A Cultural Resources Survey of the Proposed
Bethany Square Development Area in Bethania:
A Historic District in Forsyth County,
North Carolina
by
Bruce S. Idol
Roger W. Kirchen
Stephen T. Trage
Wake Forest Archeology Laboratories
J. Ned Woodall, Principal Investigator
Report Submitted to Kenabeck Builders and the
City/County Planning Board of Forsyth County
October, 1996
Table of Contents
- Abstract
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Management Summary
- Project Area
- Geology
- Soils
- Climate
- Flora
- Fauna
- Background Research
- Prehistoric Overview
- Historic Overview
- Previous Archeological Research
- Research Methods
- Results of Survey
- Archeological Stratigraphy
- The Stauber House (NC Site #31Fy1031**)
- Summary and Recommendations
- References Cited
- Appendix - Artifact Inventory
A Phase I cultural resources survey was performed by personnel
from the Wake Forest Archeology Laboratories in an area to be
affected by residential construction within the Bethania Historic
District, Forsyth County, North Carolina. The cultural resources
survey documented the existence of an extensive scatter of cultural
materials within the former orchard and upland lots of the original
Bethania settlement. The architectural ruins of the late nineteenth
century Stauber House (NC Site # 31Fy1031**) were documented, as
well as the existence of old field/property boundaries in the form
of low berms. No prehistoric artifacts were recovered during the
survey.
The above-ground ruins of the Stauber House have been
redeposited, although some sub-surface structural elements may
remain undetected. The intact remains of a fieldstone pathway or
yard area were documented by the survey. A possible buried horizon
was encountered approximately 40 meters from the presumed house
location, but further shovel tests revealed that this deposit was
not extensive.
The Stauber House is a potential contributing element under
Criterion A and D of the Bethania National Register Nomination as
a Historic District, and additional archeological and archival
research are required to assess this potential. In the absence of
further archeological investigations, it is recommended that heavy
earth-moving and other destructive construction activities be
avoided in the area of the Stauber House.
We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Andrea
Armstrong, of the City/County Planning Board of Forsyth County who
provided information and maps of the project area. Michael Hartley,
of Old Salem Inc., generously provided maps and shared his
extensive knowledge of Bethania's past. Herman and Peggy Stoltz of
Bethania provided information concerning the past uses of the
project area land. We would also like to thank Dan Dockery of
Kenabeck Builders for his interest and assistance during the
project. At the Wake Forest Archeology Laboratories, Dana Ivey
assisted with artifact processing and Bill Terrell examined faunal
material recovered during the survey.
Bruce Idol
Roger Kirchen
Steve Trage
Wake Forest University Archeology Laboratories
October, 1996
This report details the results of a cultural resources
inventory of a 10 acre tract slated for development within the
Historic District of Bethania, Forsyth County, North Carolina. The
survey of the property was performed from September 13 - October 3,
1996 by personnel from the Wake Forest University Archeology
Laboratories. Almost all of the project area is located within the
expanded Bethania Historic District (Hartley et al. 1990). The
purpose of this survey was to inventory the area for cultural
features of possible contributing significance to the Historic
District.
The survey of this tract was accomplished by subsurface
testing at 20 meter intervals in all areas lacking evidence of
prior disturbance, and pedestrian surface survey. Since the entire
survey area exhibited less than 40% surface visibility, test pits
were used throughout the survey tract, and supplemented in some
areas by surface inspection.
The survey revealed a light subsurface scatter of nineteenth
and twentieth century artifacts, reflecting the casual accumulation
of debris generated by the nearby residential lots. No structural
remains were observed in the area. The only cultural features
observed were two intersecting "berms" or old fence boundaries.
The remains of a late nineteenth century house structure (the
Stauber House, NC Site # 31Fy1031**), which was destroyed in the
late 1930's, were found in the southwest corner of the project
area. Only two undisturbed architectural elements related to the
house were observed; the site exists mainly in the form of
archeological remains. Historic artifacts from the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries are abundant from test pits in the structure
area. Intact subsurface structural remains observed included a
stone slab walkway or yard area and an iron pipe protruding from an
eroded bank and encountered below the surface in a shovel test pit.
Although above ground remains of the house have been mechanically
redeposited at some time in the past, intact and undisturbed
subsurface remains may exist. Additional testing would be required
to assess the Stauber House site as a contributing resource under
Criterion D of Bethania's National Register Nomination.
Historic period artifacts were present in most shovel test
pits in the eastern half of the project area's main tract. These do
not appear to be associated with any previously existing structures
in the area, but instead reflect the casual disposal and spread of
domestic and construction debris from nearby residential lots and
occupation of the Stauber House during the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. These artifact scatters were not treated as individual
sites in the field, and were not assigned site numbers.
An intensive cultural resources survey was conducted at the
proposed Bethany Square Development tract in Bethania, Forsyth
County, North Carolina, by the Wake Forest Archeology Laboratories
for Kenabeck Builders. The survey recovered a total of 308 historic
period artifacts, documented the presence of old fence/property
lines, and located the remains of the late nineteenth century
Stauber House. No standing structures exist within the project
area.
The two berms may mark old upland lot property/field
boundaries, and are potentially contributing resources under the
National Register form of Bethania, which includes features of the
landscape as significant. These features will likely be destroyed
by the construction of a permanent access road to the center of the
proposed residential area. Although Criterion D of the National
Register of Historic Places applies, the archeological study of a
similar feature in Forsyth County (see below) indicates that no
significant new information would be gained from further
archeological study of the berms. No additional archeological work
is recommended for that area.
