West Virginia Archeological Society

Annual Meeting 2006

MORNING SESSION

The Henry Stahl Collection
Jerry Anderson
Little Kanawha Chapter of WVAS, Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Henry Stahl, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, amassed a remarkable collection of prehistoric artifacts from Blennerhassett Island and the surrounding area in the period from 1863 to 1923. He used this collection as the basis for lectures around the area and mounted the artifacts on panels that served as his “slides.” The collection was purchased by the Wood County BOD in 1923, and it has maintained its integrity until present. The collection is now displayed in the Blennerhassett Historical Park Museum. The history, range of artifact types, and value for archeological research will be explored in this presentation-

West Virginia Archeology for K12 Classroom Use
Robert F. Maslowski
Milton, West Virginia.

In conjunction with Project Archeology that is funded through a West Virginia Humanities Grant to the Council For West Virginia Archeology, the Marshall University Graduate College has instituted a professional development course for teachers. West Virginia Archeology for K12 Classroom Use. Unlike Project Archeology, the course includes all 12 grades and puts the burden on the teachers to develop lesson plans incorporating Project Archeology. The course content,, advantages, and disadvantages are discussed in this presentation.

Passport in Time: Public Archaeology on the Monongahela National Forest
Valerie J. McCormack
Monongahela National Forest, Elkins, West Virginia.

Passport in Time (PIT), the Forest Service’s flagship public heritage program, creates opportunities for the public to participate in archaeological excavations and heritage programs. This paper will present a brief introduction to Passport in Time and the range of opportunities available for public participation. Highlights from the Monongahela National Forest’s 2005 and 2006 PIT excavations will be reviewed. Finally, information on where the public can find out information about PIT, and how they can participate will be provided.

Late Prehistoric Structures at the Burning Spring Branch Site (46Kal42)
Stevan C. Pullins
Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc., Hurricane, West Virginia.

The Burning Spring Branch Site (46Kal42) is a multi-component site located on the Kanawha River in Kanawha County, West Virginia. The Late Prehistoric component includes a palisaded village. This paper will describe the Late Prehistoric structures identified at Burning Spring Branch and present a preliminary analysis of village organization and development. Examination of structures and patterns of structural attributes within the village will provide a means to address not only structural function, but also the social and spatial organization of the village and change over time.

Ongoing Geophysical Survey on the Grounds of the Blennerhassett Mansion: A Report on Findings to Date
Jarod Burks
Ohio Valley Archaeology, Inc., Columbus, Ohio.

Two hundred years ago, Hannan Blennerhassett built a grand mansion on an island estate in the Ohio River. In its time it was a Palladian paragon of civilized life in the wilds of the western frontier. But, amidst allegations of treason, the Blennerhassetts soon fled their island paradise. The vacated mansion was accidentally burned to the ground in 1811, barely eleven years after its construction was complete. The former site of the house has since-been found and excavated, and the house has-been reconstructed. Much of the remainder of the estate, however, is still hidden in the grounds surrounding the mansion. Recent geophysical surveys on the island have sought “to locate: (1) the blockhouse in which the Blennerhassetts spent their first years while building the mansion, (2) servants’ quarters located west of the house, and (3) the path leading from the house to the formal (and former) river landing. This presentation highlights the preliminary results of the geophysical surveys.

Not Quite so Dark a Dungeon: Using the West Virginia Mine Map Archives for Interpretive and Illustrative Purposes
William D.Updike
Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc., Hurricane, West Virginia

Recent coal mine accidents, particularly the July 2002 Quecreek, Pennsylvania accident where a modem underground mine broke into a flooded, abandoned mine brought attention to the need for a statewide mine mapping system to lessen the chances of another Quecreek type accident. While of obvious necessity to the underground miner, the mine mapping system can benefit the historical researcher and archaeologist as well. This presentation will provide some examples from recent projects where the West Virginia Mine Mapping system was utilized to provide a fuller interpretation to both field observations and reports.

AFTERNOON SESSION

The Glenwood Project
Robert F. Maslowski
Milton, West Virginia.

