The Eisenhower Birthplace State Historical Park
Sue E. Linder-Linsley, P.I.
ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING
Actual Birthplace of Eisenhower.
The Eisenhower Birthplace State Historical Park is located in the City of Denison, in Grayson County, Texas. The project area is on the USGS 7.5' Sherman and Denison Dam quadrangles. The project area is an urban residential setting whose vegetation includes lawn grasses, flowering plants, ornamental domestic shrubs and hedges, as well as indigenous weeds, grasses, and vines, including poison ivy. Trees present in the area include oak sp., chinaberry, cottonwood, willow and hackberry. The average visibility across the site is 70 percent. There is an unnamed intermittent stream channel within the project area whose major drainage is Pawpaw Creek. The project area and associated streams are part of the Red River drainage basin.
The land is gently sloping toward the creek which floods intermittently. The soil is the Crosstell Series, 27-Crosstell-Urban land complex (USDA 1980). The soil complex is an intricate mixture of 45-65 percent Crosstell soils, 30-50 percent Urban land, and less than 25 percent soils of minor extent. The Crosstell soil typically has a surface layer of pale brown, neutral, fine sandy loam about 3 inches thick. Below this to a depth of 22 inches is a very strongly acid clay. From 3 to 11 inches the clay is red and has reddish yellow and yellowish red mottles, and from 11 to 22 inches it is reddish yellow and has red mottles. Between depths of 22 and 43 inches there is a mottled brownish yellow, red, and light gray, strongly acid clay, and below that to a depth of 60 inches is a mottled yellowish brown, light gray, and reddish brown, mildly alkaline shalely clay. Permeability is very slow and available water capacity is medium, giving the soil a very severe hazard of erosion. The Urban land consists of single unit dwellings, streets, driveways, patios and outbuildings. The Soil Conservation Service rates this complex as having a medium potential for urban development due to the shrink-swell potential, low strength and very slow permeability (USDA 1980).
The creek has been channelized and part of the creek bed is contained by a concrete retaining wall. In addition, the creek makes two 90Á turns which appear to not represent the natural course of the drainage. We suspect in the late 1800's and early 1900's that the creek did not follow its current course as evidenced by the most likely location for 215 and 213 S. Lamar being on top of the modern channel. In the past the creek may have been more intermittent and varied from dry to a raging torrent with spring flash floods. The water table today varies from 18 ft below ground level up to the surface. Also many of the structure may have only stood for a short time and/or been on stilts to prevent flooding at times when the water was high. If the creek flowed across the project area it may have been in the area of the alley instead of in the man-made channel along Shepherd street.
The North half of 41GS119 which was the location of additional testing has an average visibility of 95 percent. There are several standing structures, one large ornamental bush in the northeast corner of the lot and one solitary bois d'arc tree in the middle of the project area. The project area inside the property boundary lot lines is relatively flat. But on the east and north sides of block 9 there is a decline down to street level of approximately 5 feet. The project area is bounded on the south by a bushy hedge including several large trees, and on the west by tall weeds, grasses, and vines.
The Eisenhower Birthplace State Historical Park is part of the original surveys of James Roland and Isham G. Belcher. Originally 640 acres were surveyed on November 21, 1845, in compliance with a donation land warrant issued May 22, 1838 for Isham G. Belcher. Several days later, November 25, 1845, James Roland received a grant of 320 acres from the President of the Republic of Texas, Anson Jones. The information presented here is a brief synopsis of archival research into the early settlement of the area by Sheron Smith-Savage. For more detail please refer to Appendix A: Historical Land Use Summary, and documents on file with Texas Parks and Wildlife which include: Chain of Title for Blocks in the Project Area, Historic Street Information, Historic People Resources, and Francis B. Turnbull Oral Interview.
After the Civil War there was a rush to bring cattle to market, and great herds were driven across the Red River. A lively community named Red River City (now Denison) provided entertainment while serving as a supply point. Two railroads, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas (M. K. & T. or Katy) from the north and the Houston and Texas Central from the south, roared in to take advantage of the boom. In 1872 the importance of the railroads to the future of the community prompted its citizens to rename the town Denison City after George Denison of Ohio, associated with the M. K. & T. Railway.