The Stauber House site is a potential contributing resource
under Criterion A and D of the Bethania National Register form,
which establishes a period of significance from 1759 - 1940. The
Stauber House potentially falls under the Community Planning and
Development criteria for significance, although more archeological
work supplemented by archival research is required to properly
judge the potential for the Stauber House as a contributing
resource. More extensive sub-surface testing would be required to
further assess the presence of subsurface structural (e.g., a
cellar) or other cultural features. In the absence of further
archeological research to mitigate destructive effects of
construction, it is recommended that the area be excluded from any
major earth-moving or other intrusive construction activities. The
area lies within a designated open area as shown on the map
provided by Kenabeck Builders, so avoidance may be an appropriate
treatment. It is also recommended that the North Carolina State
Historic Preservation Officer be consulted by local County
government to guide the efforts of preservation or mitigation of
unavoidable adverse effects.
The project area consists of a 10 acre tract just west of and
adjacent to Main Street (NC 65, Bethania Tobaccoville Road), and
bounded to the south by Loesch's Lane, within historic Bethania,
Forsyth County, North Carolina. This area will be adversely affected in
the near future by the construction of a housing development, Bethany
Square. The survey area includes a road and water access corridor from
Main Street and a 30 foot (9 meter) buffer zone around areas which will
be directly affected by construction. The tract is presently surrounded
by private residential lands.
Forsyth County is situated within the Piedmont physiographic
province of northwest North Carolina, bounded by the fall line and
coastal plain to the east and by the Blue Ridge scarp to the west.
The Piedmont Plateau, a broad physiographic zone, stretches from
Alabama to New Jersey. The Piedmont is characterized by rolling
topography created by erosion and its features include rounded
hills, long, low ridges, gently sloping valleys, and graded
streams. Elevations in Forsyth County range from less than 213
meters (700 feet) along the Yadkin River floodplain to 337 meters
(1, 105 feet) near Rural Hall (Zimmerman 1976:62). The elevation
range for the project area is 247 - 258 meters (812 - 848 feet)
above sea level. The project area lies within the northern edge of
the Charlotte Belt, and is underlain by igneous rocks dating from
the Pennsylvanian to the Permian period which are intrusive into the
surrounding metamorphic rocks. Muddy Creek is less than 600
meters to the west, and the Yadkin River is approximately 40
kilometers to the west.
The majority of the survey area consists of Hiwassee clay loam
(6-10 percent slopes). This upland soil is generally well-drained,
acidic, and is well-suited to pasture or trees (Zimmerman 1976:13-
14). Soil in the northern portion of the survey tract is heavily
eroded (see "Results of Survey" section).
The climate of Forsyth County is temperate, and is
characterized by warm, humid summers and mild winters. The county
averages 200 frost-free days a year, and there are no distinct wet
or dry seasons (Zimmerman 1976:62).
The project area and Forsyth County supported diverse hardwood
forests (dominated by oak/hickory primary forest) before the
arrival of Europeans. Today, approximately two-thirds of the
surveyed area is forested with either secondary growth hardwoods,
pine, and dense cedar stands. The other third is covered with early
successional growth, including young hickory, blackberry,
greenbriar, poison oak, honeysuckle, and grass.
Most of the project area was cultivated, in orchard, or in
pasture throughout this century. As recently as 15 years ago parts
of the property were used for growing hay (Herman Stoltz, personal
communication 1996).
Major mammalian game species in the area would have included
white-tailed deer, black bear, squirrels, and rabbit. Wild turkey
would have likely been abundant in the past, and local streams
would have been a source of freshwater fish. Forsyth County is not
situated on any major migratory bird flyways.
The North Carolina Piedmont has been inhabited for around
12,000 years before present, by native groups who witnessed great
ecological and social changes during this lengthy period. This vast
period of time is typically divided by archeologists into four
broad cultural/temporal periods for the Southeast: Paleoindian,
Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian.
PaleoIndian Period (ca. 12,000- 10000 BP)
This period is represented by a continent wide distribution of
fluted, lanceolate projectile points (Clovis) associated west of
the Mississippi with extinct migratory Pleistocene megafauna.
Paleoindian groups are presumed to have been small, highly mobile
hunters and foragers with highly curated tool kits manufactured
from high-quality lithic resources (Meltzer and Smith 1986).
Paleoindian occupations from the Southeast are known primarily from
surface scatters and isolated finds. Over time, fluted points
gradually reduced in size and basal thinning replaced true fluting.
In North Carolina, terminal Paleoindian points are represented by
Hardaway/Dalton projectile point forms, which are thin triangular
bifaces with deeply concave bases and shallow side-notching (Coe
1964:64).
Archaic Period (ca. 10,000- 2500BP)
The Archaic period is characterized by increasingly localized
adaptations (evinced by a greater diversity of projectile point
forms and site sizes) to modern Holocene climatic conditions and
associated floral and faunal resources, increased use of riverine
and plant resources, increased population in some areas, the use of
ground stone tools, and widespread exchange networks. The Early
Archaic period (ca. 10,000-8,000BP) sees a continuation of the
previous pattern of small, dispersed, upland and lowland sites.
Palmer and Kirk projectile point forms are considered diagnostic of
this period. No substantial evidence exists to indicate that the
pattern of upland Archaic sites within Forsyth County was any
different from any other county within the northwestern Piedmont
Plateau.
The Middle Archaic (ca. 8,000-5,500 BP) is distinguished from
the preceding period by the increasing presence of ground stone
tools and greater diversity of bifacial point forms. The climatic
event known as the Hypsithermal occurred during this interval,
ushering in drier and warmer conditions, and lowering the gradient
of Southeastern rivers. The availability of floodplain resources
resulted in some population concentrates, exploiting in part
abundant shellfish and plant resources. In North Carolina,
diagnostic forms include Stanly, Morrow Mountain, Halifax, and
Guilford types.
The Late Archaic in North Carolina (ca. 5,500-2,500 BP) is
characterized by great diversity in lithic raw material used for
stone tools and the use of steatite containers for processing plant
foods. The Savannah River point is the most diagnostic point form,
followed by the terminal Archaic Gypsy point. Within the
Southeastern region as a whole, several important changes in
subsistence and settlement patterns developed during the middle to
late Archaic, most notably the cultivation of wild plant foods
along river bottoms. Domesticated plants appear to have been
introduced later, and were grafted on to existing (i.e. Archaic)
subsistence regimes (Smith 1992). Along the coasts of South
Carolina and Georgia, pottery tempered with plant fibers began to
be used ca. 4500 BP.
Woodland Period (ca. 2,500-250 BP)
This period is distinguished from the preceding Archaic period
by the use of ceramic containers for processing food. The early
Woodland in North Carolina (ca. 2,500- 1,500 BP) is
indistinguishable from the preceding period in terms of settlement
and subsistence patterns. The earliest pottery bearing sites have
yielded dates of 240 B.C. +/- 95 (Claggett and Cable 1982) and, in
Forsyth County, 266 B.C. +/- 80 (Davis 1987). Pottery from this
period is generally sand or quartz tempered with relatively thin
walls and smoothed interiors, and impressed with a cord-wrapped
paddle or wicker-like fabric. During this period small triangular
projectile points began to be used, likely coinciding with the
adoption of the bow and arrow (Coe 1964).
The middle Woodland (ca. 1,500-1,000 BP) period is roughly
delineated from the previous period by the use of thick-walled
quartz tempered fabric, cord, and net-impressed pottery. Sites
occur largely in river floodplains and tend to be large when found,
although they are much more infrequent than late Woodland sites.
There is little evidence for the use of domesticated tropical
cultigens during this period; instead, the traditional pattern of
exploiting primarily upland resources continued supplemented by
maize and other seed plants.
The late Woodland period in the North Carolina Piedmont (ca.
1,000-250 BP) is characterized by more numerous floodplain sites
probably indexing an increasing, more sedentary population, focused
around maize agriculture, but continuing to rely heavily on forest
resources. Late Woodland sites in the Piedmont are typified by
circular habitation structures, net-impressed pottery, subsurface
storage pits, and flexed burials in oval pits. The late prehistoric
period in the North Carolina Piedmont continues the Woodland
pattern until the Contact period. Cultural elements associated with
the Mississippian do not appear in the central-western Piedmont
zone. The Woodland terminates ca. AD 1700 when the introduction of
European diseases such as smallpox and measles effectively
destroyed native populations in the Piedmont.
The village of Bethania was the first planned Moravian
settlement in Wachovia to be constructed, and was intended as an
agricultural (town lot) community of the central town of Salem
(Hartley 1987:78). Concerned that a growing Bethabara would rival
Salem, the planned center of Wachovia, Bishop Spangenburg ordered
the construction of Bethania, which would receive personnel
funneled from Bethabara.
Upon witnessing the consequences of Indian raids in the region
during the French and Indian War, Spangenburg decided that the new
town of Bethania would be too small to defend itself. However, the
numerous non-Moravian refugees which were being housed near the
Bethabara mill provided a supplementary population, and Spangenberg
decided to send selected groups of these dislocated people along
with Moravian settlers to inhabit Bethania. Admission to the
settlement of Bethania remained carefully controlled, although its
members were not members of the Oeconomy. Bethania was governed
directly by Bethabara until 1762, when the Bethania Committee was
formed to help handle certain secular matters (Thorp 1989: 46,
47,97).
Gottlieb Reuter surveyed the location in 1759, and the
settlement, layed out on the upland north of the Black Walnut
Bottom, mirrored the compact, linear villages popular in Central
Europe during the Middle Ages and more recently during the 18th
century Prussian expansion. Of the two types of German linear
villages, Bethania was the street type...
"Street villages consisted of homes on roughly equal-size lots
lining a street or road. Immediately adjacent to the house
lots were garden plots and beyond those were large common
fields. Some of the common fields were divided into strips on
which families raised grain, and others served as communal
pasture or woodland for the villagers" (Thorp 1986:26).
The orchard lots which surrounded the residential lots in Bethania
were used for a variety of activities related to the functioning of
the community. This included use for garden plots, farm animals,
and outbuildings of several types, as well as the cultivation of
fruit trees. The abundant upland lots were either cultivated or
pasture areas, or were left in timber and used for wood. Fences,
tree lines, and cultivation patterns reflect the past upland lot
boundaries today (Hartley et al. 1990). The project area lies
almost entirely within the orchard and upland lot areas of the
original settlement.
Bethania was the only Moravian agricultural community which
strictly adhered to this centralized European settlement model, and
is unique in colonial North Carolina. Subsequent Moravian towns
like Friedberg, Friedland, and Hope adopted a more dispersed,
Anglo-American form of settlement (Thorp 1986:30, 35-36).
Bethania lay four miles from Bethabara, and was connected by
a road to the founder community. Isolated European homesteads were
plentiful in the area of Wachovia, but the large tracts held by
these settlers remained largely undeveloped and uncultivated, and
were linked by no large, central towns. Although Bethania was
primarily an agricultural town, it was able to provide most of its
own goods and services within a few years of its founding (Hartley
et al. 1990). In 1781, the British army under Cornwallis stayed in
Bethania during its pursuit of General Greene.
In 1854, Bethania was linked by a plank road with larger towns
to the east (Eller 1959:20-21). By the latter part of the nineteenth
century, the town was undergoing the same processes of
industrialization as the rest of the state (Shirley 1994; Fries et
al. 1976). Operating businesses by 1896 included a blacksmith and
wheelwright establishment, a tannery, a wagon works, a flour and
corn mill, and a combination general store and tobacco manufactory
(Taylor 1981:45). In addition to Bethania Moravian church, Bethania
AME Zion, the second church for the African-American congregation,
was built by 1893.
Michael Hartley (personal communication, September, 1996)
reports the prior existence of slave quarters within the current
project area. Slaves were kept at Bethania, as they were at other
Moravian communities in North Carolina.
In the twentieth century, Bethania was increasingly influenced
by surrounding urbanized areas. Urban sprawl in the direction of
Bethania and increased traffic flow (North Carolina Department of
Transportation 1990) constitutes the major threat to the town's
integrity, although Bethania has managed to fend off efforts to
locate a highway corridor through the vicinity. Modern construction
and the need to alleviate the traffic problem pose the primary
threat to undocumented archeological sites. Bethania today is
listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as a 2500 acre
Historic District.
Extensive archeological research has taken place within
Forsyth County during the past three decades, including large scale
floodplain and upland research-oriented surveys by Wake Forest
University and numerous federally-mandated compliance projects
which have inventoried a large number of prehistoric and historic
sites within the county. Most of these surveys have been
concentrated along the Yadkin River floodplain and major
tributaries (e.g. Woodall and Claggett 1974; Woodall 1975; Russell
1982; Abbott 1983,1987; Davis and Marshall 1988).
Archeological sites in upland settings have also been
investigated in non-compliance research projects (e.g. Beckerman
1983) and cultural resource management studies (Ward 1976; Webb
1994). Recorded archeological sites in the Bethania vicinity
include 31Fy183, a rather large Archaic - Woodland period site with
intact cultural deposits on the floodplain of Muddy Creek to the
west; 31Fy752, another Woodland period site (Abbott 1984); and
31Fy571, a historic structure dating from the nineteenth through
early twentieth century overlooking Muddy Creek to the south of
Bethania (Davis and Marshall 1988:26).
The Moravian occupation of Forsyth County has been the subject
of extensive archeological research, most notably South's (1972)
inaugural excavations at the site of Bethabara in the 1960's, and
subsequent investigations by John Clauser (Clauser 1978;1988;1994)
and others. Compliance projects in the vicinity of the Moravian
communities of Bethabara and Friedburg have been conducted in
recent years (e.g. Willis and Marshall 1988; Keller 1989; Webb
1994). In Bethania itself, Michael Hartley has partially excavated
the site of the 1765 tavern, which lies near the project area at
the intersection of Main Street and Loesch's Lane. An archeological
study was also performed in 1993 to mitigate the effects of
improvement of Loesch's Lane. Three archeological features dating
to the nineteenth and early twentieth century were recorded,
including a coal midden (Joy 1993).
Because surface visibility for the entire project area was
less than 40 percent, and all slopes were less than 15 degrees,
subsurface testing in the form of systematic shovel pits was
performed to detect cultural deposits. These shovel tests were
placed on transect lines oriented with compass directions.
Transects were spaced 20 meters apart and a twenty meter interval
between shovel tests was maintained. Each shovel test was excavated
through the A-horizon (if present) and at least 5 cm into subsoil.
The walls and bottom of each shovel test were inspected for signs
of cultural deposits or materials, and removed soil was passed
through 1/4 inch hardware cloth to recover any artifacts. Shovel
tests were described by depth, stratigraphy, artifacts present, and
soil texture and Munsell color. Artifacts recovered were placed in
sealable plastic bags and labeled with provenience information
before transport back to the lab. Previous machine excavated test
trenches in the area were inspected for cultural deposits and
materials.
In some instances, additional test pits were excavated at 10
meter individuals in cardinal directions from a test pit which
contained artifacts to assess a possible subsurface deposit or
better define the limits and density of an artifact scatter. This
was not done generally because it was believed that most of the
survey area contained low densities of historic artifacts of some
kind due to casual disposal during the lengthy occupation of the
property and surrounding areas, and that additional shovel tests
would only result in a larger artifact sample rather than assess
the true size of any particular site (the entire area contains
archeological remains, and could be defined as a site). All
artifacts, at the time of this writing, and attendant documentation
are curated at the Wake Forest Archeology Laboratory.
Archeological survey of the project area documented an
extensive scatter of nineteenth and twentieth century European
cultural materials, attesting to the duration of Euro-american
occupation in the area. These materials were confined to the
southern half of the main project area block, and the smaller block
to the east which fronts Main Street. Again, the southern half of
the project area main block and the smaller block to the east lie
almost entirely within the orchard and upland lot areas of the
original Bethania settlement.
Most soil in the northern portion of the survey area was
eroded to the red-orange (5 YR 4/6) clay (C horizon). This area was
covered with dense secondary growth cedar and pine, which postdate
the prior excavation of backhoe test trenches in the northern half
of the project area. The thick B horizon (0-70+ cm) encountered in
the center of the project area's main block may be partially the
consequence of colluvial wash originating upslope in the
northwestern sector, although this soil zone is mainly a primary
deposit. One test pit from this area (C-10) encountered artifacts
(redware sherdlets) between 0-44 and 44-54 cm below surface. Only
slight to moderate textural changes were noticed from test pits of
this area, and no test pit from this zone encountered red-orange
clayey subsoil. The southern half of the main block area possessed
a fairly uniform deposit of brown clayey loam (5 YR 3/3), usually
around 30 cm thick with abundant nineteenth and twentieth century
artifacts, overlying red brown loamy clay (5 YR 4/4/) subsoil.
Some of these artifacts are apparently associated with the
ruins of the Stauber House in the southwestern corner of the main
block (see below). Other artifacts may be attributed to previous
structures in the area, but also may be the result of secondary
disposal processes originating generally from the town lot area.
Only one test pit (E-3) encountered evidence of a buried,
organically rich horizon within this area, appearing as a faintly
dark, 6 cm thick streak. No artifacts were encountered within this
zone, with the exception of an animal bone fragment and charcoal.
Test pits excavated within 10 meters from the original failed to
encounter this horizon. No plow marks were noticed within any of
the test pits, although they could easily have been missed due to
the small size of the excavated units.
