First Hermitage: South Cabin

Overview

The South Cabin, a 20-by-40-foot brick duplex residence, was constructed around 1821 in area of The Hermitage plantation known today as the First Hermitage (Figure 1). The First Hermitage represents the original core of the Hermitage property, where two log buildings served as the Jackson family home (West Cabin) and detached kitchen and dwelling for enslaved laborers (East Cabin) from the time of their purchase of the property in 1804 until the completion of the brick mansion in 1821. A third structure (Southeast Cabin), likely a log structure identified archaeologically by a limestone hearth, stood to the southeast of, and was likely contemporaneous with, the West and East Cabins.

The site of the South Cabin is located approximately 25 feet south of, and equidistance between, the East and West Cabins (Figure 2). Its presence was first identified during surface survey by Samuel Smith, who hypothesizes that two chimney falls with a depressed area between them was suggestive of a two-unit, or duplex. Subsequent excavation revealed a stone and brick foundation measuring 20.5-by-40-feet, with a limestone foundation partition wall dividing it in half. Exterior postholes located at the southern end of the cabin indicated a possible structural addition or porch. A subfloor pit measuring 3.8-by-4.2- feet was excavated in the southwest portion of the cabin’s interior and a second subfloor pit was identified but not fully excavated.

Archaeological research confirms that the Southeast Cabin was constructed from bricks produced during a major building campaign that results in the construction of the mansion, the Triplex, and four additional 20-by-40-foot duplexes at the Field Quarter. The architecture, along with artifact assemblages, indicates the building was constructed in the early 1820s and was dismantled in the early 1870s. Once the Jacksons moved into their brick mansion in 1821, the First Hermitage became a quarter area for enslaved African American families, where it continued to serve as housing for between 6-7 enslaved families until Emancipation.

Archaeological excavations were led by Samuel Smith in 1974 and 1975. Daniel Brock oversaw excavations at the Southeast Cabin during the summers of 2004, 2005, and 2006. In 2007, Kevin Bartoy, in collaboration with DAACS, received an IMLS grant to establish a DAACS Satellite Lab at The Hermitage. In 2008, Bartoy and his team received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant for the analysis of three Hermitage Sites, including the South Cabin. This grant was subsequently transferred to DAACS at Monticello.

Documentary Evidence

No historical documentation exists for the South Cabin and few primary documents provide descriptions of the First Hermitage area during the early nineteenth century. The land that became The Hermitage was acquired as a land grant in the early 1780s by Nathaniel Hays. Dendrochronology indicates that the two-story farmhouse, later the one-story West Cabin, was constructed between 1798 and 1800. Hays lived there with his wife, two children, and two enslaved people until he sold the property to Andrew Jackson on August 23, 1804 (Smith 1976).

Documentary evidence suggests that Hays allowed Jackson to begin improvements on the property before the deed of sale, and that he had hired laborers to clear the land, make fences, construct the East Cabin, and redecorate the West Cabin (Smith 1975). Smith surmises that the Jackson family were likely living at The First Hermitage by October 1804, but most certainly by February 1805 (ibid. 33). An estimated twelve enslaved people were laboring at The Hermitage by 1804, some of whom likely lived in the East and Southeast Cabins. By the time Jackson moved into the mansion in 1821, forty-four enslaved people were listed as living at The Hermitage. By 1850, Jackson enslaved 137 people (Thomas 1995:34).

Excavation history, procedure, and methods

The First Hermitage is one of the most extensively explored areas, archaeologically, at The Hermitage. Archaeological research led by Samiel Smith (1970s), Jane Hinshaw (early 1980s), Larry Mckee (1987-1999), and Elizabeth Kellar (2000-2003).

1974 and 1975 excavation seasons

The first major archaeological campaign at The Hermitage began in early 1974, when the Division of Archaeology with the Tennessee Department of Conservation surveyed the property and developed a proposal of archaeological research for key areas of the plantation. With approval of, and in collaboration with the Ladies Hermitage Association, Dr. Samuel Smith, the Division of Archaeology’s Historical Archaeology, initiated archaeological fieldwork at the First Hermitage in late July 1974. He chose the South Cabin as the focus of field work, in part because surface evidence of two limestone chimneys with a depression between the two indicated the remains of a building that, unlike the West and East Cabin, was no longer standing on the site.

Smith established a permanent grid across the property (details are in Smiths 1976 field report), establishing a standard 2-x-2-meter quadrat size. The 1974 field season focused on exposing the southern foundation wall, with Smith placing six 2-by-2-meter units east-west along the limestone wall (Figure 4). During the 1975 season, a 2-x-2-meter quadrat, was placed to expose the limestone foundation that partitioned the building into two units, and several units were placed outside the building’s southeast corner in order to investigate a possible structure addition, as well as to the west, to investigate a circular grass discoloration.

