Archaeology of the 1859 Dorchester Industrial School for Girls: an Introduction

Summary

In 2015, the City of Boston Archaeology Program excavated the rear yard of the 1859 Industrial School for Girls in Boston ahead of construction on the property.  The School was founded by wealthy Boston women in order to recive neglected children and provide them education and domestic labor training with an ultimate goal of employment as domestic laborers in Boston-area homes.  The more than 17,000 artifacts recovered, most from an intact 5-meter long privy and nearby trash deposit, are exclusively associated with poor female residents from 1859-1875.  The discovery in a local archive of extensive primary documents including detailed monthly records and student intake documents provided ideal foundations for this significant historic archaeological site. This paper will provide an overview of the archaeological dig, the results, the history of the institution, the girls who lived there, and the well-documented efforts to build, maintain, and ulitimately abandon the school's privy.  

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018   •
• Schoolhouse Rock! 400 Years of Race, Gender, and Class in Boston Area Educational Institutions

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 755