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C) -LV p " La","gi ri qj o @ U@D F- ---I Vill- 40 77, p q piq Ile HELLENBERG FIELD ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEY PHASE I (PART 11) Submitted to: City of Monroe Department of Community Development Prepared by.* Gilbert/Commonwealth Inc. 209 East Washington Avenue Jackson, Michigan 49201 C. Stephan Demeter - Historic Archeologist - Historian Donald J. Weir - Project Manager/Principal Investigator R-2912 Septemberp 1987 This document was prepared in part through finan- cial assistance provided by the Coastal Zone Man- agement Act of 1972 and administered by the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources Management of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I INTRODUCTION 1 2 PROJECT LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION 2 3 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 8 4 METHODOLOGY AND EXCAVATION DESCRIPTION 15 5 ARTIFACTS 20 6 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 21 BIBLIOGRAPHY 23 LIST OF FIGURES NO. Page 1 Test Excavation Locations 3 2 The Study Area as Depicted in 1839 and 1859 5 3 The Study Area as Depicted in 1871 and 1901 6 LIST OF TABLES No. Page 1 Hellenberg Field Test Excavations 1987: Soil Levels 16 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Gilbert/Commonwealth Inc. was contracted on July 29, 1987, to conduct a cultural resources evaluation of the Hellenberg Field site by the Department of Community Development, City of Monroe. The project location represents a park facility slated for marina and recreational development encompassing an approximately 13-acre area. Although not presently an actual part of the park property at this time, an additional 16 privately owned lots fronting the south-southwest margin of Hellenberg Yield along East Front Street were also taken into consideration. In terms of research approach, actual infield access to these latter properties was not possible. As such, investigations were limited to an examination of the pertinent literature sources allowing for the identification of site-specific zones of probable historical archeological signif icance. These add-on data were subsequently combined with other background information previously collected by Dennis Au, Assistant Director of the Monroe County Historical Museum, and developed into an overall land use history of the subject parcel. An infield examination of the study area was restricted to the actual Hellenberg Field park property under city ownership. Since much of this property had previously been determined to possess an extensive land fill veneer, archeological survey such as normally conducted under a Phase I research program was negated and an alternative mechanical testing approach implemented (Shott 1985). Field investigations were carried out by C. Stephan Demeter, aided by Donald J. Weir and Andrew Weir. Demeter was also responsible for authorship of this document, with Donald J. Weir acting as project manager and principal investigator. Report editing was performed by Monica J. Collett, with typing being the responsibility of Rhonda D. Leutz. Report graphics were prepared by Julie C. Ratliff. C of M VES-79 CHAPTER 2 PROJECT LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION The Hellenberg Field project site is located in Township 7 South, Range 9 East, encompassing portions of Private Claims 161, 166 and 346. The latter of these properties represents only a marginal element of the park site and does not figure prominently in the proposed structural modifications slated for development within the park itself. Of the 16 proposed acquisition lots along the East Front Street margin of the park, portions of only 4 properties (lots 4M1469, 4M1470, 4MI471 and 4M1473) are included within this latter private claim. This, in turn, formed part of the George W. Strong Estate purchased during the mid-nineteenth century and sold off by his heirs during the c. 1919-1930 period (Figure 1). The area covered by this element of the Phase I investigation encompassed the westerly portion of the park property, west of the parking lot, extending up to a recently installed drain adjacent to the Detroit-Toledo Shoreline Railroad right-of-way. The grounds comprising the extreme west end of the park had been extensively modified by this recent utility work, which apparently included grading activities, and the deposition of fairly extensive amounts of compacted land fill presently serving as an alternate access route to the west end of the field adjacent to the western edge of the baseball diamond. This comprises approximately 5 acres of the park site, with the adjacent parking lot and boat ramp facility to the east encompassing another 5 acres. Combined with the drain right- of-way grounds, baseball diamond and west access routing adjacent to East Front Street, the Hellenberg Field property as it presently exists, minus the 16 proposed acquisition propertiesy encompasses a total of about 13 acres. Hellenberg Field is marked by minor topographical relief ranging within the 5-acre area investigated from as little as 575.5 to 577.7 feet in elevation. These figures fall within two feet of river elevation at the time of the survey, with the highest elevations being represented by a fill berm along the river margin on the north-northeast edge of the park. As indicated through historical map sources of the study area, Hellenberg Field originally