If my name ever goes into history, it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it.
— A. Lincoln, 1863Archaeology Phase One
Led by archaeologist Charles LeeDecker, the Louis Berger Group, Inc. (Berger) surveyed the President Lincoln's Cottage grounds in the summer of 2003. The National Trust for Historic Preservation directed Berger to perform the following:
- survey of the area immediately surrounding the cottage to obtain general information on the condition of the site, identify major landscaping events, and determine the presence of potentially significant archaeological features or deposits, such as kitchen middens or trash pits;
- a search for surviving evidence of pathways from the Lincoln period that are known to have been located to the south and west of the house to determine if there are physical remains of these features;
- a search for an ephemeral structure located to the east of the cottage that appears in a period photograph;
- investigation of the north porch to examine the relationship between the granite sill and concrete slab, and to identify artifact deposits or important architectural information in that area; and
- investigation of the area beneath the south porch to search for domestic artifact deposits, architectural material associated with the numerous construction episodes, and subsurface features, such as a cistern or a porch pier.
The Berger field survey consisted of digging 46 shovel test pits on a 30 foot grid established around the Cottage, mainly on the east and west sides of the building and the south lawn. The south lawn is approximately 250’ from east to west, and is about 200’ on its north-south axis. Some test pit locations deviated from the grid for the specific purpose of investigating elements of particular interest, such as the location of a Lincoln-era flagpole. Berger recovered 99 artifacts during this phase of archaeological fieldwork.
Following archaeological fieldwork, Berger cleaned, stabilized, cataloged, and prepared artifacts for long-term curation in accordance with the Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations in the District of Columbia. The type of artifacts recovered includes fragments of domestic dishware, construction materials, bottles, oyster shells, faunal remnants, and discarded pipe stems. Slate fragments informed the choice of replacement material for the new roof installed as part of the exterior restoration. The complete list of recovered artifacts from this phase appears below.
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Artifacts recovered from President Lincoln's Cottage |
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| Artifact Type / Subtype | Count | Artifact Type / Subtype | Count |
| Ceramics | Vessel Glass | ||
| Creamware (1762-1820) | 1 | Wine/liquor bottle | 9 |
| Pearlware, Plain (1775-1840) | 5 | Unidentified bottle/jar | 18 |
| Pearlware, Hand painted (1775-1840) | 3 | Paneled tumbler | 1 |
| Pearlware, Transfer-printed | 2 | Unidentified tableware | 1 |
| Whiteware, Plain (1815-present) | 4 | Architectural | |
| Whiteware, Handpainted (1815-1915) | 3 | Handwrought nail (before 1820) | 1 |
| Whiteware, Transfer-Print (1835-1910) | 2 | Unidentified nail | 1 |
| Yellowware, Rockingham (1812-1940) | 1 | Glazed brick | 1 |
| Unglazed Redware | 8 | Roofing slate | 1 |
| Other Earthenware | 4 | Stone | 5 |
| Oriental porcelain | 3 | Other | |
| Hard-paste Porcelain, Plain | 1 | Clay marble | 1 |
| Stoneware, plain brown salt glazed | 1 | Limestone marble | 1 |
| Faunal | White clay tobacco pipesterm | 1 | |
| Oyster shell | 5 | Iron Hardware (pipe support?) | 1 |
| Bone | 9 | Total | 99 |
Testing documented a number of landscaping and site development events around the Lincoln Cottage, but very little in the way of intact archaeological remains. Despite extensive searching in the south lawn area, none of the landscape features shown on nineteenth century maps, such as paths and a flag pole, were found. It is likely that the remains of historic landscape features have been destroyed by modern landscaping. Any historic features dug to a depth of more than 1 foot, such as wells or privies, probably survive despite landscape disturbances. Even if such features are still present at the site, they would be very difficult to find, due to the lack of maps or other information indicating the locations of such features coupled with modern disturbances to the landscape.
A remnant of a nineteenth-century brick walkway was identified flush along a portion of the Cottage’s south façade. The walkway may have been in existence when the Lincoln family was in residence; further investigation is merited. The remnant brick walkway may represent the type of material used in the pedestrian walkways on the south lawn.
Fill that may have been deposited when the Sherman Building (ca. 1857) was constructed is present east of the cottage and contains nineteenth-century artifacts. Most artifacts cannot be dated more specifically than to the half century or even the century, so distinguishing specimens of the Civil war period is very difficult. Most of the soil within 50 feet of the cottage has been disturbed by utility installations. Twentieth-century infill, sometimes up to 1 foot deep, makes it difficult to interpret the small artifacts that were recovered in those areas. No remnants of the ephemeral structure located to the east of the cottage that appears in a period photograph were found.
While it is possible that archaeological remains precisely datable to the Lincoln period are present around the cottage, none have been found to date, and no particular locations can be suggested that would be likely to yield such remains. There is, however, some possibility that unidentified significant deposits might exist at the site, so any ground-disturbing activities will be monitored.
Aside from domestic deposits, there is also a possibility that remains of a Civil War encampment associated with the Lincoln presidency are present somewhere on the AFRH property. This possibility should be taken into account during future site development. During the time that the Soldiers’ Home served as President Lincoln’s seasonal residence, Company K of the 150th Pennsylvania Regiment (Bucktail Regiment) was the active duty unit stationed at the Home to guard the President.
Berger has continued to assist with ongoing archaeology efforts. Additional updates are available on our Blog.