A "Home in the Country:" Material Life at the House of the Good Shepherd Orphanage, Tomkins Cove, New York

Heather Olson

A "Home in the Country:" Material Life at the House of the Good Shepherd Orphanage, Tomkins Cove, New York

Year: 2016

Summary

In 2014, the Public Archaeology Laboratory conducted archaeological excavations at the former House of the Good Shepherd orphanage in Tomkins Cove, New York. Over 4,000 domestic and structural artifacts were found at the site, offering glimpses into its nineteenth-century orphanage history as well as its use as a Fresh Air Association summer retreat during the twentieth century. Although small, the nineteenth-century artifact assemblage reflects the life of the orphans who lived there. Current research shows that very few sites of this type have been investigated, presenting us with a unique opportunity to understand the realities of life for poor and orphaned children in the American Gilded Age. This paper will examine the archaeological and documentary evidence of material life at the orphanage and will compare the lives of the House of the Good Shepherd residents to other orphans living in the U.S. at that time.

Cite this Record

A "Home in the Country:" Material Life at the House of the Good Shepherd Orphanage, Tomkins Cove, New York. Heather Olson. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434690)