consisted of three distinct island formations, which throughout the nineteenth century formed a part of the much larger George W. Cty of Mon VES-79 7Q T U, 05 Pq 9 0 JD 0 12. Oil OID ii < BN5EBALL FIELD 15 14 HM 145&1 j4M IqjOO HM jLj(OD-j qm 14b( 4M Hal LIM14ba LIM 1q/v4 LIM 1410(bo 4m mbr@ LIM 148B 4M 141o9 M 141D5 14M 140 NkORTH 1'= 90' 1 EAST FROKJT 51-REET- 416 Gilbert/Commonwealth Inc. of Michigan Strong Estate (Figures 2a-b and 3a). Evidence gleaned from these sources is suggestive of the fact that the 2-acre zone originally tested as Part 1 of the Phase I archeological survey was actually concentrated within and adjacent to the channel separating the large or main island from a small bar to the northeast (Shott 1985). As depicted in Figure 1, another island on the far southeast end of the park in Private Claim 346 would originally have been located in the area of the "Four Vehicle Boat Ramp," with present-day Sterling Island (connected to Hellenberg Field by a pedestrian bridge) representing the modified northwest end of "Island No. 111 as depicted in the historical map series of the study area (Figures 1, 2a-b and 3a). The bayou or south branch of the Raisin River which originally divided the bulk of the Hellenberg Field location from the mainland has been postulated by the City Engineering Department as measuring approximately 90 feet in width extending north-northeast along the northeast border of the subdivided lots along East Front Street (Figure 1). This would place the south-southwest edge of the bayou on the average of about 150 feet north-northeast of East Front Street, a distance in excess of several early map depictions or deed descriptions. In the case of the former, an 1847 plat of the East Front Street right-of-way indicates the distance from the road to the bayou along the dividing line of Private Claims 166 and 346 as being 122 feet. The same source similarly illustrates the bayou position on the dividing line of Private Claims 166 and 161 as being something less than 50 feet (Dural 1847). An 1858 deed description of the Diffenbaugh homestead lot places the distance of the bayou to East Front Street at 100 feet along the approximate boundary of existing lots 4M1460-1 and 4M1461 (Monroe 1858 (50):99). The alignment of the bayou on a northwest to southeast course is undoubtedly accurate, as evidenced by soil profiles exposed in Test Units 14 through 16. The postulated north bend occurring near the division line of Private Claims 161 and 166 was, however, not verified through the profile elements exposed in Test Units 11 through 13, which consistently showed this zone as comprising presumably naturally occurring clay-silt soils. Throughout the first quarter of the present century the bayou is constantly mentioned as an element of land description among the properties at 4 Cty of Mon 2/ES-79 Figure 2 Hellenberg Field Archeological Survey THE STUDY AREA AS DEPICTED IN 1839 AND 1859 Department of Community Development City of MonroeJ I r --- i 17- T C'O" XR08,CR 7 XCIZORr 144 T CM Agwlmf xwakhjr 0 2a C7% Ln !02 3@ 2b rvp Gilbert/Commonwealth Inc. of Michigan Figure 3 Hellenberg Field Archeological Survey THE STUDY AREA AS DEPICTED IN 1871 AND 1901 Department of Community Development City of Monroe Ar rK4 Ap 0 3a a r s RA PERCY 30 30 0 ry ar 3b 4r# Gilbert/Commonwealth Inc. of Michigan this locale. As late as 1934 a plat of the far southeast or downriver end of Hellenberg Field continued to illustrate the bayou location in relation to the west boundary of Private Claim 346 and-the house lots along East Front Street (lots 1470, 1471 and 1473). At that time, however, this sluiceway is simply listed as an "Old Bayou (partly filled)" (Weaver 1934). Undoubtedly, upriver railroad construc- tion had a lot to do with this situation by restricting or possibly even eliminating direct river flow through this drainage arm. As evidenced by artifacts associated with Test Unit 14, by c. 1930 land fill operations in the bayou near the division line of Private Claims 161 and 166 had already brought ground elevations in the more westerly end of the park property within close proximity to their present level. Remaining vestiges of the bayou were undoubtedly destroyed during a previously reported land fill episode occurring around the Second World War period (Shott 1985:2). The program instituted at that time may also account for the veneer of fill soils observed throughout the park area, even in the high ground areas near the baseball diamond, which were graded to form a virtually level ground surface suitable for park development. The slightly higher range of surface elevations encountered along the river edge may in part be accounted for by the usage of this segment of the park during the early 1970s as a spoil storage yard during the removal of nearby Nigger or Jerome Island. The bulk of this debris was eventually removed and, according to informant sources, either deposited on Sterling Island or other nearby properties as lanj fill. This edge still exhibits marginal vegetation growth marked by occa- sionally exposed clay-gravel soils and concrete fragments@ the bulk of which is employed as riprap serving as an erosional barrier along the river frontage. 