Silver Bluff

Overview

Situated on the east bank of the Savannah River, the Silver Bluff site is located in Aiken County, South Carolina, approximately 15 miles southeast of Augusta, Georgia. The site is part of a tract of land encompassing over 3,000 acres that was bequeathed to the National Audubon Society in 1975 by the estate of Floyd Starr. Established by George Galphin in the early 1740s, this backcountry trading post served the Native Americans and colonists in the area. By the 1770s, Galphin had greatly expanded his land holdings and turned his attention to operating a large-scale plantation, where enslaved laborers produced corn, indigo, and tobacco.  Prior to the development of Galphin’s Trading Post, and his plantation, the area was home to a significant prehistoric occupation (Forehand et al., 2004: 51).

Archaeological investigations conducted between 1979 and 1999 explored components of Galphin’s trading post and plantation. Evidence suggests there were at least six buildings of interest in the area making up a well-defined, fortified compound. The buildings are thought to be quarters for the enslaved, a principal dwelling, outbuilding (perhaps a detached kitchen), two additional residential buildings, and a probable trading post store (Forehand et al., 2004: 51; Groover and Forehand, 1999:32). The 1999 investigation that comprises the assemblage in DAACS focused on the archaeological remains of a single large structure that was flanked by a palisade and may have been the principal dwelling at Silver Bluff.

The Silver Bluff site was investigated between November 1979 and March 1980 by the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, the University of South Carolina, Aiken, and the Augusta Archaeological Society. This examination consisted of a systematic ground surface collection survey (Scurry et al., 1980:2). In 1996, the Savannah River Archaeological Research Program (SRARP), a division of the University of South Carolina’s South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA), conducted a series of test pits and incorporated the use of ground penetrating radar in their research. In May and June of 1999, the SRARP, Augusta State University and the National Audubon Society’s Silver Bluff Plantation Sanctuary, joined forces to sponsor a archaeological field school at the site (Forehand et al., 2004: 58).

The 1999 field school investigation sampled two main areas using block excavation to focus on and around the remnants of a brick dwelling and related defensive palisade.  In 2013, Dr. Charles Cobb and his graduate student at the University of South Carolina, joined the DAACS Research Consortium and chose to focus on the areas excavated during the 1999 field work.  Joy analyzed the artifacts and field records from this season and and cataloged them into the DAACS database as part of the DRC’s Phase 1 pilot study.  After the field school, further efforts to gather information about the site occurred in 2003 in the form of various remote sensing surveys, as well as a short summer camp co-sponsored by the SRARP and the Continuing Education Program at the University of South Carolina, Aiken (Forehand et al., 2004: 69).

Documentary Evidence

Settlement in the Carolinas continued to expand westward during the eighteenth century. The British Colonial government developed an initiative to control the booming deerskin trade by setting up a series of trading posts along the frontier. Two of these were government run, but many more were privately owned. In addition to the goal of maintaining a trade monopoly with the Native Americans in the region, the enterprise was intended to maintain peaceful relationships between the native and colonial populations in the hope of encouraging new settlement in the area. As settlers moved into the area, the trade industry grew to accommodate their needs. A few trading posts became regional suppliers, one of which was located at Silver Bluff (mdgroover.iweb.bsu.edu).

Silver Bluff Plantation and Galphin’s Trading Post were owned and run by George Galphin, an immigrant from Northern Ireland. Galphin immigrated to the Carolina Colony in 1737  (Forehand et al., 2004:52). Soon after, Galphin joined Brown Rae and Company, a prominent trading company also known as the Augusta Company (Forehand et al., 2004: 53; Hamer 1982:43). He served as a native language interpreter for the government throughout the 1740s (Forehand et al, 2004:53; Hamer 1982:54). As Galphin traveled between the city of Charleston and the Carolina Backcountry to conduct business, he would have used a Creek trading path that ran along the bank of the Savannah River. Suitable land near Augusta struck his fancy, and he purchased a 400-acre tract there in 1744 (Forehand et al., 2004: 54; Hamer 1982:88-89). Galphin’s relationship with the government and native groups, along with the geographic proximity to the river and the ease of transport associated with it, enabled his trading post at Silver Bluff to flourish. This success enabled Galphin to establish his plantation where corn, indigo, and tobacco were produced. This endeavor necessitated a number of enslaved individuals. At the time of his death, Galphin owned 128 slaves and tens of thousands of acres of land in South Carolina and Georgia (Forehand et al., 2004:53-54).

