by the Armstrong family in the 1730s? An 1820s building occupied by James Rogers? Or something entirely different? The answer, in the end, is a little of all three. Over the course of two months, Dovetail archaeologists used a variety of techniques to reveal details on the historic layout of this land. While we discovered that the main house site had been destroyed in the mid-twentieth century, a host of historic work yard features remained intact, and careful excavation revealed exciting details about the daily operation of this central Delaware farmstead.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016   •
• New Highway Uncovers New Histories: Archaeology Mitigations From the U.S. Route 301 Mega Project in Delaware

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 111