Powering a Generation: Analyzing Early 20th Century Coal Use at Clemson Agricultural College

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Exploring the Recent Past" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In summer of 2018 Clemson University conducted excavations at Ft. Hill Plantation situated in the center of campus. While the primary goal was to locate the remains of a series of antebellum outbuildings related to the John Calhoun and Thomas Clemson occupations of the property, a large coal deposit, dating from 1880s – 1910s, was found covering the site. This apparent dumping episode included a mix of anthracitic and bituminous coal as well as coal clinker consistent with the use residential and commercial coal boilers. Although in use as a residence when the university was established as Clemson Agricultural College in 1889, not much is known of the occupation of Ft. Hill during early university period. This paper explores the potential reasons for the presence of high-cost coal on the early university landscape and outlines the adoption of coal heating at the university in the early 20th Century.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2019   •
• Exploring the Recent Past

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 476