National Park Service

Department of the Interior

Midwest Archeological Center

Lincoln, Nebraska

The 1993 and 1994 Archeological Investigations

at James A. Garfield National Historic Site,

Mentor, Lake County, Ohio

By

Rose E. Pennington

Technical Report 133

MWAC

Midwest Archeological Center

The 1993 and 1994 Archeological Investigations

at James A. Garfield National Historic Site,

Mentor, Lake County, Ohio

by

Rose E. Pennington

Midwest Archeological Center

Technical Report 133

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Midwest Archeological Center

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

Midwest Archeological Center

Lincoln, Nebraska

2013
This report has been reviewed against the criteria contained in 43CFR Part 7, Subpart 

A, Section 7.18 (a) (1) and, upon recommendation of the Midwest Regional Office

and the Midwest Archeological Center, has been classified as

AVAILABLE 

Making the report available meets the criteria of 43CFR Part 7, Subpart A, Section 7.18 

(a) (1).
i

ABSTRACT

Previous 1990 and 1991 archeological investigations at the James A. Garfield 

National Historic Site (JAGA) resulted in the recognition of Late Prehistoric and 

Historic 1930s-1950s components (Hunt 1999; Lee 1994). From June 21 to July 2, 1993, 

the Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) conducted an archeological inventory and 

evaluation at JAGA. These investigations included shovel test surveys of the proposed 

access road and sanitary sewer line, and test excavations in the proposed parking lot 

area. A total of 219 shovel tests were excavated along ten transects in the area of the 

proposed access road. An additional 42 shovel tests were excavated along three transects 

in the area of the proposed sanitary sewer line. Since the proposed parking lot area had 

yielded some cultural materials during the extensive 1990 shovel testing (Lee 1994), 

four 1 x 1-m test units were excavated to evaluate this area prior to grading activities. 

Artifact yield was low across all three project areas, but included both prehistoric and 

historic materials. In addition, a previously unknown historic building foundation was 

uncovered along the route of the proposed sanitary sewer line. 

In March, 1994, grading for the access road and parking lot began. In June and 

July, 1994, trenching occurred for the sanitary and storm sewers. On-site monitoring 

by MWAC personnel occurred intermittently throughout the five months of ground 

disturbance resulting in the recording of three historic features and the field observation 

of two other historic artifact scatters. The 1994 features were two previously unrecorded 

wells and a large concentration of architectural cobblestones found in association with 

a small midden. 
ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The following report results not from the effort of one individual, but rather 

from a team effort. I thank the Western Reserve Historical Society staff of James A. 

Garfield National Historic Site, especially Susie Miller, Cindy Miller, Leslie Graham, 

and James R. Garfield, for the assistance, companionship, and knowledge they shared 

with MWAC field personnel. I am also grateful to my 1993 crew, Kay Adams, Jennifer 

Moon, Harold Roeker, and Julie Schablitsky, for their hard work. Thanks also to Jeff 

Richner for loaning his 1994 CUVA crew, consisting of Bob Caversagie, Tim Porter, and 

Keith Richter, to assist me in rapidly documenting the features uncovered in July. 

Thanks are also owed to the MWAC clerical support base in Lincoln, including 

Liz Glocker, Joyce Hawthorne, Theora McVay, and Linda Zumpfe. Processing of artifacts 

was performed by a laboratory crew under the direction of Forest Frost. I would also 

like to thank the MWAC production staff. Carol Moxham produced the illustrations for 

the report. Ken Gobber, John Andresen, and Fred Finney (Upper Midwest Archaeology) 

edited the text for publication. Marie Johnson performed the word processing and 

produced the camera-ready pages. While the success of this report is the product of the 

people named above, any errors in content are solely the fault of the author. 
iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract.........................................................................................................................................i

Acknowledgments...................................................................................................................... ii

Introduction................................................................................................................................ 1

James A. Garfield Farm ..................................................................................................... 1

Post-James Garfield Developments ................................................................................ 2

Environmental Setting............................................................................................................... 5

Glacial Geology, Topography, and Soils.......................................................................... 5

Flora and Fauna ................................................................................................................. 5

Previous Archeological Investigations..................................................................................... 7

The 1990 Inventory and Evaluation................................................................................ 7

The 1991 Carriage House Excavations ........................................................................... 8

The 1993 and 1994 Archeological Investigations.................................................................. 11

Project Area Description ................................................................................................. 11

The 1993 Proposed Access Road.................................................................................... 11

The 1993 Sanitary Sewer Line ........................................................................................ 11

The 1993 Proposed Parking Lot..................................................................................... 12

The 1994 Access Road/Parking Lot/Sanitary Sewer Line Monitoring...................... 12

Fieldwork........................................................................................................................... 13

The 1993 Proposed Access Road.................................................................................... 13

The 1993 Proposed Sanitary Sewer Line....................................................................... 14

The 1993 Proposed Parking Lot..................................................................................... 15

The 1994 Monitoring Phase............................................................................................ 16
iv

The 1993 and 1994 Laboratory Methods...................................................................... 16