Excavation History, Procedure, and Methods

The 1979-1980 investigation set out to identify all archaeological components present at the Silver Bluff site. The area was first mechanically disked, surveyed into 50-meter blocks, and then subdivided into 10-meter squares. Within a sample of these squares, a systematic collection of ground surface artifacts was undertaken to a depth of one to two inches (Scurry et al. 1980:2, 35-36).

The 1996 inquiry focused on a 100-x-100 meter grid that included the colonial period settlement area as indicated by the previous survey. Fieldwork consisted of an intensive surface collection of a 5-x-5 meter grid, as well as close-interval shovel testing, test unit excavations, and ground penetrating radar. Artifact spatial distribution analysis was conducted using the computer software called ArcView. Data suggested that there were six buildings in the area of interest making up a well-defined compound. The buildings are thought to be quarters for the enslaved, a principal dwelling, outbuilding (perhaps a detached kitchen), two additional residential buildings, and a probable trading post store (Forehand et al., 2004: 57-58; Groover and Forehand, 1999:32).

The 1999 investigation that comprises the assemblage in DAACS focused on the large, principal dwelling (shown on Figure 1 as Structure 2). An excavation block was opened up around a previously identified concentration of brick indicative of a chimney base. Ten of these excavation units make up part of the assemblage in DAACS. An additional area was investigated to the north of the excavation block that contains part of the same palisade trench. Test units were excavated in this area make up part of the DAACS assemblage. One goal of the field school was to obtain information about the methods used to construct the building (Groover and Forehand, 1999:32). Test units were dug in 10-centimeter levels and screened with ¼-inch mesh. Each unit contained three main levels. The features and postholes were located mainly beneath the lowest of these levels (Forehand, 2004).

Summary of Research and Analysis

The results of the 1999 investigation suggest that the large structure initially discovered in the 1996 survey was a half-timbered earthfast building with brick-filled walls and a brick chimney. This construction method is unique for the period in the Carolina Backcountry. Few buildings of this period have been studied; however, those that have seem to have been clad in clapboard or were constructed of woven wattle walls plastered with daub (Groover and Forehand, 1999:31). The density of brick debris in conjunction with a row of postholes supports the idea of a brick structure. Moreover, Galphin’s will makes mention of two brick buildings located on the property. He discusses an “old Brick House” and a “new Brick House” (Forehand et al., 2004:59; Will of George Galphin, 1776:Box 40 Pack 898). The building remains uncovered during the 1999 excavation are likely the “old Brick House,” Galphin’s first dwelling constructed near his trading post (Forehand et al., 2004:60).

In addition to the building, a defensive palisade was discovered. This feature consisted of a trench containing intermittently spaced buttress posts that likely supported horizontal spanners (Groover and Forehand, 1999:32). The archaeological data uncovered suggests that Galphin’s dwelling and the palisade were built simultaneously. Brick debris associated with the construction of the house was placed in the palisade postholes, and the upper portion of the palisade trench was filled with refuse after the posts had been seated and partially backfilled. Over time, refuse accumulated forming a midden (Forehand et al., 2004:62).

Further efforts are required to determine the exact boundaries of the palisade and greater complex, as well as the function, size, and construction methods for the remaining five structures located on the site (Forehand et al., 2004:71).

As of March 2015, approximately half of the 1999 material assemblage has been entered into DAACS. These contexts include a chimney, a number of postholes and postmolds, and portions of a trench (palisade). Stratigraphic relationships have been established among the entered contexts and are accessible throughout these pages. Peripheral areas remain to be cataloged and will be entered into DAACS during the summer of 2015.