In February of 1872 the widow Barsheba Belcher sold her husband's 640-acre tract for $500. In April, Henry Denison of Rily County, Kansas, paid $1,952 for 240 acres from the James Roland survey. Denison acquired the remaining 80 acres of the Roland survey from William and Mary Stovall who had purchased the land earlier. By August, Cook had sold the Belcher survey to James P. Dumas (later to become the Dumas Addition) for $4,800, almost ten times what he had paid for it only six months earlier.
Christmas Day 1872 brought the arrival of the first passenger train over the M. K. & T. Railway to Denison. Many of the streets were named for directors of the Katy railroad, and the Town Company donated an eight-acre park in the center of town. The cholera epidemic of 1873 caused many deaths in Denison but did not slow development.
The town was incorporated on March 13, 1873, growing to nearly 4000 residents by its first anniversary. Denison was an important trade center which had railroad heads connecting to St. Louis and to Houston. By 1875 the population of Denison had risen to 5000. In late 1876 J. M. Cook merged his nine-block addition with the city of Denison (Cook's First Addition), which included part of the area where the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historical Park now stands. The location of the 1887 residents within the boundaries of the project area reflect the position of the railroad. Several houses were occupied by railroad employees, including John R. Dollarhide and William M. Easton, engineers for the M. K. & T. Railway; Andrew Harvey, William T. Hill, Patrick Hinzie, and John Long, employed by the Missouri & Pacific Railway; and Isaac Simms, a laborer for the Houston and Texas Central Railway. John Long may have been living in the house now known as the Eisenhower Birthplace, and William M. Easton probably resided in what is now known as the Etzel Residence.
Businesses located in the area include that of John Holden and Leonard L. Lewis who operated a blacksmith and wheelwright shop at 203 E. Shepherd, and Shapley P. R. Taylor who operated a similar shop nearby at 215 E. Shepherd. Holden and Lewis lived just outside the area at 306 E. Shepherd and 318 E. Shepherd, respectively. William L. Bingham had a grocery store at 612 S. Lamar, next to Benjamin F. Markle's meat market at 610 S. Lamar. Markle lived at 607 S. Lamar, across the street from his market.
Living in the area in 1887 were William W. Barbarick, a shoemaker; William C. Fletcher, driver of an express wagon; James H. Foster, driver of a sprinkling wagon owned by Dick Chamberlain; Thomas Madden, a laborer; Lizzie Tatum, the widow of Luke Tatum; Levi W. Thomas, a carpenter, and Miss Ida Thomas, music teacher; and James T. Watson, a farmer, and his son James J. Watson, a carpenter. Of these, only Thomas Madden and Isaac Simms were identified in the City Directory as "colored." Madden lived at 207 E. Shepherd and Simms at 613 S. Lamar. Assuming the 1887 addresses roughly correspond to those of today (see site maps: it appears that there has been some renumbering of residences over time), much development had occurred on both sides of the 600 block of South Lamar Avenue. The Markle meat market, William L. Bingham grocery, William Easton residence, and Isaac Simms residence were all located in the 600 block of S. Lamar. The location of the Lewis and Holden wheelwright shop at 203 E. Shepherd is probably the area of the present Gentry life estate at 620 S. Lamar.
Also of historical interest are the archeological remains of the Thomas Madden residence formerly at 207 E. Shepherd. Tom Madden lived in this house from at least 1887 until his death on July 22, 1939. Austin Madden, a Black male probably related to Tom, was living at 213 E. Shepherd in 1929. The Simms residence, formerly at 613 S. Lamar, also enjoyed a long occupancy by Black families; Nippi Simms Butler was identified as the owner in 1920; three other Black families were also then living at this address. The property remained in her family until 1956 when it was acquired by Monte Bales Jones. James T. Watson, living at 126 E. Nelson, had purchased the north half of lots 1, 2 and 3, Block 9, Cook's First Addition, on December 7, 1878. Related by marriage to Leonard Lewis, he died about May 3, 1891. His residence passed to his son J. M. Watson.
Three years later, on October 14, 1890, Dwight David Eisenhower was born to David J. and Ida Eisenhower-their third child and third son. David Eisenhower had arrived in Denison in 1888 to work as an engine wiper in the M. K. & T. roundhouse, having failed in a general store business near Abilene, Kansas. Members of a Mennonite community in Kansas, they longed to return and did so with the help of his brother-in-law in the spring of 1891. It was not until 1942 that Dwight Eisenhower acknowledged his birthplace as Denison, Texas.
