Field Schools Programs at James Madison’s Montpelier
Field School in Archaeology and Laboratory Techniques
Montpelier in Orange, VA, is the lifelong home of James Madison, Jr. fourth president of the United States and acknowledged “Father of the Constitution.” Madison was raised at Montpelier, lived here during the Honeymoon period of his first retirement from public life, and then retired here after his presidency. Known as the “Old Sage of Montpelier,” Madison would over his lifetime entertain many famous guests, drawn not only to Madison as a scholar and former president, but also to the famous hospitality of Dolley Madison, the lady who inspired the title “First Lady.”
In 2003, Montpelier initiated an ambitious restoration project, aiming to return the mansion and the immediate grounds to how they would have appeared in the “Retirement Years” (1817-1836) of James and Dolley Madison. On September 17, 2008 the completion of the exterior restoration of the house was celebrated. With the focus now on the restoration of the mansion’s interiors, the Montpelier Archaeology Department—whose work had been primarily been focused on mitigation or “rescue” archaeology—initiated a long-term research program aimed at understanding the nature, extent, and impact of slavery on the early-19th century plantation landscape. With the dearth of documentary evidence from the 19th century, archaeological investigations offer one of the primary means by which the “hidden minds and lives” of the African American slaves at Montpelier can be interpreted.
Previous excavations of slave sites at Montpelier have included:
· Mount Pleasant—the original 18th-century Madison homestead which, when the Madisons moved to the Montpelier mansion, was occupied by slaves until the last structure burned to the ground in 1790s and the complex was subsequently abandoned.
· The Tobacco Barn Quarters—representing field slave quarters in an un-plowed context, excavations have revealed a number of work yards associated with quarters and supporting structures.
· The South Yard—excavations have revealed two slave duplexes for domestic slaves, one detached brick kitchen, a smokehouse, the paths that tie them to the mansion, and the boundaries that existed between the formal yard and the Stable Quarter.
The research program for the next three years at Montpelier will have a two-pronged approach. Archaeological excavation and survey of the Stable and Tobacco Barn Quarters and South Yard will be geared towards uncovering of the full extent of slave quarters, associated work yards, and middens. This will be coupled with intensive post-excavation examination of the artifact assemblages to contrast three different sites—domestic slave quarters of the South Yard, the “liminal” Stable Quarter, and the field slave quarters of the Tobacco Barn Quarter—and allow a comparison of the lives of slaves at the different sites.
In the 2010 field school, the field schools and Archaeology Expeditions & Excursions will be conducting an extensive archaeological investigation of the Stable Quarter complex, or the area between the Visitor Center and the southern edge of the mansion’s curtilage (formal grounds). Previous survey in the area has revealed scatters of artifacts that are consistent with work yards and surfaces, a slave quarter, and what may be the foundation or work surface for the stable itself. Identifying the nature of these structures, and the related features such as paths and middens, in this area will contribute to our overall understanding of how the Madisons organized not only their landscape, but insights into the nature of slavery at Montpelier.
US - Virginia - Montpelier Archaeology Field School