7 Cty of Mon 3/ES-79 CHAPTER 3 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Euro-American settlement on the River Raisin was initiated through a land grant acquired by Francois Navarre through purchase from the Pottawatomi in 1785. During the next decade other settlers, either through purchase from Navarre or squatting on adjacent lands, occupied practically the entire lower River Raisin drainage from Lake Erie to a point about 12 miles inland. By 1794 the French Town settlement was already a well established community on the road between the British containment at Detroit and the massed Indian settlements on the Maumee River which gathered to stop General Anthony Wayne's advance into Michigan and the Upper Great Lakes region. A period of political stability resulting from the collapse of Indian resistance at Fallen Timbers that year, followed by the American occupation of Detroit in 1796, led to further expansion of white settlement in the area. At least two farms, later registered as Private Claims 161 and 166, encompassed the bulk of the Hellenberg Field property during this period. The former of these, occupying the northwest third of the field, was held by Joseph Robert and consisted of 360 French acres or arpents, with the latter amounting to 240 arpents in the possession of Louis Susor (Lowrie 1834:322, 324). A third tract forming the southeast end of the park was designated as Private Claim 346. Having originally been acquired by Joseph Menac through an undated Indian purchase, by 1796 the property was in the possession of Ignace Tuot dit Duval, who, in 1808, received Federal recognition of his tenure over the parcel then described as amounting to 480 acres (Lowrie 1834:380). Development of these properties was probably minimal, with livestock holdings as indicated in an 1802 census of the farms amounting to no more than one horse and two head of cattle on the Susor property and one horse and four cattle on the Robert property (Dubois and Tobin 1907:538). As depicted in map representa- tions of the subject parcel throughout the nineteenth century, Hellenberg Field consisted of three island formations, the largest of which was divided from the mainland by a narrow bayou (Figures 2 and 3). Variously known as Joseph Robert's Island and Strong Island, it is urfflkely that any significant structural elements 8 C of M VES-79 existed on the property during this period. At most, it can be assumed that the larger of the islands may have been used for agriculture or pasture land. Its initial designation as "Joseph Robert's Island" conceivably indicates primary usage of the parcel by this individual (Monroe 1831 (Z):107). Precise locational information relative to the Duval, Robert and Susor house sites is lacking. As with most structural elements associated with the French ribbon farm system established along the River Raisin, these can be assumed to have been positioned in close proximity to the river in the vicinity of present-day East Front Street and to the south of the filled-in bayou. An 1839 survey of the area illustrates the positioning of the Front Street right-of-way through these farms, undoubtedly reflecting the route of the thoroughfare as it existed during the earlier phase of settlement (Figure 2a). In 1845 the alignment of East Front from the west boundary of the Robert farm (P.C. 161) to the dock and warehouse facilities east of the Duval tract (P.C. 346) was laid out as a straight line traversing the small private parcels now fronting the south side of Hellenberg Field (Babcock 1845). This plan was never implemented, quite possibly because of soil conditions encountered in the vicinity of the bayou or because of the impacts on extant structures. As laid out in 1847, Front Street is illustrated in a plat of that year as taking a slight southerly bend at the western edge of Private Claim 161 and a corresponding turn toward the east of the west line of Private Claim 166 (Dural 1847). The bayou at the latter point is illustrated as running to within 40 feet of the road. The accuracy of this depiction is disputable, in that succeeding maps of the area tend to illustrate the bayou location as being well in excess of a hundred feet north-northeast of the roadway (Figures 2b and 3a). These latter maps of the area do furnish an interesting perspective to researchers in their illustration of a structure location abutting the north edge of the road near its bend at the division line of Private Claims 161 and 166 (Figures 2b and 3a). This structure location, now the site of the Floyd C. Panther property (lots 4M1460 and 4M1460-1), provides a range of inferential data which may directly relate to final routing of Front Street in the late 1840s and may also be indicative of habitation zone positioning on the Susor farm during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. 9 C of M 2/ES-79 Scant. information relative to the early nineteenth century utilization of the study area survives. Historically, these grounds figured significantly in the retreat of the United States forces subsequent to their defeat by the British and Indians on the north side of the River Raisin on January 22, 1813. At the time of Louis Susor's death in May, 1811, his property passed into the hands of his widow and children, the former of whom continued to reside on the property up through the mid-1830s. Joseph Robert lived on P.C. 161 until his death during the cholera epidemic of 1834. Several years previous, on April 11, 1831, he sold off the 10 acres forming the island segment of his farm for $25.00 to Chester Stuart (Monroe County 1831 (R):107). Stuart, who later operated a grist mill in the Waterloo area, undoubtedly