Where No Deetz Has Gone Before: New Archaeological Investigations at Parting Ways in Plymouth, Massachusetts

Summary

Parting Ways was a late eighteenth century to early twentieth century community of formerly enslaved and free people of color and their descendants at the Plymouth/Kingston town line in Massachusetts. It was first investigated by Dr. James Deetz in 1975–1978 and discussed in his seminal work In Small Things Forgotten. While Deetz’s discussion included all four Black families that had resided at Parting Ways, his excavations only identified the site of the Turner family’s house. Recent CRM investigations by PAL at Parting Ways identified the house site of the Goodwin family, who lived there from circa 1783 to 1824, in an area beyond where Deetz had surveyed. PAL’s work has provided new information about the Goodwin family, and the site provides an opportunity to study how the Goodwins and the other families at Parting Ways formed and maintained their community and how they constructed and maintained their identities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow