Excavations |
| When
archeological survey began, only one known structure
dating to the Guy Town era remained the Schneider
Store. A once-thriving and respectable mainstay of
the community during the late 1900s, the mercantile
building stood vacant for many years. It is now undergoing
restoration to be used as an office by descendants
of the Schneider family. |
The
Schneider Store, September 2001
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| Other
buildings from the nineteenth century had been demolished
over time to make way for more modern edifices and
parking lots. In order to target areas identified
on historic maps as having contained early structures,
Hicks & Co. archeologists first excavated in long
trenches using a trackhoe. |
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Later
excavation phases employed a front end loader to
carefully scrape the surface of each block. This
technique succeeded in exposing in plan view most
of the buried features.
A
variety of evidence relating to historic Guy Town
and later post-1920's activities was found during
the excavation of 4 city blocks. The architectural
remains of Estelle Gilman's boarding house for women,
which operated roughly between 1905 and 1913 and
saw its share of male visitors, was found on one
block. The two-story house had been built atop the
location of an earlier one story residence that
had been the home of former slaves since 1867. Artifacts
recovered from this area included, among other items,
a bullet, a spur, and a metal corset rib.
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|
This
test unit was placed inside the brick foundation
skirting of Estelle Gilman's boarding house.
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On
the same block, archeologists uncovered a massive
quantity of artifacts from a turn of the century
trash dump in an alleyway behind Guy Town era brothels
and saloons. In addition, two lines of privies were
found located directly behind buildings facing 2nd
Street and Colorado Street.
On
another block, the limestone foundation of a four-room
residence with two fireplaces; a brick-lined cistern;
and two privies were uncovered. On adjoining lots,
excavations revealed a deep, brick-lined well, a
limestone cistern, and other privies with artifacts
dating to the mid- to late-nineteenth century.
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Archeologists
excavate a large privy from the turn of the century.
Stone
foundation & cistern for a former rent house. This
house was built prior to 1873 and occupied until
circa 1945.
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| Excavations
on yet another block revealed a remarkably well preserved
complex of features. On the south half of Block 22
the Bozeth House, the Susan Morgan Boarding House,
and the Schneider family complex were all present
under the slab foundations of twentieth century buildings.
Associated with these structural features were outbuildings,
cisterns, wells, privies, trash pits, garden plots,
and even a possible fountain. However, perhaps the
most fascinating of all features was the subterranean
pre-Civil War limestone beer vault,
built by German brewer Jeanne Schneider. Together
these features and their associated artifacts offer
a unique snapshot of the lives of long-time Guy Town
residents. |
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