Archaeological Investigation at the Marshall Powder Mill (41HS17), Confederate States of America 1863-1865, Harrison County, Texas: 1994 Season

The Northeast Texas Archeological Society, in conjunction with the East Texas, Dallas, and Tarrant County archeological societies, reinstated archaeological investigations at the Marshall Powder Mill (41HS17) in 1994 following several years of delicate negotiations with the landowner about the value of preserving this archaeological site. The Marshall Powder Mill manufactured gunpowder, small arms and cannon, and refurbished weaponry, and was one of several arsenals that served the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederate States of America from 1863 to 1865. None have been thoroughly investigated archaeologically, however, thereby ignoring a major aspect of the Confederacy\u27s war effort, and an important industrial enterprise. Building foundations, earthworks, roads, and an artificial channel race remain essentially undisturbed within the Loop 390 corridor and the privately-owned portions of the site; the eastern one-third of the site has been destroyed by a modern lumber mill. Although the site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, there is no concerted plan for preservation of this Civil War military-industrial complex. Little historical documentation exists as to the number and types of buildings, their locations, or the activities that were conducted at the Marshall Powder Mill. The single map in the National Archives was captured by Federal troops in 1864, and only indicates a few of the buildings and none of the earthworks. Apparently the Confederates were concerned with security, and the commander, Major George D. Alexander, destroyed or removed all records prior to Federal occupation of the site in 1865. Therefore, the archaeological remains speak the clearest about the Marshall Powder Mill\u27s buildings and their functions, and may be the only sure means of reconstructing the layout and design of the arsenal, as well as ancillary fortifications, buildings, and structures around Marshall that date to the Civil War period

Reconstruction of the Part Vegetation on the Headwaters of the Piney Creek Watershed in Houston and Trinity Counties, Texas

The National Forests and Grasslands of Texas began a project in 1994 for ecosystem management involving multiple disciplines in an holistic approach to resource inventories. We first began with an intensive archival study of the forest acquisition files and the General Land Office (GLO) files in an effort to identify the western limits of the longleaf pine at the time of initial Anglo-American settlement ca. 1850. Vegetation information was gleaned from this work along with an understanding of the historical occupation of the area, aided by plotting this information onto USGS 7.5\u27 maps overlain by the historic Tobin landownership maps. We have since narrowed our focus from the mosaic of a broad area, to the headwaters of the Piney Creek watershed, an area rich in prehistory and history. Archeological survey has provided data for prehistoric occupations dating to the Early Ceramic period (ca. A.D. 500). More recent deed records, and subsequent landline surveys, have data on witness trees in the 1830s, 1860s, and 1890s, and then again after the Forest Service acquired the land in the 1930s, offering an opportunity to study specie composition over a 100 year period. This study on specie composition, tree density, and basal area, provides preliminary indications that fire suppression in the historic period significantly altered the forest composition

The Original Distribution of Bois D\u27Arc. Part I: Texas

Early historical explorations of the American frontier discuss many tree species and their uses, yet rarely mention bois d\u27arc (Maclura pomifera). Several important early expeditions sent by President Thomas Jefferson into the southwestern frontier provide the first evidence for the natural and culturally influenced range of the species. Bois d \u27arc was important in the trade of Native Americans, specifically used for bow wood. As early as 1804, John Sibley and Merriwether Lewis reported to President Jefferson about bois d \u27arc, drawing on information derived from transplanted saplings and reporting that the source was ca. 300 miles away (i.e., along the Red River?). John Sibley, a temporary United States Indian Agent along the Red River in the early nineteenth century, reported a source of bois d\u27arc wooden bows among the Caddos of the Red River. With these bows they conducted a lively trade among Plains and southeastern Indian groups

Silica Froth: An Indicator of Thatch Artchitecture

Archaeological reports of silica froth are noted from Kansas to Texas, and are usually interpreted as evidence of burned grass- or cane-thatched buildings. However, many archaeological excavations in the Caddoan region fail to mention this material. Does this reflect idiosyncratic factors in the formation of silica froth, lack of expertise on the part of excavators/analysts, or differential recovery techniques? Archaeological and experimental data indicate that Caddoan houses frequently left silica froth as a residue when they burned. The implications are that archaeologists may be missing this key architectural item and that silica froth may be used to infer the presence of a house in the absence of traditional features such as post molds