made this purchase with the idea in mind of a similar venture, presumably hoping to convert the bayou into a mill race. Whatever his motive for acquisition may have been, four years later, on May 18, 1835, he sold the property for $400.00 to Austin E. Wing, a Monroe resident, and his partner, Junius H. Hatch of New 'York City (Monroe County 1835 (P):308). The seemingly inflated price of the property at this time is more likely the result of inflated bank currency issues rather than an indicator of any improvements that Stuart may have made. Unregulated banking practices brought in by the Jackson Administration, combined with intensified land speculation in Michigan during this period, served in many cases to expand property values many times beyond their actual worth. Having served as territorial delegate to Congress between 1825 and 1829 and again.from 1831 to 1833, Wing's Eastern contacts made him a power to be reckoned with in this game. By the late 1830s virtually all of the River Raisin lands east of Private Claim 161 were in Wing's possession, either individually or through partnerships (Bodell. 1839). Several days before his purchase of the 10-acre island property (P.C. 161), Wing had also, on May 15, 1835, purchased the entire 240-acre Susor farm (P.C. 166) for $4,000.00 (Monroe County 1835 (P):306). The financial collapse of 1837 marked the close of the Michigan land boom, reducing property. prices to their values of almost a decade earlier. Wing, as a big investor, was also a big loser during this period. In November, 1845, he transferred Private Claim 166 to Charles G. Johnson for the recorded compensa- tion of $1.00 (Monroe County 1845 (KK):528). Subsequent to Wing's death in 1849 the 10-acre island parcel was sold by the state for back taxes to George W. Strong 10 C of M VES-79 for $14.10 on February 3, 1855 (Jones 1855). This seems to simply represent a convenient add-on to other properties Strong or his sons had already acquired in the area. These included the northern segment of the Susor farm above East Front Street, which had been subdivided by Charles Johnson from the main property and sold to Harry V. Mann on January 27, 1849, for $575.00 (Monroe County 1849 (QQ):210). Paying $400.00 for the Front Street parcel and $175.00 for the island segment of the tract, Mann soon sold the entire property to Strong's eldest son, George A. Strong, on February 15, 1850, for $1,650.00. This increased evaluation primarily resulted from the erection of a steam-powered saw mill towards the southeast edge of Private Claim 166, within an area presently bounded by house lot properties 4M1465, 4M1466, 4M1467, 4M1467-1 and 4M1468 (Figures 1 and 3a). This presumably was the same saw and plaster mill reported in other accounts as having been built by George W. Strong in 1848 (Anonymous 1892). George W. Strong had settled in Monroe in 1831/1832 and by 1834 was involved with Capt. Henry Smith in developing the piers and breakwater at the Raisin Point docks. Establishing a store and warehouse at this location, Strong soon became the major grain and flour merchant of the area dealing with the more easterly market places in New York and Canada. During the mid-1830s he was also responsible for the construction of the flat-bottomed steamer Elvira Smith and the 35-ton sloop Revenge. In 1842-1843 he was responsible for the excavation of the City Ship Canal which allowed for the removal of the Monroe port facility to a point closer to the city on the River Raisin just east of the study area. Moving his warehouse to this location in 1843, Strong also had three additional steamers constructed during this period: the Helen Strong (1842), the Macomb (1842) and the Baltimore (1846). As a previous State Director of the Lake Shore Railroad, Strong employed the latter vessel as a freight and passenger carrier under contract with the newly organized Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad until 1848. During that year the Baltimore was sold and pulled over the rapids at Sault St. Marie, and was the first steamer to ply Lake Superior. Between 1846 and 1854, Strong served several times as a city alderman and as one of two state-appointed steamboat inspectors between 1850 and 1858. At the time of his purchase of the Wing Estate default lands in P.C. 161, Strong was also serving as mayor of Monroe. 11 C of M VES-79 The meager data relating to George A. Strong identify him as the captain of his father's ship, the Helen Strong, at the time it sank in 1845. Undoubtedly associated with the family business, he appears to have associated himself with a younger brother, Thurlow A. Strong, in the saw mill operation, while another brother, Thomas T. Strong, is recorded as having purchased the adjoining 10-acre island tract from their father on March 26, 1855, for $150.00 (Strong 1855). In 1861 George A. Strong was appointed captain in the 15th Michigan Infantry and died the following year as a result of wounds variously reported to have been received either at the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing or Shiloh (Anonymous 1892). The mill property at that time reverted to his father, with the mill itself continuing in operation until at least as late as 1871 (Figure 3a). In 1890 virtually all of George W. Strong's holdings, which included the entirety of the Private Claim 166 river frontage and portions of Private Claims 161 and 346, were transferred to the possession of Thurlow