(cid:75)(cid:63)(cid:60)(cid:23)(cid:74)(cid:56)(cid:69)(cid:62)(cid:56)(cid:68)(cid:70) (cid:61)(cid:73)(cid:70)(cid:69)(cid:75)(cid:64)(cid:60)(cid:73) history & archaeology in the shadow of lincoln robert mazrim THE SANGAMO FRONTIER THE SANGAMO FRONTIER History and Archaeology in the Shadow of Lincoln robert mazrim the university of chicago press Chicago and London Robert Mazrim is director of the Sangamo Archaeological Center in Elkhart, Illinois, and also serves as the historical resources specialist for the Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London © 2007 by The University of Chicago All rights reserved. Published 2007 Printed in the United States of America 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 1 2 3 4 5 isbn-13: 978-0-226-51424-6(cloth) isbn-10: 0-226-51424-2 (cloth) isbn-13: 978-0-226-51425-3(paper) isbn-10: 0-226-51425-0 (paper) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mazrim, Robert. The Sangamo frontier : history and archaeology in the shadow of Lincoln / Robert Mazrim. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-226-51424-2(cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 0-226-51425-0(pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Springfield Region (Ill.)—Antiquities. 2. Historic sites—Illinois—Springfield Region. 3. Excavations (Archaeology)—Illinois—Springfield Region. 4. Archaeology and history—Illinois—Springfield Region. 5. Lincoln, Abraham, 1809–1865—Homes and haunts—Illinois—Springfield Region. 6. Frontier and pioneer life—Illinois—Springfield Region. 7. Springfield Region (Ill.)—History— 19th century. 8. Springfield Region (Ill.)—History, Local. 9. Sangamon River Valley (Ill.)—History, Local. I. Title. f549.s7m39 2007 977.3(cid:2)56—dc22 2006018787 (cid:2)(cid:3) The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1992. for Frank Robert Mazrim 1908–1985 Contents Acknowledgments * ix Introduction: Journey to Sangamo * 1 PART ONE Americans, Frontiers, and Archaeology 1. The Making of an American Frontier 13 * 2. The Arrival of Archaeology and the Shadow of Lincoln 29 * PART TWO Illinois in History 3. Before the Americans 47 * 4. The Americans 62 * PART THREE Archaeology of the Frontier 5. At Home, 1800–1840 75 * 6. Under the House, Behind the House 87 * 7. Goods in the Forests 95 * PART FOUR The Origins of Sangamo 8. The Hole in the Map 123 * 9. A New Frontier 137 * PART FIVE The Archaeology of Sangamo 10. Overlooking Wilderness: Excavations at Elkhart Hill 153 * 11. Earthenware at Cotton Hill: The Ebey-Brunk Kiln Site 183 * 12. The Origins of a State Capital: The Iles Store Site 206 * 13. Moses’s Sangamo: Relocating a Lost Town 227 * 14. Exploring Moses’s Sangamo: Excavations at Sangamo Town 247 * 15. Lincoln’s New Salem: History and Archaeology 275 * 16. Behind Lincoln’s New Salem: Archaeology and Revisionism 301 * 17. The End of the Trail 320 * Notes * 331 Index * 347 Acknowledgments One of the more interesting aspects of the discipline of archaeology is its ability to bring together people from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. The studies and excavations described in this book were conducted over a fifteen-year period, and relied on the efforts and sup- port of a number of individuals. Inthelate1970s,JohnWalthall,chiefarchaeologistattheIllinoisDe- partment of Transportation, introduced historic resources to the mas- sive transportation-based archaeological surveys. Nearly thirty years later, that program continues to provide a constant stream of infor- mation regarding the frontier period in Illinois, much of which is pres- ent in the overviews found in this book. John has also provided me with a number of resources over the last fifteen years, and my perspectives on early nineteenth-century material culture owe much to our frequent collaborations. As director of the Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program, Thomas Emerson was responsible for our work at the Old Village locale at Peoria in 2001, but perhaps more important, he has also managed to build a research-based environment in the difficult world of cultural resource management. That environment has both directly and indirectly fostered much of my work regarding frontier Illinois, and Tom’s program at the University of Illinois will no doubt inspire new authors and studies in the future. ix