Archaeological Subsurface Surveys, Fort Lee Military Reservation, Prince George County (FL2011.018)

Summary

This investigation addressed the location of an unmarked cemetery on property currently owned by Prince George County, adjacent to U.S. Army Fort Lee Military Reservation in eastern Virginia. Historical research indicated that the burial ground was associated with the laboring Sisters of the Vine Burial Association who used it as a cemetery in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Relic fences and property boundary markers indicated where the probable cemetery property boundaries were located for two of the three original sites. Ground features could not verify the eastern side of the original parcel. Thirty-seven potential burial sites were identified in the project area. These were found both outside and within the suggested cemetery property boundaries, implying that graves may not have been segregated to the original cemetery area. Future management of the cemetery and related grounds should be prepared to address boundary uncertainties and grave placement outside of these margins.

This project contains multiple site reports including subsurface examinations of potential mortuary areas. A grave identification survey and its addendum are also included.

Cite this Record

Archaeological Subsurface Surveys, Fort Lee Military Reservation, Prince George County (FL2011.018). ( tDAR id: 392574) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8VQ345W

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Culture
African American • Euroamerican • Historic

Material
Building Materials • Macrobotanical • Metal • Wood

Site Name
44PG0544

Site Type
Archaeological Feature • Burial Mound • Burial Pit • Cemetery • Davis House • Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex • Domestic Structures • Funerary and Burial Structures or Features • Governmental Structure • Grand Star Lodge Cemetery • Historic Governmental Structure • Historic Structure • House • Laboring Sisters of the Vineyard Cemetery • Military Earthwork • Mound / Earthwork • Non-Domestic Structures • Post Hole / Post Mold • Russell House • Structure • Susannah Russell Cemetery

Investigation Types
Data Recovery / Excavation • Geophysical Survey • Ground Disturbance Monitoring • Heritage Management • Reconnaissance / Survey • Site Evaluation / Testing

General
36 CFR Part 800 • GPR Survey • National Historic Preservation Act • Virginia Department of Historic Resources

Geographic Keywords
Davis House • Fort Lee • Prince George (County) • Susannah Russell Cemetery • United States Army Fort Lee Military Reservation • Virginia (State / Territory) • Willow Seat Farm

Spatial Coverage

min long: -77.378; min lat: 37.206 ; max long: -77.287; max lat: 37.283 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Patty Conte

Contributor(s): Hugh B. Matternes; Valerie Davis; David Price; Bryce Stanley; Amy Wood; Mike Makin; Tabor Vess; Mark Nance; Scott Tucker; Yulounda Ralls; Jennifer Wilson; Lis Cap; Rebecca Brown; David Diener; Tom Quinn; Sarah Lowry; Tracey Fedor; Valerie Davis

Principal Investigator(s): Hugh B. Matternes; Shawn Patch

Project Director(s): J. W. Joseph

Permitting Agency(s): Fort Lee Regional Archaeological Curation Facility

Prepared By(s): New South Associates, Inc.

Submitted To(s): Versar, Inc.; U. S. Army, Fort Lee Military Reservation, Department of Public Works

Record Identifiers

Project(s): VA-A-AD-JPR(1)

Purchase Order Number(s): 007657; 007657

Primary Contract Number(s): W91236-10-F-0171

Contract Modification Number(s): DTFH71-10-F-00052

Accession Number(s): FL2011.018

Resources Inside this Project (Viewing 1-4 of 4)

  • Documents (4)

Documents

  1. Addendum to Grave Identification Survey, Fort Lee Adams Roudabout, Prince George County, Virginia (2011)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text New South Associates, Inc. .

    This is an addendum to a previous project (Matternes et al. 2010) that addressed the location of an unmarked African-American cemetery on property owned by Prince George County and adjacent to U.S. Army Fort Lee Military Reservation in Prince George County, Virginia. The purpose of the addendum project was to determine whether cultural features, particularly historic period graves, were present in the established triangular median between Jefferson Park Road and Adams Avenue. At the time of the...

  2. An Archaeological Subsurface Examination of the Area 2A Parcel on the Fort Lee Military Reservation, Prince George County, Virginia (2011)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Hugh B. Matternes. Valerie Davis. David Price. New South Associates, Inc. .

    This investigation examined the archaeological signature of unmarked subsurface archaeological features with a particular emphasis on identifying unmarked graves. Previous investigations identified potential unmarked graves in Area 2A, a parcel located within the confines of United States Army Fort Lee Military Reservation in Prince George County, Virginia. Area 2A was in the immediate vicinity of the Davis house, a prominent historical structure near the center of Fort Lee. The grounds...

  3. Archaeological Subsurface Surveys of Potential Mortuary Areas and Select Parcels on the Fort Lee Military Reservation, Prince George County, Virginia (2011)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text New South Associates, Inc. .

    This investigation addressed three parcels, broken into four project areas to determine the potential for unmarked subsurface archaeological features with a particular emphasis on identifying unmarked graves. Area 1, located on the periphery of U.S. Army Fort Lee Military Reservation in eastern Virginia, was adjacent to an unmarked cemetery (Laboring Sisters of the Vineyard, 44PG0543) on property currently owned by Prince George County. Areas 2A, 2B and 3 were on parcels in the immediately...

  4. Grave Identification Survey Fort Lee Adams Roundabout, Prince George County, Virginia (2010)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text New South Associates, Inc. . Hugh B. Matternes. David Price. Sarah Lowry.

    This investigation addressed the location of an unmarked cemetery on property currently owned by Prince George County, adjacent to U.S. Army Fort Lee Military Reservation in eastern Virginia. Historical research indicated that the burial ground was associated with the laboring Sisters of the Vine Burial Association who used it as a cemetery in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Open, wooded, paved and wet conditions in the roughly 1.3-acre project required the use of...