A. Strong. With minor changes such as engendered by the subdivision and sale of the East Front Street lots, between 1919 and 1925, the study area remained in the possession of the Strong Estate until 1941, when it was purchased by Antonio Marino, who five years later, on July 16, 1946, sold it to the City. The last holding to remain in the Strong family estate hands consisted of lots 4M1458-1, 4M1459 and 4M1460, which were purchased by Marino in 1944. As previously noted, these grounds are presently in the possession of Floyd C. Panther and represent a likely area for the Susor family habitation site on Private Claim 166. Information relating to this parcel indicates that it originally encom- passed a 100 by 125 foot lot forming the northeast corner of East Front Street and western boundary line of Private Claim 166. This lot originally formed part of the Henry Disbrow Estate holdings, Disbrow being one of Wing's partners and creditors, until being purchased by Thurlow Strong on January 18, 1854, for $1.00 and unspecified considerations (Monroe 1854 (43):293). Several years later, on January 2, 1858, the property was sold to Chrisley Diffenbaugh for $200.00 and later, on August 18, 1865, to a certain Peter Kiley for $600.00 (Monroe 1858 (50):99, Monroe 1865 (64):317). As a result of nonpayment of the mortgage agreement, the lot eventually reverted to Diffenbaugh's hands in 1877 and was sold by Chrisley's widow, Helen, in 1893 to Susan Chinnerre for $280.00. Being 12 C of M 5/ES-79 identified as the property "commonly called the Diffenbaugh homestead," the lot was shortly afterwards acquired by James Duval and on March 13, 1901, was sold to Henry St. Bernard for $350.00 (Monroe 1893 (132):391; Monroe 1901 (149):421). As noted on the 1901 Lang map of the city, the St. Bernard house (i.e., Diffenbaugh) was the only structure located on the Hellenburg Field site area at the turn of the century (Figure 3b). Although more precise information relative to these early occupants of the lot was unavailable within the time constraints demanded by this study, it seems reasonable to speculate that some sort of business association probably existed between Diffenbaugh and the Strong's at the time of the former's purchase of the house lot property, quite possibly in relation to the nearby mill site. Later city directories, at any rate, note a certain George B. Diffenbaugh as being a clerk at Strong's Hotel during the mid-1870s (Burch, Montgomery and Company 1874:28). Sometime subsequent to the St. ' Bernard purchase, the property reverted to Strong ownership until the Marino purchase. Panther possession of the three lots stems from two purchases in 1955 and 1974. Precise information regarding the filling-in of the bayou was unavail- able, but the conversion of the bayou to dry ground probably can be initially attributed to the blocking of river drainage as a result of railroad construction. This situation originated with the opening of a river crossing by the Michigan Southern Railroad in c. 1866 and the subsequent opening of an adjacent line by the Michigan Central Railroad in c. 1876. By 1901 the Electric Railroad bridge over the River Raisin was also opened, traversing the far western edge of Hellenberg Field and crossing the bayou (Figure 3b). Although tax descriptions continue to refer to the bayou as late as 1919, by 1934 Monroe Engineering Department maps of the lower end of the island designate this waterway as an "Old Bayou (partly filled)" (Weaver 1934). In 1938 the Strong Estate agreed to allow the property to be used as a spoil disposal site for dredgings removed from nearby Nigger Island (Strong 1938). This procedure was not implemented, however, until the early 1970s. While the north end of Hellenberg Field was employed for spoil stockpiling 13 C of M 6/ES-79 at that time, actual disposal is variously reported as having been carried out at nearby landfills and on Sterling Island immediately adjacent to Hellenberg Field (Steven Petty, personal communication 8-13-87). 14 C of M VES-79 CHAPTER 4 METHODOLOGY AND EXCAVATION DESCRIPTIONS A preliminary investigation of the northwestern half of the Hellenberg Field property was conducted on August 13 and 14, 1987. A total of 16 test excavation units ranging from a minimum of 115 cm to 198 cm in depth (Table 1; Figure 1) were mechanically opened using a backhoe. These averaged approximately 1 x 4 m in size and were arranged in four roughly aligned transects generally spaced at 30 m intervals or less. Spoil removed from each excavation was shovel examined and artifacts either collected or recorded before disposal. The side walls of each unit were examined and column profile stratigraphies measured and drawn. Although virtually all of the units opened during this examination exhibit at least minor amounts of land fill, four units associated with the riverfront (3) and the filled-in bayou location (14, 15 and 16) possessed fill elements in excess of 1.5 meters in depth (Table 1; Figure 1). In situ soil elements were apparently encountered in Test Units 14 and 16 with the gastropod-bearing gray silty muck lens of the former encountered at 166 cm below surface, probably being equivalent to the A2 soil horizon encountered in association with riverfront Test Units 1, 2 and 4 (Table 1; Figure 1). The Al soil horizon encountered in Test Units 1, 2 and 4 appears to match the A horizon soils earlier described in Shott with reference to the iron oxide precipitates