By the census year 1900, the makeup of the neighborhood had changed somewhat since 1887. The 200 block of East Day Street was predominantly White. Its sole Black resident, was a 15-year-old servant, Stella Watson. James M. Emerson appeared to be operating a grocery at 600 S. Lamar, although a letterhead in the Turnbull papers given to TPWD indicates William Etzel, dealer in staple and fancy groceries and wood, was in business at 600 S. Lamar. Residences were occupied at 607 and 613; Easter Sims and John Smith headed Black families at 613 S. Lamar. Thomas Madden, at 207 E. Shepherd Street, remained the head of the only Black family in the 200 block. Only five heads of identified families appear to have been employed by the railroad. Other occupations included a fireman at the flour mill, a cigar salesman, three carpenters, a painter, and a proprietor of mineral wells. At least two families were headed by widows - one a dressmaker and the other did washing - and one household was headed by a divorcÚe.
The 1910 population census for the study area lists 46-year-old James A. Redmon and his wife Nettie D., their five living children, and mother-in-law Sarah Jackson residing at a rent house at 817 Lamar Avenue. This is probably the Jim Redmon that tradition says ran for the doctor on October 14, 1890, when Dwight D. Eisenhower's birth was imminent, and took over for new father David Eisenhower at the roundhouse. Another extended family, headed by E. D. Wilmon, was listed at the same address. Perhaps this was a large, subdivided house or there was another residence on the property.
The census of 1910 identified 28 households in the area, equally divided between Black and White heads of household. Of the 14 Black heads of household, 4 were identified as mulattoes. It is interesting to note that all the mulatto families lived in the 200 block of E. Shepherd. Black residents lived at 206, 207, 208, and 216 E. Shepherd; 207, 209 and 215 E. Nelson; as well as 206 and 208 E. Day Street. By far the majority of homes were rented, with 20 homes known to have been rented and 6 owned. Several of the rental houses belonged to William Etzel. In 1911 the Missouri-Kansas and Texas Railroad established a new station in the middle of downtown Denison, which has been renovated into a major tourist attraction. Manuel and Monterey Bales had returned to the Denison area and came into town to 609 South Lamar, the home of the Etzels, for the birth of Frances Elizabeth Bales on May 13, 1912. The Baleses were living at the time on William Etzel's farm near Dripping Springs. By 1914 they had moved back to the neighborhood, living first in one of Etzel's rent houses in the 100 block of East Nelson (the house behind the corner house at Nelson and Lamar), where son William Bales was born. They then moved to the corner house at 601 S. Lamar (the former Watson residence?). Bales gardened behind the house and the children enjoyed playing with the otherchildren in the neighborhood.
In 1922 the M. K. & T. Railroad removed their locomotive shops from Denison to Waco, but in 1923 the road built the Ray Terminal northwest of the city, which strengthened Denison's identity as a important transportation center.
The 1929 City Directory shows that Black residents of the area occupied 116 and 120 E. Nelson; 613, 616, and 620 S. Lamar; 207, 209, 213, and 214 E. Shepherd; and 206, 208, 214, and 215 E. Day. Among these were long-time residents Tom Madden (207 E. Shepherd) and Nippi Sims Butler (613 S. Lamar). By this time the neighborhood was truly integrated, and livelihoods may not have been dependent on the railroad, although further research is needed. At least eight of the households were headed by women, which may speak to the aging population and structures of the neighborhood.
In 1966 Eva Gentry moved into the house at 620 S. Lamar Avenue, where she continues to enjoy a life tenancy.
Dwight D. Eisenhower died on March 28, 1969. In 1971 plans were announced for development at the Eisenhower State Historic Site. Sometime before 1979, Monte B. Jones donated a house built about 1890 [601 S. Lamar?], which was dismantled and removed to be used for materials in constructing early day buildings at the Frontier Village.
Monte Bales Jones died on August 31, 1980, at the age of 88. The daughter of George and Alpha Corker Traweek, she was born on January 17, 1892, in Sonora, Texas. She had lived at the Etzel residence at 609 S. Lamar Avenue from 1906, when she was 14 years old, until her marriage two or three years later. By 1914 they were living in one of Etzel's rent houses in the 100 block of East Nelson Street. By 1920 they had moved to 601 S. Lamar. A move to Oklahoma led to a divorce, and Monte Bales Jones returned with her children to 609 S. Lamar in 1923 where she lived the remainder of her life-for 57 years. She had been associated with the home and the neighborhood for 74 years since 1906. Jones was instrumental in securing and renovating the Eisenhower birthplace, and served as a hostess at the home for many years. Frances Turnbull is her only surviving child, and she lived in the Etzel home until an unfortunate incident in 1991 induced her to move for personal safety. William Jones was killed in World War II, and Alpha Louise Bales died August 8, 1981, at the age of 71. Louise Bales, a retired bank clerk, had operated an antique store for awhile in the Red Barn, but was living in Commerce at the time of her death.
Red Barn
Denison has two historic districts: a local district and a National Register District - the Denison Commercial Historic District. Eisenhower Birthplace is in the city-designated Old Town District. Grayson County Frontier Village, a collection of seven moved historic structures, is located at Loy Park in the southwest part of town (see Appendix A detailes).
The artifacts collected from the sites at Eisenhower Historical State Park are representative of an occupation period extending from the late 1800's through the 1950's. One of the diagnostic items of the early time period which all four sites yielded was a sample of cut nails which were used in the North Texas area from the 1830's until ca. 1900 (Nelson 1968; Priess 1974; Jurney 1987). The sample of vessel and bottle glass items recovered includes manganese solarized glass hand applied bottle necks which date to a general time period between 1880 and 1920 (Hunt 1959; Tolouse 1967, 1969, 1971; Munsey 1970; Switzer 1974; Adams and Gaw 1976; Fike 1987; Moir and Green 1988). Ceramics dating from a post-1890 to 1920 time period are also present with decalcomania overglaze and repoussÚ pattern (Ketchum 1971; Price 1979; Derven 1980; Dean 1984; Moir and Green 1988). Other diagnostic ceramics represented in the sample are coarse earthenwares in use prior to 1900 (Lebo 1988). The later periods are represented by the same categories of artifacts and more recent plastic items. Although the samples of most classificatory categories are relatively small, they do give a good indication of the time periods of the heaviest occupation of these sites. The type of artifacts found and their wide-spread spatial and temporal distribution is typical of both urban and rural settings in North Texas (Jurney and Moir 1987; Jurney et al. 1988; Skinner et al. 1992a, 1992b). Coal/coal slag were also present in the depositional matrix on all four sites which indicates an association of some kind, such as employment, between the residents and the railroads which played a large part in the economy of early Denison (Appendix A).
Following a research design, the next step was to identify areas of high, medium, and low potential for subsurface deposits based on the data recovered from the auger probes. This ranking of areas can be used in the planning process for future development activities as it provides some background information on the extent and intactness of deposits. Areas are coded as follows:
Figure 13 provides a visual representation of the information gathered as part of the Auger Probe testing. The Low potential for data recovery areas have previously been disturbed or destroyed by urban development. The medium potential for data recovery areas have deposits present but are less concentrated or have been partially impacted by previous development activities. The High potential for data recovery areas have thick (some >3 ft deep), artifactually dense middens and do not appear to have been disturbed by urban development.
The historical investigations must involve both excavation (Lofstrom 1976; Yakubik 1980; Spencer-Wood 1984) and documentary research (Beaudry 1984; Saitta 1984) as set forth in the exemplary work by Jurney, Lebo and Green (1988). From these types of investigations we can provide insights into traditional lifeways of a railroad community with a diversified ethnic background (Groves and Muller 1975; Bower 1984). This work has provided the basic information necessary to proceed with managing the subsurface deposits. The square nails, manganese solarized glass, and other items date from the late 1800's to early 1900's (Jurney et al. 1988; Skinner et al. 1992a, 1992b). The earliest map of the area shows structures present in 1908 (Sanborn Fire Insurance Co. 1908) and the historical research in Appendix: A. Historical Summary documents the presence of structures in 1887, therefore the presence of these items were expected (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 1993b; (Ellis 1970; Southern Living 1983, 1988; M-K-T Employees' Magazine 1947; FWPWPA 1939; Morrison & Fourmy 1887; Polk 1929; King 1974; Grayson County Frontier Village 1979; United States Census 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920; Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps 1903, 1908, 1914, 1930; Grayson County 1899, 1900, 1901; Etzel Papers nd; Grayson County, Texas Deed Records nd; Grayson County, Texas Death Records; Abstract of Title nd a, b, c; Turnbull 1991). Additional investigations may provide artifacts and information on occupation in this area as early as the mid 1840's and the beginnings of Dennison in the early 1870's but items dating to these time period have not yet been recovered.
