James A. Delle

Heritage Tourism and Community Outreach: Public Archaeology at the Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith Site in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA

Historic sites serve as windows into the past that rely on material culture to narrate the past to the public. This narration serves as a dialogue between archaeologists and the public, creating a relationship that shapes community and individual awareness of heritage. However, heritage is a mediated and constructed concept that expresses particular histories to support specific agendas, ranging from scholarly archaeological research to urban renewal and redevelopment. The Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith Historic Site in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, provides an opportunity to examine how the creation and interpretation of a heritage tourism destination combine to create a form of public archaeology.

Archaeology at the Parvin Homestead: Searching for the Material Legacy of the Underground Railroad

Archaeological evidence of the Underground Railroad is difficult to identify and interpret, as the archaeological signature of sites relating to the Underground Railroad is defined by the clandestine and transient nature of the movement of fugitives. Archaeologists’ understanding of the material legacy of the Underground Railroad is further clouded by legends identifying houses of local luminaries as Underground Railroad sites, often with minimal corroborating evidence. In 2000 and again in 2005, archaeological investigations were conducted at the Parvin Homestead, in Berks County, Pennsylvania, reputed by local oral tradition to be an Underground Railroad safe house. The current owners contend that 19th-century occupants harbored African Americans escaping from slavery and that a network of tunnels used for this purpose crisscross the property. Historical research and archaeological excavations were conducted to determine whether tunnels existed on the property and whether any other material legacy of the Underground Railroad could be identified.

Remembering the Women of Vine Street: Archaeology and Historic Preservation of an Urban Landscape in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

This chapter analyzes a gendered landscape in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, based on our excavation of a property once owned by a free African-American woman, Lydia Hamilton Smith, who was the housekeeper of Thaddeus Stevens, an abolitionist and leading congressman during the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era. Stevens and Smith were only the most famous residents of the property; in this chapter we examine this property as an example of a microcosmic landscape through which we interpret changes in the social and physical landscape of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, over time. Our focus is on an urban houselot, located at the corner of Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster, known locally as Lot 134.

Archaeology, Intangible Heritage, and the Negotiation of Urban Identity in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has recently experienced a heritage crisis and renewal precipitated by the closing of the Bon Ton, the last downtown department store, and the shuttering of the landmark Watt and Shand Building. Having been the anchor of Penn Square, the city’s physical and social center, the Watt and Shand was perceived by many as a central component of local identity formation, reflecting not only its importance as a manifestation of tangible heritage, but its importance as an arena for the negotiation of the intangible heritage of ritualized consumerism. This article examines the processes of heritage creation and urban renewal by exploring the closing of the Watt and Shand Building, how and why alternative uses of the building were negotiated, and how an alternative heritage narrative emerged through an archaeological investigation of the homes of a radical congressman, Thaddeus Stevens, and his African American associate, Lydia Hamilton Smith.

The Hector Backbone: A Quiescent Landscape of Conflict

The Hector Backbone, a ridge running north-south between New York’s Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, appears at first glance to be a peaceful stretch of woodland and pasture protected as part of the Finger Lakes National Forest. Upon closer inspection, the Backbone can be seen as a microcosm of American conflict. The area was settled only after the indigenous Iroquoian people were violently removed. This ethnic cleansing was followed by the imposition of an orderly grid. The landscape was carved into farmsteads that, following a brief period of prosperity, fell victim to conflict inherent in the capitalist system. Unable to compete with factory farming techniques and the increased commodification of agrarian products, local producers fell into ruin. This paper analyzes how these conflicts can be read in this seemingly pastoral landscape.