encountered in that level within his Trench 2 excavation (Shott 1985:5). This appears to be a naturally occurring phenomenon, observable as staining and nodule concretions within the soil matrix. Resulting from the leaching effects of water and similar agents, this precipitate is representative of the same process as occurs in bog iron formation. The Al soils encountered along the riverfront margin of the park may, in fact, represent a heavily modified version of the yellow clay loams which comprise the chief soil type forming the remainder of the site and defined in this study as the B2 horizon. This soil exhibits numerous black stain inclusions with minimal oxidation and grades into a black clayey humic zone, identified as the B1 horizon, which undoubtedly represents a buried surface soil zone. These were respectively identified in Shott's excavation of Trench 5 as the Lower A and Upper A soil components (Shott 1985:6, 15 C of M VES-79 TABLE 1 HELLENBERG FIELD TEST EXCAVATIONS 1987: SOIL LEVELS Test Approx. soil Horizon Unit Elevation (ft) Level Description Depth (cm) Associations 1 575.8 1 Sod/black topsoil - ash fill 0-30 2 Brown-gray silty clay silt - oxide stain 30-98 A-1 3 Gray silty.muck with gastropods and twigs 98-150 A-2 2 575.8 1 Sod/black topsoil - ash fill 0-24 2 Brown-gray clay silt - oxide stains 24-85 A-1 3 Gray silty muck with gastropods and twigs 85-115 A-2 3 576.0 1 Sod/black topsoil fill 0-33 2 Oxide nodules 33-35 3 Black-gray clay fill 35-82 4 Yellow clay fill 82-140 4 576.5 1 Sod/black topsoil fill 0-40 2 Brown-gray clay silt - oxide stains 40-84 A-1 3 Yellow-tan sand 84-88 4 Gray silty muck with gastropods and twigs 88-172 A-2 5 576.1 1 Sod/black topsoil fill 0-40 2 Black clayey humic zone (buried) 40-76 B-1 3 Yellow clay loam with black inclusions 76-125 B-2 6 576.0 1 Sod/black topsoil fill 0-24 2 Yellow clay loam with black inclusions 24-94 B-2 3 Yellow sandy loam 94-124 B-4 C of M 1/ES-79 TABLE 1 (Continued) Test Approx. soil Horizon Unit Elevation (ft) Level Description Depth (cML Associations 7 576.0 1 Sod/black topsoil fill 0-23 2 Yellow clay loam with black inclusions 23-94 B-2 3 Yellow sands 94-107 B-3 4 Yellow sandy loam 107-127 B-4 8 576.1 1 Sod/black topsoil fill 0-30 2 Yellow clay loam with black inclusions 30-100 B-2 3 Yellow sands 100-131 B-3 9 576.5 1 Sod/black topsoil fill 0-14 2 Stiff yellow clay fill 14-51 3 Black clayey humic zone (buried) 57-78 B-1 4 Yellow clay loam with black inclusions 78-132 B-2 10 576.4 1 Sod/black topsoil fill 0-20 2 Stiff yellow clay fill 20-52 3 Black clayey humic zone (buried) 52-78 B-1 4 Yellow clay loam with black inclusions 58-122 B-2 11 576.5 1 Soil/black topsoil fill 0-18 2 Stiff yellow clay fill 18-40 3 Black clayey humic zone (buried) 40-55 B-1 4 Yellow clay loam with black inclusions 55-130 B-2 12 576.6 1 Sod/black topsoil fill 0-22 2 Stiff black clay fill 22-47 3 Stiff yellow clay fill 47-50 4 Black clayey humic zone (buried) 50-62 B-1 5 Yellow clay loam with black inclusions 62-132 B-2 C of M 2/ES-79 TABLE 1 (Continued) Test Approx. soil Horizon Unit Elevation (ft) Level Description Depth (cML Associations 13 576.3 1 Sod/black topsoil fill 0-38 2 Stiff yellow clay fill 38-43 3 Black clayey humic zone (buried) 43-61 B-1 4 Yellow clay loam with black inclusions 61-184 B-2 5 Yellow sands 184-198 B-3 14 576.5 1 Sod/black topsoil fill 0-3 2 Stiff yellow clay fill 3-23 3 Black clay-ash-brick-bats, etc. fill 23-106 4 Blue-gray clay fill 106-166 5 Gray silty muck with gastropods and twigs 166-175 A-2 00 15 576.1 1 Sod/black topsoil fill 0-17 2 Yellow-black sand fill 17-34 3 Black clay-ash-brick-bats, etc. fill 34-64 4 Blue-gray clay f ill 64-164 16 576.3 1 Sod/black topsoil fill 0-13 2 Yellow-black sand fill 13-31 3 Black clay-ash-brick-bats, etc. fill 31-52 4 Stiff yellow-black clay fill 52-176 5 Gray-black sand and pebble 176-185 C of M 3/ES-79 Figure 7). As observed during the present investigations, the B2 component was noted throughout Test Units 5 through 13. Buried Bl elements were observable in Test Units 5 and 9 through 13, with the possibility of inclusion within the existing surface sod level of Test Units 6 through 8 (Table 1). An underlying yellow sandy loam identified in Test Units 6 and 7 as horizon B4 can be equated with Shott's B horizon in Trench 5 and is also presumably equivalent to the Ceresco fine sandy loam identified as the chief soil variety forming the site (Bowman 1981:57; Shott 1985:6, Figure 7). Within Test Unit 7, the BI and B4 horizons are divided by a yellow gritty sand lens identified in Table 1 as horizon B3. This element was also noted in Test Units 8 and 13, with minor amounts of gastropod shell occurring in the former. 