The archival research of Sheron Smith-Savage outlines a post civil-war railroad community that in 1887 had a mixed population of black and white residents. A temporary shift around 1900, when the community was predominantly white but by 1910 the project area had an equally divided number of white and black households and by 1929 the area was truly integrated.
Mrs. Gentry indicated to the author that she knew the woman who lived in the previously standing structure on site 41GS121 (Mrs. Gentry to Linder-Linsley, June 1993). Mrs. Gentry should be formally interviewed. An interview should also be conducted with the Hakeem Elahi, Park Superintendent Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic who said that his grandfather lived in one of the houses in the project area and that he had visited the Jacob's Steam Bath and Hotel on site 41GS123 as a young child. The "facts" need to be substantiated by additional sources if possible.
The overall value of historic preservation is that the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historical Park has an unique opportunity to provide insights into the lifeways of North Texas settlement/subsistence strategies practiced by the late 1800's and early 1900's inhabitants in addition to its role as a reminder of presidential roots. As Lightfoot (1995:201) points out, "the significant challenge for archaeology in the 1990s is the development of theoretical models, methodological models and methodological practices for undertaking diachronic analyses of material culture derived from multi-ethic contexts (e.g., Deagan 1990a 1990b; Ferguson 1992)." This work has documented the existence of deposits adequate for an integrated approach of the history of the area by shifting the unit of analysis from artifact ratios to the spatial organization of the archaeological record. An integrated research design can be implemented for examining transformations in the organizational principles of household and communities (Lightfoot 1995). We have available written historic documents that provides a background (prior archaeological knowledge) for looking at a multi-ethic context. The interaction between ethic groups as they constructed, maintained, and abandoned space in their "built environments" across the regional landscape are linked to culture transformations that are driven by changes at the pan-regional scale (i.e., the railroad).
Preserving archaeological sites, buildings, and traditional cultural properties that reflect the Nation's cultural heritage is an important national goal and one that enjoys strong popular support. The values involved are well stated in the preamble to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966:
These principles are widely accepted by the American public, and bipartisan majorities of Congress have reaffirmed them repeatedly, as evidenced by the process of strengthening the Historic Preservation Act by successive amendments over the years, most recently in 1992.
While it may be argued that the deposits and historic properties contain in the project area are typical of the greater city of Denison and are therefore not unique. They are the only sample of these deposits which have the potential to be maintained and enriched for future generations. The park contains irreplaceable heritage that are now owned by the State of Texas and developed as a Historic Park. Modern development is bringing the small town of Denison urbanization. It will not be long before there is little difference between the greater Dallas metroplex and Denison. Fast food and discount stores have already taken a foot hold. Historic properties are being bulldozed to put in modern buildings. Urban construction techniques today destroy the archaeological record of previous occupations on the land. Only the designated Historic areas are safe from this type of development. We therefore recommend that the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historical Park be nominated as a State Archaeological landmark.
We also strongly recommend that the park expand its focus from that of just President Eisenhower to include many of the other people and activities that give the area its rich history. Educational exhibits, programs, and activities have a greater long-term benefit to participants if they (the visiting public) can identify with and be inspired by what is being presented. The full potential of the Park is not currently (1993) being adequately presented to the public. While white male's can most strongly identify with the potential to become president of the United States some day, the park should also provide incentives for females and other races. From the available records site 41GS121 had only black occupants from as early as 1885. In fact black females owned both 613 S. Lamar (Easter Sims) and 131 E. Shepherd (S.E. Musick) during much of the sites occupation. There were both black and white laundresses (Dora Walker, Anna Nesbie and Anna Mason), blacksmiths (John Holden and Leonard Lewis), and carpenter (Levi Thomas) residing in the area of site 41GS120 just to name a few. Likewise site 41GS118 was home to a meat market (Benjamin Markle) and grocery stores (W.L. Bingham (possibly on 41GS121) and William Etzel). Site 41GS119 was the location of residence and rental houses that were occupied by the relatives of M. Bales Jones, William Etzel and James Watson. These inhabitants had occupations that included shoemaking, sales, carpentry, flour milling, and printing. While all of the sites were home to many individuals through time that worked for the railroad.