Results......................................................................................................................................... 17

The 1993 Proposed Access Road.................................................................................... 17

The 1993 Proposed Sanitary Sewer Line....................................................................... 19

Transect 10................................................................................................................ 19

Expanded Transect 10 ST 3 and 4: Foundation .................................................. 20

Transect 11................................................................................................................ 21

Transect 12................................................................................................................ 22

The 1993 Proposed Parking Lot..................................................................................... 22

Test Unit 1 ................................................................................................................. 22

Test Unit 2 ................................................................................................................. 23

Test Unit 3 ................................................................................................................. 23

Test Unit 4 ................................................................................................................. 24

The 1994 Monitoring Phase............................................................................................ 24

Access Road.............................................................................................................. 25

Sanitary Sewer Line................................................................................................. 26

Additional Observations ......................................................................................... 30

Interpretation............................................................................................................................. 33

Access Road Survey Area................................................................................................. 33

Well (JAGA 1994 Feature 1).................................................................................... 33

Sanitary Sewer Line Survey Area.................................................................................... 33

Foundation ............................................................................................................... 33

Cobble Well and Dry Well/Utility Manhole (JAGA 1994 Feature 2)................ 34
v

Parking Lot Survey Area .................................................................................................. 36

Cobble Feature (JAGA 1994 Feature 3)................................................................. 36

Historic Artifact Concentrations ........................................................................... 36

Soils and Artifact Distributions ...................................................................................... 37

Soils............................................................................................................................ 37

Artifact Distributions .............................................................................................. 37

Summary and Conclusion........................................................................................................ 39

The 1993 and 1994 Archeological Investigations ......................................................... 39

Conclusion......................................................................................................................... 39

References Cited........................................................................................................................ 65

Appendix A: JAGA 1993 Artifacts ........................................................................................... 67

Appendix B: JAGA 1994 Artifacts ........................................................................................... 71
vi
vii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure1. Project Area in Northeast Ohio................................................................................ 41

Figure 2. James A. Garfield (JAGA) National Historic Site. ................................................. 42

Figure 3. “The Garfield Farm” from the New York Herald, 

September 26, 1881................................................................................................................... 43

Figure 4. Location of the 1990, 1991, and 1993 Archeological Investigations. ................. 45

Figure 5. The 1993 Access Road Transects............................................................................. 47

Figure 6. The 1993 Sanitary Sewer Line Transects................................................................ 49

Figure 7. The 1993 Parking Lot Test Units. ............................................................................ 51

Figure 8. The 1994 Monitoring Zone...................................................................................... 53

Figure 9. Brick and Rubble Pile Located East of the Gas Works. ....................................... 55

Figure 10. Foundation Segment in TR 10, Expanded ST 3.................................................. 56

Figure 11. West Wall Profile of TU 1....................................................................................... 57

Figure 12. Access Road After Soil Stripping, View Northeast 

Toward Pump House. ............................................................................................................... 58

Figure 13. Well (JAGA 1994 Feature 1), View West Toward Pump House......................... 59

Figure 14. Dry Well and Adjacent Cobble Well (JAGA 1994 Feature 2). ........................... 60

Figure 15. Remnant of Probable Former North Wing of Tenant House............................ 61

Figure 16. Cobble Feature (JAGA 1994 Feature 3)................................................................ 62

Figure 17. Children’s Playhouse from Undated Early Twentieth 

Century Photograph. ................................................................................................................ 63
viii
1

INTRODUCTION

James A. Garfield Farm

James A. Garfield National Historic Site (JAGA) is located approximately 26 

miles east of Cleveland, in the town of Mentor, Lake County, Ohio (Figure 1). The 

street address is 8095 Mentor Avenue. This street, as in Garfield’s time, is a major eastwest thoroughfare. JAGA consists of 3.13 hectares (7.82 acres) of property including 

Lawnfield, the president’s home, and several ancillary structures associated with the 

Garfield family farm. These include the carriage house and attached gas holder building, 

Garfield’s campaign office, a stone pump house, a barn, a granary, a chicken coop, and 

the tenant house. The latter currently serves as the curator’s residence (Figure 2).

The life of the twentieth president, James A. Garfield, has been explored in depth 

by numerous authors and need not be reiterated in this report. Rather, this discussion 

presents a brief history of the land, its use, and the structures upon it. Much of this 

material is drawn from park documents (e.g., Newman 1991; Johnson 1984; Westerly 

Group and William Behnke Associates 1991) and the following background is oriented 

toward the archeological interpretation of the site (e.g., Lee 1994).

 The land upon which JAGA is located was surveyed by the Connecticut Land 

Company in 1796. In 1802, Ralph Bacon purchased the tract of land, which includes 

the present location of JAGA. Presumably, Bacon farmed the land until 1811, when 

Warren Corning acquired the tract. Corning farmed the land until 1830, at which time 

he divided the land among his nine children. Corning’s daughter Harriet received the 

future site of JAGA. Tax records suggest that as early as 1831 or 1832 a house stood on 

Harriet Corning’s land, although the history of this structure remains unclear (Johnson 

1984:22-23). In 1835, Harriet Corning married James Dickey, and the couple lived on the 

farm. The house and property remained in the Dickey family until 1876 when Harriet, 

widowed since 1855, sold 117.46 acres to James A. Garfield. The following year, Garfield 

acquired the remaining 40 acres from another family member, George W. Dickey 

(Newman 1991:7). 

