Serving Up History: Food and Ceramics at the Workers' Village

Blue and white edgeware platter found at the Mechanics' Kitchen.

NPS/Seifert

Housing at the Workers’ Village was segregated by class and likely by race as well. The better paid mechanics lived in a housing cluster closer to the fort, while the laborers lived in houses along the north shore. Each housing group had its own kitchen. Within the Workers’ Village, archeologists excavated parts of three “quarters,” or houses for the workers, as well as the kitchen where the mechanics’ meals were prepared. The kitchen contained a wealth of artifacts that inform about how and what the mechanics were eating. The Mechanics’ Kitchen had 952 fragments of ceramics, or 77.1% of the total ceramics found. A few serving dishes were found indicating that the kitchen may have also functioned as a mess hall, as the serving dishes could have been used to pass food around a communal table.

 

Fragment of a carved bone cutlery handle. The handle consists of two carved pieces of bone “sandwiching” a flat piece of iron that extends out into the fork, spoon, or knife end of the utensil, which is missing. This iron has rusted, obscuring the hatched design.

NPS/Seifert

 

This iron hook was found on top of the brick hearth in the Mechanics’ Kitchen. Hooks were used to hold large pots or kettles for cooking in the hearth.

NPS/Seifert

 

Ceramics

Archeologists found plates, bowls, cups, bottles, and serving dishes that hint at past meals. The Mechanics’ Kitchen had many fragments of plates, indicating the mechanics were eating “meat-and-three” types of meals. On some sites of enslavement, archeologists have discovered a greater number of bowls are used rather than plates due to a diet that consisted of soups and stews that cooked slowly throughout the day. At the Workers’ Village, the laborers’ quarter and mechanics’ quarter have almost the same ratio of plates to bowls, about 2:1, meaning that there is little difference between the number of plates and bowls between the two areas, perhaps indicating similar foods were eaten. Interestingly, there is a far larger number of serving/storage vessels (large bowls, storage bottles, jugs, pitchers) in the laborers’ quarter than the mechanics’ quarter. This indicates that the mechanics were likely served in their kitchen perhaps with communal meals, whereas the laborers’ kitchen may have been only for cooking food, with eating taking place in the quarters. This would make sense with the difference in size and design between the mechanics’ kitchen and the smaller laborers’ kitchen.

The analysis of ceramics can tell archeologists about the people providing and using them. The quality and decoration of a specific piece can give information about access to the market, both physically and financially. Decorations were used to show popular morals and social fashions of the time. By studying what is present, and what is absent, archeologists can get an insight into what was deemed important to those purchasing and using the objects.

 

Porcelain is the highest-quality and most expensive ceramic due to its high firing temperature, which is more difficult to produce. These fragments were found in the kitchen area, meaning that at least some of the mechanics had enough wealth to buy high quality tableware. The three larger pieces are Chinese hard-paste porcelain, while the smaller piece is English soft-paste, likely a teacup.

NPS/Seifert

 

Historical records indicate the army stocked the kitchens with pots and other cookware, but it is unclear if the workers were required to bring their own plates and spoons, or if the mess halls were supplied with tableware. Archeology can help answer this question. Transfer printed ceramics were the most common decorated ceramic and the most expensive found on site (except for a few porcelain fragments). In the larger marketplace, Asian-themed transfer prints were quite common, however, at the Workers’ Village only one Asian motif was identified (Blue Willow). Instead, American and patriotic themes dominated, accompanied by more neutral motifs such as castles and flowers. This could indicate that the army wanted to showcase patriotic themes to their workers. Given this data, it seems likely that the army supplied the workers with ceramics, and the better paid mechanics simply brought a few of their own higher quality personal items with them to the island. This would explain the few pieces of porcelain found in the kitchen area, as porcelain was the highest quality and most expensive ceramic available.

 

Left: Blue transfer print fragments with the pattern “America and Independence,” which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Right: Fragments of ceramics with John Ridgway’s patriotic transfer print pattern “Beauties of America” showing City Hall in New York City, which was produced around 1825. Another piece identified from this collection was of the Library and Surgeons Hall in Philadelphia.

NPS/Matera

 

18 sherds of polychrome pearlware found in the Mechanics’ Quarter mended together to form a unique eight-inch plate. While the banding is unusual, the colors indicate this would be a later polychrome decoration, post 1840s. It appears to be a single plate found only in the mechanics’ quarter, which implies that some workers brought their own ceramics rather than all ceramics being provided to them.

NPS/Matera

 

Animal Bone

This photo (left) shows a drying rack with artifacts from the Mechanics’ Kitchen, with a large amount of animal bone. Over 15.2 pounds of animal bone were found in the Mechanics’ Kitchen units. Some of the fragments show evidence of being burned, and many have butchers’ marks from knives and saws. Preliminary analysis shows the workers were eating beef, pork, whitetail deer, rabbit, and squirrel. Turtle shell, small amounts of eggshell, and a few fish scales and otoliths were also found. Animal bone from non-kitchen areas was minimal. Further analysis with a faunal specialist is ongoing, and further developments will be added. Musket balls found in the kitchen indicate that mechanics were hunting on the island and consuming local game. This was a practical way to get food and offered a pastime to workers. Historic maps of the Workers’ Village also show a number of gardens near living areas that may have been used to supplement the food provided to the workers.

 

Animal bones found on site showing the types of meat eaten in the kitchen. The two white bones in the center were burned, very likely from cooking. When bones are burned for a long time, they turn white and become extremely durable. The bone in the foreground has a very straight, smooth edge along its left side. A butcher cut this edge when preparing the cut of meat.

NPS/Seifert

 

These turtle bone fragments were found in the kitchen, suggesting the people in the Workers’ Village were eating turtle.

NPS/Seifert

 

 

This data combined with musket balls found at the kitchen, show the workers, particularly the mechanics, were hunting on the island and consuming local game. The five musket balls in the photo are unfired, and some retain the mold marks from their manufacture.

NPS/Matera

 

 

Next Section: Fashionable Finds: Objects of Decoration