Smith and his team excavated a total of twelve 2-x-2 meter-units and one 1-x-2-meter unit during their two field seasons (Figure 5). All quadrats were excavated by natural stratigraphic levels and screened through ¼ inch mesh. The following strata were observed:

Zone I averaged between 10 and 20 cm of dark humic soil overlying the structural remains of the South Cabin and containing much brick and rubble from the south chimney fall of the cabin. This zone was interpreted as humic buildup occurring after the building ceased to exist.

Zone 2 averaged 10cm of yellow/tan, somewhat clayey soil which tended to overlie and extend outward from the foundation. This zone was interpreted as a period in which the building was either in a state of abandonment or was being disassembled, or both.

Zone 3 varied in composition depending on horizontal location. Within the foundation, north and south of the partition, fill averaged between 20 and 30 cm of brown loamy fill. Outside the foundation, it averaged 20 cm of gray ashy soil with lenses of tan to yellowish ash, in some places the layering was quite complex. Zone 3 inside the foundation was interpreted as a “typical” under-the-floor type fill, rich in organic materials and artifacts. This layer was extensively disturbed by animals. Outside the foundation, Zone 3 was interpreted as representing a gradual buildup during the period of occupation, including fireplace ash dumping, as well as including possible under-the-floor fill in areas thought to be structural additions.

Fifteen features were recorded during the 1974 and 1975 seasons at the South Cabin. See the Before You Begin page to see how features designated in the 1970s are differentiated from later features designated at the South Cabin in DAACS. Smith’s subsurface archaeological excavations and surface survey revealed that the South Cabin was a duplex measuring 20.5-by40-feet. Later archaeological research by McKee at the four Field Quarter duplexes (Cabins 1-4) and the Triplex in the Mansion backyard, revealed that the South Cabin was of the same construction as these brick quarters: substantial cut-limestone foundation with brick walls constructed in 20-by-20-foot dwelling units, most often arrayed as duplexes with end chimneys. At the South Cabin, Smith’s discovery of several postholes aligned at the southeastern corner of the cabin’s exterior, suggest a possible structural addition to the South Cabin. Further testing to the east and south would be needed to substantiate this.

1996 First Hermitage Auger Survey

In 1996, auger testing around the First Hermitage was done with a 4-inch soil auger twisted into the ground by hand at regular intervals tied into the site grid system. The soil pulled out of the holes was then examined for distinctive qualities, such as ash and charcoal content, and screened in order to collect any artifacts which might be present. During this survey, excavators inserted the auger until they reached clearly undisturbed subsoil, usually between 1.5 and 2 feet on Hermitage property. The auger test survey extended over the South Cabin site but context and artifact data from this auger survey has not been entered into DAACS.

1997 First Hermitage Shovel-test Survey

In 1997, large-scale excavations were initiated at the First Hermitage under the direction of Ladies Hermitage Association Director of Archaeology, Larry McKee. Work in 1997 focused on the interior and exterior of the East Cabin, as well as including systematic shovel-test survey based on artifact densities gleaned from the 1996 auger test assemblages. A grid of 2.5-x-2.5-foot units was laid across the area and units were placed over auger locations with high artifact densities. One of these units was placed at the northwest corner of the South Cabin. Context and artifact data for this unit (project 97-04) has not yet been reanalyzed in DAACS.

Based on excavations elsewhere at The Hermitage under the direction of McKee (1987-1999), the following distinct strata were defined over much of the plantation landscape at The Hermitage, expanding on Smith’s work:

Level 1: Material deposited after the primary occupation of the site; the overburden and sod buildup.

Level 2A: Transitional area between recent and older deposits, mixed together by surface disturbance (plowing, tilling, rodent activity).

Level 2B: Layers related to the destruction and/or abandonment, including rubble scatters and fire/destruction layers. Structural features such as walls and hearth bases are likely to appear first in this layer.

Level 2C: Primary occupation layer. Deeper features such as postholes and root cellars definable at this level.

Level 2D: Deeper primary deposits earlier than and distinct from Level 2C (primary occupation layer) material.

Level 3: Culturally-sterile soil; subsoil.