Glenwood, a historic home in the west end of Charleston, was built by the Laidley family in 1852, and was subsequently owned by the Summers and Quarrier families, some of me most prominent families of Charleston. The Marshall University Graduate College owns and maintains the house and approximately two acres of land surrounding the house. Marshall recently received a West Virginia Humanities Grant to analyze artifacts recovered during the rehabilitation of the Slave Cabin, to develop a database of all archival material concerning Glenwood and to hold a Symposium on the Glenwood Project in the summer of 2007. This presentation will discuss the Glenwood project and its potential for developing a field school in Public Archeology.

Update on Frontier Fort Project, 2006
W. Stephen McBride and Kim A. McBride
Kentucky Archaeological Survey, Lexington, Kentucky’

This paper offers an update of the Frontier Fort Project, a study of eighteenth century frontier sites in the Greenbrier/Middle New River valleys of West Virginia. At the 2004 WVAS meeting we reported on the initial discovery of the Donnally House chimney and a short section of stockade at the Fort Donnally site in Greenbrier County. Further work in 2005 and the summer of 2006 enables us to now talk about the structure of the entire fort. We will also report on conductivity survey and other work at Jarrett’s Fort, Monroe County, and feature excavation at Arbuckle’s Fort, Greenbrier County.

Stratigraphy and Geomorphology of the West Blennerhassett Site (46WD83-A)
Ryan W. Robinson and William C. Johnson, Cultural Resources Section, Michael Baker Jr., Inc., Moon Township, Pennsylvania
and J. Steven Kite, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia.

The West Blennerhassett site (46WD83-A) is a deeply stratified archaeological site located near the western end of Blennerhassett Island, an Ohio River island in Wood County, West Virginia. Archaeological investigations-were conducted at the site by the Cultural Resources Section of Michael Baker Jr., Inc. in 2002 and 2003 as part of the environmental studies for the Appalachian Corridor D Project for the West Virginia Division of Highways and the Federal Highways Administration. These investigations revealed stratified archaeological deposits extending to a minimum of 5 m and spanning from the late Early Archaic thru the early Late Prehistoric periods (ca. 8400 – 700 B.P.). This paper presents a description of the site stratigraphy and geomorphology.

The Early and Early Middle Archaic Period Occupations at the Confluence of the Little Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, Parkersburg, West Virginia
William C. Johnson, Ryan W. Robinson, J. Steven Kite, Edward J. Siemon, Denise L. Grants and Jonathan Glenn
Michael Baker Jr., Inc., Cultural Resources Section, Moon Township, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia University, Department of Geology and Geography, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Between June 2001 and November 2003, Michael Baker Jr., Inc., Cultural Resources Section conducted Phase I-lII archaeological investigations at three sites in the Parkersburg, West Virginia, area as part of the environmental studies for the Appalachian Corridor D -Project for the West Virginia Division of Highways and the Federal Highways Administration. At two sites, deeply-buried multiple Early Archaic and early Middle Archaic period components were documented and excavated. At the Godbey Field site (46Wd214) on the lower Little Kanawha River, two small Early Archaic Palmer Comer-Notched components and a 50 cm thick package of early Middle Archaic Stanly Stemmed and Kirk Serrated projectile points, tools, and hearths were documented. At the West Blennerhassett site (46Wd83-A) located on the lower end of Blennerhassett Island in the Ohio River, two late “Early Archaic period LeCroy Bifurcate projectile point components were excavated at ca. 4.8 m below the surface. A 1.5 m thick Middle Archaic horizon including over 100 cultural features was recorded and excavated between ca. 2.5 and 4.0 m below the surface. The densest concentration of hearths (n=38), and multiple Kirk Serrated projectile points and tools were associated with a weak 15-20 cm thick anthropogenic horizon soil at ca. 3.4 m below the surface.

Glimpses of Early Archaeology in West Virginia
David Martin
Charleston, West Virginia

David Martin will present a short video that is a compilation of clips from the early days of archaeological investigations in West Virginia-. He has combined 8-mm black and white footage from his father, Leslie Martin’s collection with color 8-mm clips from Joe Jefferds, and some of his own original video footage. The result is a video showing early archaeologists such as Edward V. McMichael, Elmer Fetzer, and others excavating at sites like Buffalo and Mt. Carbon. This will be a treat for those interested in the history of archaeology and the WVAS in West Virginia.