19 C of M 2/ES-79 CHAPTER 5 ARTIFACTS Artifact associations observed during the Hellenberg Field investigations were minimal. Minor amounts of broken limestone cinder and fragmented clear bottle glass of recent manufacture were identified within the Bl soil horizon of Test Unit 13. Similarly, recent artifact varieties consisting of fragmented stoneware crockery, decal decorated and undecorated white soft paste sherds, bottle and window glass, and oxidized miscellaneous metal fragments were noted within the black-clay fill zones of Test Units 14 through 16. Among the more diagnostic items associated with this latter element were a number of bottle forms recovered from Test Unit 14. As a group, this debris was of interest not so much with regard to on-site consumption patterning of the neighboring East Front Street households, but rather as a dating device in establishing the temporal setting of the upper fill levels of the bayou. Among the articles recovered from this black clay deposit was a crown cap green-colored soda bottle with the embossed script I'DIKEMAN BOTTLING WORKS MONROE, MICH," and base marked I'D/PAT NOV 27 1923.11 Other items included two "PONDS" cold cream milk glass jars marked with the embossed logo of the Hazel-Atlas Glass Company, which operated out of Wheeling, West Virginia, from 1920 to 1964; two clear glass bottles with embossed Owens Bottle Company marks falling within a 1911-1929 date range; a clear glass bottle from the Owens Illinois Glass Company date marked with an embossed 11411, presumably indicative of a 1933 production date; a Whithall-Tatum and Company specimen with the 11W.T. & Co." device employed until 1935; and a ten-sided pickle jar with the Capstan Glass Company logo dating to the 1918-1937 period (Toulouse 1972:239, 393, 403, 544, 548). If nothing else, a mid-1930s filling date for the bayou can be postulated on the basis of this evidence. This is in agreement with the available literature sources, in particular with the 1934 Weaver plat which identified the "Old Bayou" at that time as having been "partly filled." C of M VES-79 20 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The results of the excavations conducted at the Hellenberg Field park property indicate that no adverse impacts to cultural resources are anticipated to occur. Beyond the minimal amount of early twentieth century material culture debris associated with the upper soil levels of the bayou land fill, nothing of note was encountered throughout the tested area. As a result of these findings, no further Phase II or III studies are recommended for the park property, as it presently exists. With regard to the proposed 16 acquisition lots along East Front Street, the majority of habitations now existing on these properties can be attributed to a c. 1919-1930 construction phase commensurate with their subdivision and sale from the Strong 'Estate holdings. The single exception to this pattern may well be associated with the rental house located on lot 4M1460-1 of the Floyd C. Panther property. This two-story unit exhibits two add-on wings, a faceted concrete block foundation and aluminum siding. Although heavily modified in its present appearance, historical documentation points to a high probability of a mid- nineteenth century origin for this structure with the added likelihood of its association with an even earlier phase of utilization quite possibly dating back to the period of Susor occupation. While detailed examination of this structure was not conducted, a street side visual scan of the premises by Demeter in company with Matthew Switlik, Director of the Monroe County Historical Museum, led to the concurrence that a more thorough architectural review of the unit should be conducted upon city purchase. This could initially consist of the simple removal of later dating veneer elements that presently screen construction detail. Switlik further suggested the possibility of utilizing the building as a staging-storage or inter- pretive facility for the Frenchtown Days celebrations held annually at Hellenberg Field for the past several years. This would, of course, hinge upon the determina- tion of the structure's association with Susor occupation. 21 C of M VES-79 The question of whether the existing structure actually represents an ethnic French late eighteenth century dwelling is in one sense inconsequential to the archeological potential of the location. Enough documentation exists pointing, at least problematically, to the utilization of the property during the pre-Strong period of tenure. The selective segregation of the grounds into a 100 x 125 foot lot in the early 1850s, combined with its avoidance during the 1847 Front Street reroute, strongly indicates on-site structural development. As such, we would recommend that a Phase I archeological survey program be implemented on the properties presently designated as lots 4M1458-1, 4M1460 and 4M1460-1. Unlike the park property to the north-northeast, it appears that these grounds were not subjected to the same sort of land filling practices implemented along the riverfront. The exception to this situation would necessarily be associated with the filled-in bayou whose exact positioning can not accurately be determined at this time and may, in fact, encompass the northern third of the Floyd C. Panther property (Figure 1). This being the case, a combination of both hand shovel and mechanical excavation survey techniques 'would seem to be warranted to adequately access the archeological potential of this location. A similar approach may also be implemented in association with the steam saw mill site, which appears to have been situated on the far east-southeast margin of Private Claim 166 within the area of present-day lots 4M1464, 4M1465, 4MI466, 4M1467, 4M1467-1 and 4M1468 (Figure 1). This facility appears to have existed on the site during the c. 1848-1871 period. While similar facilities, such as the identically dated Bugbee-Benson saw mill examined during the St. Aubin Park excavations (Demeter 1987), have provided only minimal evidence relative to the functional utilization of such locations, the Strong mill site still represents a real element of archeological interest which may provide further clues in the opera- tional usage of such early industrial locations. 