Economic Landscapes at Arcadia

Adrianne B Sams; Ramie Gougeon

Economic Landscapes at Arcadia

Author(s): Adrianne B Sams; Ramie Gougeon

Year: 2020

Summary

This is a paper/report submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The land that now encompasses the Arcadia Mill Archaeological Site in Santa Rosa County, Florida was originally part of a nineteenth century Spanish land grant that was developed into an industrial complex. Two sawmills, a textile mill, and other facilities formed the largest water-powered industrial complex in northwest Florida, uniquely relying on the labor of over 90 enslaved people. Downturns in industry and fortunes encountered prior to the Civil War led to the closing of the mill complex. The Simpsons turned to farming by the turn of the twentieth century and had well-established fields by 1912. The original Simpson family home was occupied intermittently after industry ceased and burned down in 1935. In the same year, a modest home replaced the antebellum Big House during a time of worldwide economic hardship. This paper uses a landscape perspective that considers the economic contexts surrounding each physical transformation of the Arcadia complex.