Southwestern Pottery and Turquoise in Northeastern Texas

Rare and often questionable occurrences of southwestern pottery and turquoise artifacts have been reported in northeastern Texas. These artifacts may mark major interaction networks. Both southwestern pottery and turquoise artifacts have been found at the Sanders site, which is located in the core distribution of these erratics

Native American Integration in 19th Century Anglo-American Society: An Archaeological Perspective from Northeastern Texas

This paper will examine the phenomenon of Native American-Anglo-American integration on the frontier of Northeastern Texas during the 19th century. First, a brief overview of the historic setting will be presented on where and how this integration took place and who were the primary players. Second, we discuss the material cultural manifestations of this interaction, and what problems it presents for interpreting the archaeological record. Finally, we conclude that what have been previously described and defined as typical 19th century Anglo-American frontier homesteads of Northeastern Texas warrant a different interpretive perspective, and in fact, many of these typical first wave pioneer Anglo-American homesteads may actually represent mestizo occupations

Archaeological Investigations at the Marshall Powdermill and Arsenal (41HS17), Confederate States of America 1864-1865, Harrison County, Texas

The Northeast Texas Archeological Society (NETAS), in conjunction with the East Texas, Dallas, and Tarrant County Archeological Societies has completed a year-long project at the Marshall Powder Mill, 41HS17, Harrison County, Texas. The Marshall Powder Mill manufactured gunpowder, small arms and cannon, and refurbished weaponry. It is one of several arsenals that served the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederate States of America, and was among the last in operation from 1864 to 1865. None have been thoroughly investigated archaeologically, thereby ignoring a major aspect of the Confederacy\u27s war effort and an important industrial enterprise

The Frequency of Fire in East Texas Forests

The debate over the use of fire by Native Americans has been a lively one for many years. Did they or did they not set fires? If they did, how frequently and for what purpose? If not, did they take advantage of naturally occurring fires for the same purposes? If so, how frequently and to what intensity did those natural fires occur? These seem like relatively simple questions that should elicit focused, directed research that would, in tum, produce straightforward answers. In some parts of North America, this has indeed been the case. Ethnographic documentation, corroborated by archaeological research, has produced unequivocal evidence that the first Americans used fire extensively to manipulate the environment in which they lived. This article examines early historic accounts of Native American use of fire in Texas, and the frequency of natural fires. These data are important not only to our understanding of the extent to which humans altered the landscape, but also how plant communities adapted to fires. Often, we interpret paleoenvironmental data to reflect climatic changes. However, we must also understand the factors that may have contributed to these changes in pollen sequences and soil formation processes

Archaeological Investigations at the Redwine Site (41SM193), Smith County, Texas

The Redwine site (41SM193) is a probable Middle Caddoan habitation site located on an upland terrace (Figure I) on the headwaters of Auburn Creek, a small tributary of the Sabine River in central Smith County; the Angelina River drainage basin begins about 1.5 km to the south of the site. Auburn Creek is about 100 meters to the north of the site. The Sabine River lies approximately 24 km to the north. Soils on the Redwine site are Bowie fine sandy loam. The site was discovered in the early 1960s by Sam Whlteside an avocational archaeologist who lived in the Tyler area. His work consisted of trenching, and he located and excavated several burials and a small house mound. In an attempt to relocate the site limited controlled excavations were undertaken in 1995 by the authors, under the direction of Dr. John Keller of Southern Archaeological Consultants, Inc. We hoped to gain enough information about the size, age, and integrity of the Redwine site to apply for legal designation and protection under the Antiquities Code of Texas. After confirming that the Redwine site contained important archaeological information, an application for State Archeological Landmark (SAL) designation was made in 1996, and in July 1996, the Redwine site was officially designated an SAL by the Texas Historical Commission, the first SAL in Smith County. This paper describes our findings, and discusses the artifacts and plant and animal remains recovered during the work. We also provide information on the 1960s excavations of a small house mound at the site, along with the grave goods recovered by Sam Whiteside from the four Redwine site burials