Smoking Pipes, St. Tammany, the Masons, and New York City Patronage Jobs

Summary

Among the smoking pipes found during the New York City Hall excavations are a number with Masonic motifs and a few with an unusual motif: a figure with a headdress holding a spear along with a shield or coat of arms topped by flames. The figure might be the mythical St. Tammany. When most modern people hear the name of ‘Tammany’ they usually recall the immensely powerful and corrupt political organization that controlled New York politics from the early nineteenth into the mid-twentieth centuries. The ideals and reasons for the existence of the original Sons of King Tammany, however, were not the same as those of its political descendant, Tammany Hall. These pipes could be a link between the original ideals of the Sons and the political machinations of its offspring, as well as illustrations of connections between Masons and Tammany.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• New York’s City Hall Park: A Physical Space for New York City’s Public

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-77,03