The stratigraphic sequence from the smaller block to the east
fronting Main Street is characterized by an undifferentiated layer
of dark reddish brown (5 YR 3/2 and 3/4) clayey loam overlying a
brownish red (5 YR 4/6) loamy clay subsoil. The depth of the brown
loam layer varied widely, between 7 and 24 cm. Artifacts were
encountered in most test pits from the southern half of this area.
Most of these were nineteenth century ceramic potsherds, especially
glazed redware. One salt-glazed stoneware sherd was also
encountered in this area, and late nineteenth- twentieth century
clear-glazed white earthenware sherds also were present. Other
artifacts from this area included fragments of nails, window pane,
and brick.
The downslope area of the smaller block (to the west)
possessed a thick deposit (20 cm) of red clay colluvium. There was
no brown loam layer underlying the colluvial wash, and this area
may have been disturbed in the past. Only one artifact was
encountered in this portion- a large glazed white earthenware sherd
was found within the colluvial layer.
An old fence line, represented by a low, undulating earthen
"berm" approximately 36 meters long and no more than 20 cm high was
encountered along the western edge of a pronounced slope in this
zone, oriented north/south. A single standing post remained along
the top of this feature with barbed wire attached, and
several large stones were present along the top and outer edge of
the berm itself. This line was intersected by a similar earthen
feature approximately 44 meters long and oriented east/west, which
was wider and possessed greater relief. A decayed wooden post
similar in form to the one on the north-south berm lay atop the
east-west berm, and it too had attached barbed wire. The two berms
probably are contemporaneous and mark former upland property lines.
A similar feature exists around the perimeter of the Bethabara
Dobb's Parish Cemetery, and this feature too exhibited evidence of
fencing in the form of postholes (Snavely 1985; Idol and Trage
1995:18-20). Partial excavation of the Dobb's Parish berm showed a
continuous berm/non-berm stratigraphic contour, indicating that the
feature was not intentionally created by piling up earth and
packing it. Features of this kind are likely created by previous
plowing or animal traction on either side of the fence/property
line, and the presence of post and wire fences suggests a twentieth
century origin. Stones found along the berm are probably the
consequence of past field or pasture clearing. Herman Stoltz
(personal communication, 1996) relates that part of this property
was in pasture in the early part of the century, and the fence(s)
then would have served to constrain livestock. It should be
recognized however that modern fence/property boundaries may be
continuations of prior boundaries, and that the berm may have been
formed prior to the twentieth century.
The survey encountered evidence of a previously existing
structure in the southwestern portion of the project area tract
nearest Loesch's Lane and behind a standing twentieth century house
and yard area. The debris is reportedly the remains of the Stauber
House, built during the late nineteenth century, and burned between
1936 and 1938 (Michael Hartley, personal communication 1996; Herman
and Peggy Stoltz, personal communication 1996). Evidence for the
existence of this house was in the form of abundant scatters of
brick, brick fragments, stones and stone slabs, mortar and concrete.
Test pits in this area generally produced abundant historic period
artifacts. Most of the structure's construction materials had been
redeposited, and the area was in heavy undergrowth at the time of survey.
The only observed in situ remains were a large (4.2 x 1.8 meter)
concentration of large, flat, stone slabs which lay .03 - .10 m beneath
the surface and a one-inch iron pipe which was encountered in a test pit
and wasvisible on the surface at the western boundary of the project area.
Above ground construction debris occurred throughout an
approximately 40 x 50 meter area. A large block of redeposited but
intact brick and mortar was encountered in a test pit at 10 - 19 cm
below surface approximately 8.5 meters away from the large stone
slab area. Enlargement of the test pit revealed that the fragment was
not an undisturbed structural feature. Three small piles of brick,
mortar, stones, and concrete were observed. One of these was adjacent
to the stone slab-lined area and a large maple tree, which grew out
of the slab-lined area.
The stone slabs (granite and other igneous rock) were
generally flat and broken rather than cut. A few centimeters of
soil lay between adjacent stones, and no stones or other
construction material underlay the visible stones. The stones
apparently represent an old pathway or yard area originally
associated with the house and disturbed by the growth of the maple
tree. Bethania's Main Street sidewalks are composed primarily of
fieldstone slabs surrounding large maple trees (Little-Stokes
1975:3). It is possible that the Stauber House builders wished to
duplicate this architectural feature on their property in some
manner. If the house faced south, the maple tree may have been
located in the front yard.
Artifacts recovered from test pits and the ground surface
within a 70 meter radius of the visible structural debris included
construction related materials such as brick, window pane, and
nails, and domestic items such as potsherds and glass jar fragments
(Figure 7). Both cut and wire nails and nail fragments of various
design and sizes were present. At least one nail is either a
wrought nail or an early cut (pre-1830) variety (following Nelson
1968). Ceramic artifacts included nineteenth century glazed redware
sherds and nineteenth and twentieth century tableware, including
Staffordshire and Allerton "Willow ware." Twentieth century
artifacts included a plastic comb, coat button, and a telephone
receiver as well as wire nails. Besides nails, other hardware at
the site included two rusted door hinges. Three red ceramic tile
drainpipes, each one foot long, were present on the surface near
the structural ruins on the western border of the project area, as
well as a large metal fragment of a wood-burning stove. Small
fragments of calcined and unburned animal bone (large, non-human mammal)
were present in a number of test pits within a 50 meter
radius of the structure area. These were too fragmentary to be
identified according to species (Bill Terrell, personal
communication 1996).
The locations of the house privy and well were not found
during the survey. These may have been filled in or covered over
after the destruction of the house, or evidence may lie undetected
in the dense undergrowth which covers a portion of the house area,
despite frequent crossings of this area by the survey crew.
