Health Conscious: A Look Inside the Privy at 71 Joy Street

Summary

In addition to the African Meeting House (AMH), 71 Joy Street is one of the only domestic sites associated with free African Americans for which any archaeological evidence exists from Boston’s historic Beacon Hill neighborhood. The standing brick structure was built in 1840 as a single-family dwelling that was occupied by members of the free black community until 1878 when Wendell T. Coburn sold the property to William J. Rounds. In 2006, archaeologists discovered the brick-lined privy capped by a concrete floor in the shed attached to the back of the house which contained a wealth of material culture dating primarily to the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. Analysis of the privy contents is currently underway with two primary goals: first, to understand the depositional history of the feature so that discrete deposits may be linked to specific periods of occupation, and second to evaluate how residents of Number 71 made specific choices relating to personal health that contributed to the way they presented themselves to friends, family, and strangers in the bustling and vibrant Beacon Hill community.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• Exploring the Evolving Urban Landscapes of Boston and Salem

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-68,04