22 C of M 2/ES-79 BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson, John c. 1815 War Claims Map for the Battle of the River Raisin. Photocopy maintained at the Monroe County Historical Museum, Monroe. 1817 Survey of the Military Road from the Town of Monroe, River Raisin to the Miami River. Photocopy maintained at the Monroe County Historical Museum, Monroe. Anonymous 1892 Capt. George W. Strong. Newspaper obituary clipping maintained at the Monroe County Historical Museum, Monroe. 1925 Picturesque Monroe Figure Passes Away: T.A. Strong, 94. Newspaper obituary clipping maintained at the Monroe County Historical Museum, Monroe. 1984 Hellenberg Field: Raisin River about 1840. File Number F, Engineering Department, City of Monroe. 1986 Hellenberg Field: Phase 11. File Number F, Engineering Department, Babcock, T. City of Monroe. 1845 Survey of Front Street in the City of Monroe. Blue line copy maintained at the Engineering Department, City of Monroe. Beers, F.W., Company 1876 County Atlas of Monroe, Michigan. New York. Berrien, T.M. 1835 Map No. 1 of Monroe and Marshall Railroad. Photocopy maintained at the Monroe County Historical Museum, Monroe. Bodell, B.W. 1839 Monroe, Michigan: Traced from original map of 1839 in the year of 1923. Blue line copy maintained at the Engineering Department, City of Monroe. Bowman, W.L. 1981 Soil Survey of Monroe County, Michigan U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. Bulkley, John McClelland 1913 History of Monroe County, Michigan. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago. Burch, Montgomery and Company (Publisher) 1874 Monroe City Directory, Adrian. 23 C of M VES-79 Demeter, C. Stephan 1987 St. Aubin Park: Archeological Testing (II). Gilbert/Commonwealth Report No. R-2861. Jackson, Michigan. Denissen, Christian 1976 Genealogy of the French Families of the Detroit River Region, 1701- 1911, edited by Harold Frederick Powell. Detroit Society for Genealogical Research, Detroit. Detroit Free Press 1909 Well Known Monroe Couple Celebrate Golden Wedding: Mr. and Mrs. T.A. Strong. Newspaper clipping maintained at the Monroe County Historical Museum, Monroe. Donohue, Robert E. 1984 River Raisin Battlefield Site (20MR227): National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form. Dubois, Etienne, and Joseph Tobin 1907 County Tax List - Listers Returns, Sargent Township Tax, 1802. Dural, Henry Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections 7:536-539. 1847 ..Diagram of a Survey for a Road... (untitled plat). Blue line copy maintained at the Engineering Department, City of Monroe. Geil, Harley and Siverd (Publisher) 1859 Map of Monroe County, Michigan. Philadelphia. Jones, Whitney 1855 Deed: Auditor General of the State of Michigan to George W. Strong. Monroe County Historical Commission Archives, Monroe County Historical Museum, Monroe. Lang, George E. 1901 Map of Monroe County, Michigan Carleton, Michigan. Link, Donald 1985 Hellenberg Field: Existing Site Elevations. Sheet 4 of 10, File Number F-2323, Engineering Department, City of Monroe. Lowrie@ Walter 1834 American State Papers: Public Lands. Duff Green, Washington. Monroe, City of 1839- City of Monroe - Sales of Lots and Lands for Taxes; Including sales 1851 from Delinquent Land Taxes: 1839-1851. Monroe County Historical Commission Archives, Monroe County Historical Museum, Monroe. 24 C of M 2/ES-79 1840- City of Monroe Assessment Rolls: 1840-1842. Monroe County 1842 Historical Commission Archives, Monroe County Historical Museum, Monroe. 1919 City Tax Roll, Monroe, 3rd Precinct. Monroe County Historical Commission Archives, Monroe County Historical Museum, Monroe. 1981 River Raisin Battle and Massacre: Coastal Zone Management Program. Department of Community Development, City of Monroe. 1828- Deed Libers I through Z. Register of Deeds, County of Monroe. 1835 1844- Deed Libers JJ through QQ. Register of Deeds, County of Monroe. 1850 1854- Deed Libers 43 through 977. Register of Deeds, County of Monroe. 1986 Ogle, George A., and Company (Publisher) 1896 Standard Atlas of Monroe County, Michigan. Chicago. Pauli, C.J. 1894. Aerial View of Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan. Milwaukee. Ruger, A. 1866 Monroe, Monroe CountV, Michigan. Battle Creek. Strong, Edna 1938 Contract with City of Monroe. Photocopy, source unrecorded. Strong, George W. 1855 Quit Claim Deed to Thomas T. Strong. Monroe County Historical Commission Archives, Monroe County Historical Museum, Monroe. 1890 Quit Claim Deed to Thurlow A. Strong. Monroe County Historical Commission Archives, Monroe County Historical Museum, Monroe. Shott, Michael 1985 Report of Phase I Archaeological Investigations at Hellenberg Field, T7S, R9E, Monroe County, Michiga . Report prepared for Depart- ment of Community Development, City of Monroe. Toulouse, Julian H. 1972 Bottle Makers and Their Marks. Thomas Nelson, Inc., New York. Weaver, Stuart M. 1934 East Front Street Relocation and Sewage Disposal Site: Sheet 1 of 3. File Number D-30. City of Monroe Michigan, Engineering Depart- ment. 25 C of M VES-79 Willitts, Waters and Bird 1871 Map of Monroe County, Michigan. Wing, Talcott E. (Editor) 1890 History of Monroe County, Michiga Munsell and Company, New York. 26 C of M VES-79 NOAA COASTAL SERVICES CTR LIBRARY 1 3 6668 14111873 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 .1 v I i I