It is uncertain when the Stauber House was built, although
structural evidence and other artifacts recovered from the area do
not contradict a late nineteenth century date estimation. It is not
known if the original house occupants constructed outbuildings of
any type within the survey area. According to local informants, the
house was of wooden frame construction, possessed a brick chimney,
and faced south (towards Loesch's Lane, formerly the Old Richmond
Road). A porch was located on the house's east side. A survey of
house structures listed on the amended National Register Nomination
built during the last two decades of the nineteenth century shows
that many were of wooden frame and weatherboard construction (e.g.
the Rufus Transou House). Because no listing for a Stauber appears
on the Bethania Township Agricultural or Population schedule for
1870 (Forsyth County 1870 Census), it appears that the house was
constructed after that date. A record search in the county deeds
office failed to trace the property to the original deed, but did
suggest that the land was probably owned by one L.E. or W.E.
Stauber and his wife, Jessie B. Stauber.
After a period in which the house was vacant, a non-Moravian
named Greer (Grier?) Gray acquired or rented the house and property
in the early 1930's. The house was subsequently remodeled. In
addition to the house a small barn for pigeons was located nearby
and a larger barn for livestock was located approximately 100
meters away to the northeast (Herman Stoltz, personal communication
1996). Goats, horses, and mules were maintained on the Gray
property. The house burned between 1936 - 1938, but the brick
chimney stood for some period after the house's destruction (Herman
and Peggy Stoltz, personal communication 1996). The iron pipe
probably dates to the early 1930's when the community acquired
electricity and running water.
No clear evidence of the house's destruction by burning was
observed by the survey. Although a few brick fragments were
charred, this could be simply the result of their position on the
chimney's interior. A few (3) glass fragments recovered from a test
pit in the vicinity appear to have been transformed by heat, and
there is the single occurrence of a lump of melted lead. A few
small flecks of charcoal were encountered from test pits and from
the surface of the area, but there was no large surface or
subsurface deposits of charred material.
It should be remembered that dense undergrowth over a large
portion of the debris scatter hindered the survey effort. Further
evidence on the ground surface may remain undetected.
Two historic components within the project area are
potentially eligible for preservation as possible contributing
resources to the Bethania Historic District, and are discussed
below. Although test pits in the middle of the survey block and in
the eastern smaller block contained nineteenth and twentieth
century artifacts, it is unlikely that these areas possess
subsurface structural remains or other undisturbed cultural
deposits or features. Because of the apparent lack of these
contextual associations, and because of the proximity of the
artifact scatter to Bethania's Main Street and the consequential
exposure to 200 years of casual disposal of refuse, this area was
not assigned a state site number. The area does not appear to be a
potential contributing resource, and no additional work is
recommended to assess its potential.
Two cultural features in the corridor fronting Main Street, in
the form of low berms representing old boundary demarcations and
twentieth century fence lines are potential contributing resources,
since these may be continuations of old upland lot property
boundaries (see above) and therefore would be a significant element
of the landscape. These boundaries do not appear to correspond with
the original upland lots as laid out by Reuter. This feature type
has been previously investigated in Forsyth County (see above), and
the results of those studies indicate that little in the way of new
information is expected to be gained from them using archeological
methods.
The late nineteenth century Stauber House may be a potential
contributing resource to the Historic District of Bethania. The
standing structure was destroyed before WWII, and redeposited
construction debris, domestic artifacts, and associated domestic
hardware cover the former house area. Intact subsurface remains of
an apparent stone slab pathway or yard area and an iron pipe
associated with the house were documented by the survey. Further
testing is required to determine if any other subsurface cultural
features remain intact. If additional undisturbed subsurface
structural remains or other cultural deposits exist, for example
the holes for the cellar, privy, or well, these features and
associated artifacts could yield new information about Bethania
community development in the late nineteenth century and early
twentieth century, especially in regard to economic and social
relationships of individuals within the community and also with
individuals and industries outside Bethania. For example, the rate
and pattern of innovation adoption in other contemporary Moravian
town lots could be compared with that of Bethania in terms of
modernization processes of agrarian communities (see Eighmy
1981:34-36, 47).
Further testing is necessary to assess the potential of the
archeological remains of the Stauber House as a potential
contributing cultural resource. In the absence of further
archeological work at the site, it is recommended that the Stauber
House area remain undisturbed by heavy earth moving and other
construction activities. We further advise consultation between the
Developer, the City and County Planning Board of Forsyth County,
and the State Historic Preservation Officer, in regard to necessary
steps for mitigation of adverse affect.
Abbott, Lawrence E., Jr.
1984a An Archeological Survey of the HDR/Tobaccoville
Interceptor: Site Locational Analysis Along Minor Upland
Streams, Forsyth County, North Carolina. Report on file,
Wake Forest University Archeology Laboratories, Winston-Salem.
1984b An Archeological Survey of Lower Muddy Creek, Davidson
and Forsyth counties, North Carolina. Manuscript on file, Wake
Forest University Archeology Laboratories, Winston-Salem.
1987 Excavations in the South Fork Creek Valley: A Test for
Deeply Buried Sites Within the Floodplain of a Small, Upland
Stream. Manuscript on file, Wake Forest University Archeology
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Beckerman, Ira Carl
1986 Prehistoric Settlement and Subsistence in Piedmont, North
Carolina. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Pennsylvania State
University.
Claggett, Stephen R. and John S. Cable
1982 The Haw River Sites: Archaeological Investigations at Two
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Wilmington District.
Clauser, John W., Jr.
1978 The Excavation of the Bethabara Pottery Kiln: An Analysis
of Nineteenth Century Pottery Techniques. Unpublished M.A.
Thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville.
1988 Excavations in the Bethabara Community Garden. Historic
Bethabara Park, Winston-Salem.
1994 Test Excavations at the Bethabara Brewers House. Report
on file, Historic Bethabara Park, Winston-Salem.
Coe, Joffre L.
1964 The Formative Cultures of the North Carolina Piedmont.
Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 54(5).
Davis, John D.