With additional archival research an interpretative program can be developed that will enhance the presidential beginnings already exhibited and bring to light all of the various individual and occupations that are necessary and representative of the make up of the neighborhood and its relationship to the railroad. Such a program may include the porcelain dolls pieces (41GS119, U1 L2; U6 L2) and be supplemented by a complete porcelain doll and the jack (41GS119 U6 L2) that could be supplemented by a complete set of jacks and a ball. The text of such an exhibit could mention the many children that lived in the project area. It was common for a family to have at least 5 children and many had 10 or more children - Mary J. Sims had 10 children (608 S. Lamar/41GS118, Table 3), and Mary Bunkley had 11 children (215 E. Shepherd/41GS120, Table 10). We can not say to whom the jack or doll parts belonged but they are representative of the types of toys with which the children would have been playing. Occupations such as laundress are an important part of the cultural foundation of a southern town. Women commonly take in a families laundry when then need to earn some money either as a primarily source of income or as extra spending money. While in big city America the tradition may have been forgotten this author can recall when her mother took in laundry for spending money some twenty-plus years ago and more recently Ruth Wilson said that she had taken her laundry to an elderly lady only two years ago because it was cheaper than taking clothes to a commercial cleaners (personal communication, Dr. Ruth Wilson, SMU, June 15, 1995). While the auguring did not uncover an artifacts distribution that could be interpreted as the by-product of laundering as has been documented elsewhere (Jurney and Andrews 1994) we did recover several buttons and lots and lots of coal/coal slag these items may be part of a larger picture of laundering if viewed at a larger scale than a auger probe. However, if the coal/coal slag was burned to heat houses it is doubtful that one would be able to distinguish between its use to heat water for laundering vs. burning in a stove to heat the house based on the intense distribution observed on site 41GS119. The dish fragments recovered from site 41GS119 are representative of the same pattern in blue, green and brown. If a local donor could be located it would add to the educational value of the exhibit if a whole piece could be displayed with information on the donor about when and where they acquired the dishes. It is not only more cost effective to get local residents to donate items for exhibit but it adds history and familiarity to the park which can not be gained by the purchase of items from antique dealers.
The Eisenhower Birthplace State Historical Park has the historic preservation potential for enriching our communities knowledge of this irreplaceable heritage by providing mutli-ethic cultural information that all visitors can identify with. There needs to be a more sophisticated use of historical documents. "Rather than viewing historical documents as analogues for reconstructing the past, they can be used as revelations of the time at which they were recorded, and as additional sources for comparison with archaeological interpretations" (Lightfoot 1995: 211). This information must then be made available to the public. In the modern time of compressors and nail guns most young children do not have an conception of what a square nail is or what wheelrights and blacksmiths did. All of the sites produced square nails and site 41GS120 has the potential to produce some artifacts used by John Holden and Leonard Lewis.
Texas Parks and Wildlife has plans for developing the recently acquired four blocks (41GS118, 41GS119, 41GS120, and 41GS121) and expanding the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historical Park. Figure 14 is an artists conception of what the expanded park may look like. The first development activities on Texas Parks and Wildlife's agenda are a comfort station with attached pavilion and a new parking lot. The comfort station/pavilion will be located on site 41GS118 and the new parking lot will be located on the north half of site 41GS119.
Comfort Station & Pavilion
Parking Lot
Other Recommendations
As a result of the Phase I work part of 41GS118 was designated as having a low potential (Figure 13) for intact archaeological deposits. In fact the area had previously been bulldozed down to bedrock and had only has a thin layer of topsoil. This area was chosen for the location of a new comfort station and pavilion because it would not have an impact on archaeological deposits and was the desired location by park planning designers. This area was cleared by the Texas Historical Commission for construction to begin. In May of 1995, Texas Parks and Wildlife archaeologists monitored the beginning of construction for this new facility. As expected no archaeologically significant deposits were encountered.
The Phase I work on the north half of 41GS119 designated the area as having medium potential and identified a grossly stratified sheet refuse midden with subsurface features extending into the underlying natural clay horizon (Figure 13). If a parking lot is to be constructed in this area avoidance will be impossible (Ralph 1993b). The impact of construction activities should therefore be considered in light of available resources and the existence of other higher potential areas within the park. Total removal of subsurface features (wells, cisterns, outhouse pits, etc.) will be required due to the nature of clay matrix and looseness of fill in these features. Subsurface features will cause instability in any structure (parking lot, etc.) constructed on top of them. All ground disturbing activities should be monitored by an archaeologist.