2004, 2005, and 2006 South Cabin Excavations

Daniel Brock, then a doctoral student at the University of Tennessee, returned to the South Cabin in 2004. His 2004 excavation season focused on the southwestern portion of the building in order to confirm structural features and to identify potential activity areas. The broad strata identified during these seasons aligned with previous recording of strata at the Hermitage during McKee’s tenure; however, Brock conflated several levels and recorded only the following three distinct cultural strata at the South Cabin:

Level 1: Modern Level
Level 2 A/B: Destruction Level
Level 2 C/D: Occupation Level

Between 2004 and 2006, Brock continued to focus on the southern half of the South Cabin, opening three- and one-half units along the western foundation wall, and two- and one-half units on the interior of the southern unit of the building (Figure 6). Excavations in the southwest of the cabin’s interior revealed a lead-lined subfloor pit (Feature 916) (Figure 7). Measuring 3.8-by-4.2-feet, this pit was the first lead-lined subfloor pit excavated at The Hermitage. While a relatively common architectural feature in Hermitage quarters, they are usually unlined or lined with brick. This pit not only had a lead lining but also remains of three cedar boards in situ at the bottom of the pit. Feature 916 was excavated in .5 ft arbitrary levels and notable artifacts included an 1841 dime, marbles, straight pins, and a pocketknife. The northwest corner of a second subfloor pit (Feature 931) located approximately three feet to the northeast of Feature 916 was excavated to subsoil but the remaining full of the subfloor pit cut below subsoil was not excavated.

Summary of research and analysis

Since 1974, scholars have written numerous site reports, articles and dissertations about archaeological research on enslavement at The Hermitage. Nearly all refer to the First Hermitage (Battle Baptiste 2004, 2010, 2011; Galle 1998, 2004; McKee 1995, 1997, 2000; Russell 1997; Thomas 1995, 1998, 2004; Smith 1976), and some of these specifically focus on the archaeological assemblages from the South Cabin (Galle 2004; McKee 1997; Thomas 1995, 1998; Smith 1976).

With the launch of the South Cabin data on the DAACS website, scholars now have access to all the field and artifact data from the site, which were not previously accessible. DAACS staff have begun working with the data, first in developing a standardized chronology for the South Cabin, the detailed results of which can be found on the site’s Chronology page (link). Ceramic correspondence analysis indicates that the South Cabin was occupied from the early 1820s through the 1870s, with two occupational phases, one with a BLUE Mean Ceramic Date (BLUEMCD) of 1818, the second phase with a BLUEMCD of 1855. BLUEMCDs give less influence to ceramic types with long manufacturing spans.

In 2006, then Director of Archaeology at The Hermitage, Kevin Bartoy, sought funding to catalog the Hermitage assemblages into DAACS. With first an Institute of Museum and Library Sciences grant, then with a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, Bartoy, in collaboration with DAACS, established a DAACS satellite lab at The Hermitage. Between 2007 and late 2008, Bartoy and his staff cataloged field contexts and artifacts from the Triplex, the South Cabin, and Cabin 2. In early 2009, the NEH grant funding was transferred from The Hermitage to the DAACS Lab at Monticello. This included moving the entire collection to the DAACS Lab at Monticello. DAACS staff completed cataloging and analysis of the Yard Cabin, the Triplex North, Middle, and South units, and Cabins 1, 2, 3, and 4 at the Field Quarter.

In 2014, DAACS (Jillian Galle, Principal Investigator) was awarded a second NEH grant Beyond the Mansion 2.0: Completing a Digital Archive for Thirty Years of Archaeological Research at The Hermitage (PW-51724-14). The grant’s goals included the identification, analysis and cataloging of all the contexts, maps, and artifacts from the four First Hermitage sites, the West Cabin, East Cabin, Southeast Cabin, South Cabin, and for extensive excavations in the yard areas between the buildings. During the project, DAACS staff rehoused, identified, analyzed and cataloged 231,883 non-zooarchaeological artifacts. They also analyzed and cataloged 1157 field records generated during the multiple seasons of excavations at The First Hermitage. 218 field records and 51,882 non-zooarchaeological artifacts were analyzed and cataloged from the South Cabin excavations.

Over the course of the two NEH grants, directed by Jillian Galle, numerous archaeologists worked on the project. Leslie Cooper, Lynsey Bates, and Elizabeth Bollwerk were primary archaeological analysts on these projects, responsible for identifying and cataloging artifacts, digitizing context records, maps, and photography. Dr. Joanne Bowen, Mr. Steve Atkins, and Ms. Susan Andrews conducted the zooarchaeological identification and analysis for all of the Hermitage assemablges. Dr. Larry McKee, Director of Archaeology at The Hermitage (1987-1999) who designed the large-scale Hermitage and Earthwatch Archaeology Programs, has answered questions and provided invaluable support along the way.

The DAACS work was done in collaboration with the Andrew Jackson Foundation (The Hermitage), which curates the Hermitage assemblages. Marsha Mullin, emeritus VP Collections & Research/Chief Curator, provided valuable information and images, and whole heartedly supported the project throughout the decade of work on the collections. We are grateful to Howard Kittel, CEO of the Andrew Jackson Foundation, for encouraging and supporting the project. Most recenty, Jennifer Schmidt, Collections Manager at the Andrew Jackson Foundation, has been very helpful in returning the massive collections to their home at The Hermitage.