1987 Early Woodland of the North Carolina Piedmont: New
Information from the E. Davis Site. Paper presented at
44th Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Charleston,
South Carolina.
Davis, John D. and Rhea Rogers Marshall
1988 An Archeological Reconnaissance Survey of Selected
Portions of the Muddy Creek Basin of Forsyth County, North
Carolina. Manuscript on file, Wake Forest University
Archeology Laboratories, Winston-Salem.
Eighmy, Jeffrey L.
1981 The Use of Material Culture in Diachronic Anthropology.
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Michael B. Schiffer, pp.31-49. Academic Press, New York.
Eller, Ernest McNeill
1959 Bethania in Wachovia: 1759-1959. Bradford, Winston-Salem,
North Carolina.
Fries, Adelaide, Stuart Thurman Wright and J. Edwin Hendricks
1976 Forsyth: The History of a County on the March. University
of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Hamilton, Kenneth G. (editor)
1969 Records of the Moravians in North Carolina, vol. XI.
State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh.
Hartley, Michael O.
1987 Wachovia in Forsyth. Old Salem, Inc., Winston-Salem.
Hartley, Michael O., Martha B. Boxley and Gwynne S. Taylor
1990 Bethania National Register of Historic Places Registration
Form. Document on file, United States Department of the
Interior.
Idol, Bruce S. and Stephen T. Trage
1995 Excavations at the Dobb's Parish Cemetery and
Bethabara Stranger's Graveyard, Forsyth County, North
Carolina. Report on file, Historic Bethabara Park,
Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Keller, John E.
1989 Further Investigations Along the Bethabara Bypass:
Archeological Data Recovery at the Speas Road and Pavement
Sites, Forsyth County, North Carolina. Manuscript on file,
Wake Forest University Archeology Laboratories, Winston-Salem.
Joy, Deborah
1993 Archaeological Monitoring on Loesch Lane in the Bethania
National Register Historic District, Forsyth County, North
Carolina. Report on file, North Carolina Department of
Transportation Division of Highways Planning and Environmental
Branch, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Little-Stokes, Ruth
1975 Bethania National Register of Historic Places Nomination
Form. Report on file, North Carolina Division of Archives and
History, Raleigh.
Meltzer, David J. and Bruce D. Smith
1986 Paleoindian and Early Archaic Subsistence Strategies in
Eastern North America. In Foraging, Collecting, and
Harvesting: Archaic Period Subsistence and Settlement in the
Eastern Woodlands, edited by Sarah W. Neusius, pp.3-31.
Occasional Paper No. 6. Center for Archaeological
Investigations, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
Nelson, Lee H.
1968 Nail Chronology as an Aid to Dating Old Buildings.
American Association for State and Local History Technical
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of Transportation and the City County Planning Board of
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County.
Russell, S. Gayle
1982 An Archeological Survey of Muddy, Silas, Little, and South
Fork Creeks. Manuscript on file, Wake Forest University
Archeology Laboratories, Winston-Salem.
Shirley, Michael
1994 From Congregation Town to Industrial City: Culture and
Social Change in a Southern Community. New York University
Press, New York.
Smith, Bruce D. (editor)
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North America. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
Snavely, Alan N.
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Investigations at Historic Bethabara, Forsyth County, North
Carolina. Manuscript on file, Wake Forest University
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South, Stanley
1972 Discovery in Wachovia. Manuscript on file, Old Salem, Inc.
Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Taylor, Gwynne Stephens
1981 From Frontier to Factory: An Architectural History of
Forsyth County. North Carolina Department of Cultural
Resources, Division of Archives and History, Raleigh.
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Journal of Southern History 52(1):19-42.
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Ward, H. Trawick
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Winston-Salem area (Forsyth, Davidson, Guilford, and Stanly
Counties). Report on file, Office of State Archaeology,
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Raleigh.
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1988 Archeological Survey of the Proposed Historic Bethabara
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Appendix: Artifact Inventory
Provenience: Easement and entrance along Main Street, Bethania, NC
Transect A
TP A-1: 3 redware sherds (1 with red/brown glaze)
TP A-1/E10: 2 glass windowpane fragments
1 redware sherd (red/brown glaze)
1 earthenware rim fragment (white glaze)
1 stoneware sherd (salt glazed; gray/green
exterior, brown interior)
TP A-1/W10: 2 brick fragments
1 redware sherd (unglazed; possible trivet
part)
TP A-3: 2 redware sherds (red glazed exterior, olive
green glaze with brown/red slip interior;
everted profile, probable bowl fragment)
TP A-3/S10: 1 glazed white earthenware sherd
TP A-3/S10,E10:1 glass windowpane fragment
1 unidentified ceramic sherd (historic)
Transect B
TP B-2: 1 white glazed earthenware rim sherd; pointed
lip with undulating form)
_________________________________________________________________
Provenience: Low lying area; Loesch's Lane to Stauber House area
Transect C
TP C-1: 1 clear glass jar bottle fragment
1 glass windowpane fragment
1 brick fragment
2 glazed white earthenware sherds
1 redware sherd (glazed with black slip)
1 earthenware rim sherd (black slip; everted
profile)
TP C-2: 2 coal pieces
12 unidentified metal fragments
1 nail head (unident.)
3 redware sherds
1 redware sherd (black glaze)
1 glazed white earthenware sherd
2 glazed off-white earthenware sherds
1 bone fragment (calcined; unident.)
TP C-3: 1 wire nail (2.5 in.)
2 wire nail fragments
2 cut nails-one poss. wrought (2.1 - 2.5 in.)
3 cut nail fragments
2 nail fragments (unident.)