While the sheet refuse is grossly stratified and has the potential to shed new light on the lifeways of the previous inhabitants at 601 to 605 Lamar and 118 to 120 E. Nelson, these individuals were most likely not significantly different from the residents at 206, 208, and 210 E. Nelson or 613 Lamar etc. Since these alternative areas have a higher potential to yield data they may be better locations in which to concentrate preservation resources. Available resources and planned development activities for the park need to be evaluated in light of historic preservation goals, the potential interpretive value, and greater body of knowledge about lifeways in the late 1800's and early 1900's of a railroad community in North Texas. The final decision as to the extent of mitigation the sheet refuse on the north half of 41GS119 was a joint decision between the Texas Antiquities Committee and Texas Parks and Wildlife (personal communication, Ron Ralph 1993). It was decided that the sheet refuse midden did not need further testing and that construction activities that only involved the midden were cleared for construction to begin. At this time the proposed construction was estimated to have only a 3 in impact. However, if construction would impact subsurface features further migative measure would need to be evaluated.
Based on the May 1995, construction diagrams for the parking lot (see Figure 16) the impact will be a minimum of 5 ft to achieve a level entry/exit way and flat parking surface. Its should also be noted that while the engineering drawings have been shifted the parking lot southward so that it will not be constructed on top of East Nelson street (as requested by the city) it still has the north and east sides on city property. We recommend that the area be mechanically striped to a depth of approximately 1 to 1.2 ft to remove the midden and expose the tops of subsurface features. This work should be monitored by an Texas Parks and Wildlife archaeologist. All subsurface features such as cistern, privies, wells, etc. will be easily discernible from the natural clay horizon. The need for documentation and further work should then be evaluated before construction proceeds.
In order to understand land-use, mobility, residential activity, and group organization wide-area views of multivariate models are necessary (Amick 1994). Pattern recognition of the artifactual assemblages must proceed through investigation of the mechanisms of formation based on uniformitarian assumptions. Long-term differential space-use can be evidenced through internal variability among the categories of artifact classes. Spatial patterns should be viewed in terms of adaptive systems and not in terms of sequential episodes (Akoshima 1993). Therefore, the gross stratification is an important part of North Texas settlement/subsistence strategies practiced by the late 1800's and early 1900's inhabitants.
Since archaeological recovery/mitigation activities are by definition destructive, the only true method of preservation is assuring that the information contained in an archaeological site remains intact and undisturbed. A potential compromise may be to set aside from consideration of development one area of the park as a means of preservation by avoidance. The high potential area along E. Nelson street behind the Red Commercial building would be a candidate for this type of preservation for the future as would all of site 41GS118.
Additionally, as an issue of preservation and safety we recommend that the large cistern on site 41GS118 be sealed. Since the auguring gave an indication that their may be a complete bed strings upright in the filled cistern and the auguring made the surrounding ground move it is likely that there are air pockets and spaces that are not visible from the surface if a small child fell in they might get trapped or an adult visitor may get their foot stuck and hurt their leg. Consultation with a safety engineer should provide a cost effective solution such as a large metal plate (of the type used in road construction) installed over the top and then covered with sod.
If there is to be a trail crossing the creek the area where the alley intersects the creek would be an excellent location. The area is known to be archaeologically disturbed and it is lower than the surround creek bank. Stepping stones could be placed in the creek and the creek banks sculpted for walking up and down or a bridge of some type could be installed over the creek. In either event engineering diagrams for the crossing should be cleared by Texas Parks and Wildlife's archaeologist and ground breaking construction should be monitored.
Finally, we encourage those responsible for historic preservation at the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historical Park to use a pan-regional view when making decisions concerning the development (construction, interpretation, exhibition, and day-to-day running) of the park. By taking on the responsibility to manage the historic resources, preservationists can choose to participate in the reconfiguration of interpretations back to the study of long-term change as evidenced through the multi-ethic households in the community that constructed, maintained, and abandoned space through time (Lightfoot 1995).
In keeping with the spirit of the Nation which is founded upon and reflected in its historic heritage; the historical and cultural foundations of the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historical Park should be preserved as a living part of our community life and developed to give a sense of orientation to the American
Corner Foundation Stones Uncovered During Test Unit Excavation
Field Work at Eisenhower Birthplace State Historical Park
Waterscreening at Eisenhower Birthplace State Historical Park
Test Pits.
Test Pits.
Test Pits.
Lab work on artifacts.
Lab work on artifacts.
Lab work on artifacts.
Lab work on artifacts.
For more information on the Park visit Texas Parks and Wildlife's web site