1 clear glass jar fragment
1 glass windowpane fragment
2 coal pieces
1 earthenware sherd (possibly glazed; hand-
painted green floral pattern)
2 glazed white earthenware sherds
2 brick fragments
7 redware sherds (glazed)
3 redware sherds (eroded)
2 redware rimsherds (glazed; everted, rolled
lips with flat extended surface)
TP C-4: 2 clear glass windowpane fragments
2 clear glass bottle/jar fragments
1 clear glass handle or bottle neck
6 coal pieces (combusted)
1 wire nail (1.5 in.)
2 wire nail fragments
1 hardened clay fragment
1 unidentified metal fragment
2 glazed white earthenware sherds
3 redware sherds (glazed; one vessel base/foot)
1 ceramic sherd (lead glaze; purple on white
transfer print; possible Staffordshire)
TP C-6: 3 brick fragments
TP C-10: 3 redware sherds (glazed)
Transect D
TP D-1: 5 brick or fired ceramic paste fragments
2 clear glass windowpane fragments
1 green bottle glass fragment
1 clear glass fragment
2 nail fragments
3 glazed white earthenware sherds
3 redware sherds (glazed)
1 bone or shell fragment (calcined)
TP D-2: 1 clear glass bottle or cup fragment
2 clear glass windowpane fragments
3 nail fragments
2 cut nail fragments
1 unidentified metal fragment
1 quartz chip (possible flake)
2 brick fragments
1 redware sherd (glazed)
1 redware sherd (eroded)
2 fired clay fragments
3 bone fragments (calcined)
1 charred seed (possibly corn)
1 stoneware rim sherd (salt glaze; grey
interior, green/grey exterior)
1 unidentified mineral chunk
TP D-2,surface:2 brick fragments
1 misc. grooved stone
1 grooved earthenware sherd (red; flower pot?)
1 ceramic rim sherd (lead glaze; flow blue
transfer print; small cup or bowl)
9 glazed white earthenware sherds
2 glazed off-white earthenware sherds
(part of bowl or plate)
TP D-3: 2 pieces brown plastic comb (with "Made in USA"
embossed)
1 redware sherd (eroded)
2 brick fragments
TP D-4: 2 cut nails (length-2.5 and approx. 2.3
inches)
1 wire nail fragment
1 misc. u.i.d. metal fragment
1 clear glass windowpane fragment
1 pink plastic comb fragment
4 sherds glazed redware (3 body, 1 rim)
1 animal bone fragment
Transect E
TP E-1: 9 brick and/or fired clay chunks
1 gray round plastic button, no thread holes
2 clear glass bottle/jar fragments
1 cut nail fragment
1 mass melted? metal, poss. lead
5 small white plaster? pieces
1 glazed white earthenware sherd
1 blue on white transfer print lead-glazed
earthenware sherd
1 glazed off-white porcellanous sherdlet
TP E-2: 13 small brick fragments
8 coal fragments (1 combusted, 7 hard)
1 amber bottle glass fragment
3 clear glass windowpane fragments
1 clear glass fragment
2 glazed redware sherds
1 glazed off-white earthenware sherd
1 glazed white porcellanous sherdlet
1 glazed blue on white transfer print
earthenware sherd (Willow ware pattern, bowl
or cup)
1 off-white and blue glazed stoneware rimsherd
(thick walled bowl fragment)
1 light green tinted bottle/jar glass fragment
5 u.i.d. nail fragments
1 u.i.d. nail, length- 1.5 inches
Surface between
TP E-1 and E-2: 1 door hinge (almost fully open, 3.4 x 3.4
inches)
TP E-3: 2 emerald green bottle glass fragments
1 eroded redware sherd
1 glazed redware sherd
2 brick and/or fired clay fragments
3 glazed white earthenware sherds
1 glazed off-white earthenware sherdlet
1 cut nail, length-approx. 3 inches
1 wire nail, length- approx. 3 inches
2 u.i.d. nail fragments
1 u.i.d. non-human animal bone fragment
TP E-3/S10: 2 brick fragments, small
1 clear bottle glass fragment
1 small chunk coal
1 u.i.d. nail fragment
2 u.i.d. mineral chunks
2 eroded redware sherds
1 glazed redware sherd
1 glazed white earthenware sherd
1 u.i.d. animal bone fragment
TP E-3/W10: 1 glazed redware sherd
1 clear bottle glass fragment
TP E-5: 1 wire nail fragment
Transect F
TP F-2: 11 brick fragments
4 clear glass fragments, poss. exposed to
heat
1 aqua blue bottle glass (thick) fragment
2 u.i.d. nail fragments (not wire)
1 rimsherd glazed blue on white transfer
print earthenware "Willow ware" pattern
sherd, (bowl or plate)
1 glazed white earthenware sherd
1 u.i.d. porcelain fragment, poss. portion of
doll limb, or part of ceramic vessel, or
portion of pipe stem.
TP F-3: 1 u.i.d. nail fragment (prob. cut)
1 brick fragment-small
1 glazed redware sherd
1 glazed white earthenware sherd
TP F-4: 1 eroded redware sherd
Surface finds in
structure area: 3 sherds (1 body, 2 rim) glazed blue
on white transfer print earthenware
"Willow ware" pattern. * One sherd has
portion of maker's mark- Staffordshire.
One sherd is nearly porcellanous.
Artifacts found
with stone slabs: 1 wire nail, length- 4.1 inches
1 plastic telephone mouthpiece/receiver
1 green bottle glass fragment
1 u.i.d. metal implement (poss. portion of
shovel handle, cut nails hold two oblong
(10 1/4th inch pieces together).
Artifacts collected from
rubble piles and eroded bank
area near Stauber House ruins:
1 clear glass bottle rim and neck fragment,
single external thread, mold mark extends
to vessel lip
1 u.i.d. metal "rail" fragment
1 large fragment metal wood-burning stove
1 glazed blue stoneware rimsherd, large platter
1 glazed blue on white transfer print
semi-porcellanous sherd, Willow pattern,
cup or bowl
1 red tile drainpipe, 1' x 4.5"
Library Index