James A. Garfield possessed an interest in scientific farming techniques and had 

long desired a country residence at which to practice them. Lawnfield, as this residence 

later came to be known, also served as the Garfield’s refuge from the pressures of the 

U.S. Senate. Garfield ran the farm and employed the latest in scientific farming methods 

until his death in 1881. During his occupancy, Garfield made a number of improvements 

to the farm, including remodeling the house, building a new horse barn and moving the 

other existing barns further back from Mentor Avenue. He moved a small tenant house 

closer to the main house and converted it for use as a library. Garfield also built a large 

icehouse, dug several new wells, and instituted various other minor improvements. 

The year 1880 brought momentous changes to Lawnfield. Garfield enlarged the 

one-and-one-half-story house to two-and-one-half-stories, added a large front porch, 

and made many interior and exterior improvements, at a cost of $4,000 (Newman 1991:8). 

Garfield also converted the library for use as campaign headquarters for his presidential 
2

JAGA

bid. From there, Garfield conducted the first successful “front porch campaign” for 

president in 1880. Visitors would disembark from the railroad which bordered the 

Garfield farm to the north, walk the approximately one mile south down the lane which 

ran through the farm, and arrive at Lawnfield, quite literally to hear Garfield speak 

from the porch of his house or campaign office. The strategy worked and Garfield won 

the election. His presidency, however, was brief: he was shot on July 2, 1881 by Charles 

Guiteau, a disgruntled office-seeker. Garfield lingered for 80 days, dying in a cottage at 

Elberon on the New Jersey shore on September 19, 1881 (Johnson 1984:111). 

Post-James Garfield Developments

During this era, there were no pensions for presidential widows, so a grieving 

and sentimental public raised a substantial sum of money by subscription to provide for 

Lucretia Garfield and her family. The funds, which totaled $360,000, were conservatively 

invested in bonds, which yielded a $12,000 yearly income for Lucretia—no mean sum 

in the 1880s. With a portion of this money, Lucretia gathered her husband’s books and 

papers and had a large library addition made to Lawnfield for displaying the collection. 

This effort became the first presidential library. In 1885, the three-story stone QueenAnne-style addition was built onto the east facade of the existing house. In addition 

to the library and fire-proof vault, the wing also included a new kitchen, laundry, two 

bathrooms, second floor servants’ rooms, third floor bedrooms, and a 300 gallon water 

storage tank in the attic. This building phase also included the remodeling of the first 

floor reception hall and the addition of a grand staircase, new entry, and a carriage porch 

(Newman 1991:8-9). The addition necessitated the relocation of the campaign office 

slightly north, just south of the large icehouse (Mack 1994a:7). Lucretia substantially 

altered the house again in 1903 and 1904. Indeed, Lucretia Garfield, more than James, is 

responsible for Lawnfield as it appears today. 

Lucretia also added a number of new structures to the farm. The first, a massive 

stone gas holder, was erected over a natural gas well in 1885, with alterations possibly 

being made to the structure as late as 1893 (Mack 1994b:12; Westerly Group and William 

Behnke Associates 1991: Appendix, Chronology: 2). Also in 1885, a new tenant house was 

constructed north of the main house (Grabinski 1994b:6). This structure is still in use as 

the park curator’s residence. The previous tenant house located south of Mentor Avenue 

has been sold and does not belong to the park. 

Further alteration to the property occurred in 1893 and 1894. In 1893, a new 

and elaborate carriage house (also called the carriage barn) was constructed north of 

the main house, just east of the tenant house. The carriage house was built adjacent to 

the gas holder building, incorporating the gas holder’s west wall (Hunt 1999). A portion 

of the carriage house was built over the deep foundation of the older western portion 

of the gas holder building—thus confirming alterations to the gas holder (see Previous 

Archeological Investigation). Archeological evidence shows that the carriage house 

has been added to and altered several times throughout its history (Hunt 1999). Also in 

1893, the barn complex was relocated north of the tenant house and carriage house. At 

this time, the circa 1870s horse barn and granary, both of which are still extant on the 

property, as well as several other ancillary structures which are no longer standing were 

moved to new locations (Newman 1991:9). Construction of a new chicken coop and 
3

INTRODUCTION

poultry run completed the “new” farm complex (Grabinski 1994a:6). The chicken coop 

is still present on the property, as is the foundation of the poultry run. 

In 1894, a new well was dug and a large and elaborate windmill was constructed 

over it to pump the water into the third floor storage tank in Lawnfield. The 1894, 

windmill replaced an earlier and obsolete well and windmill. The windmill consisted 

of a massive Richardsonian-Romanesque stone base, similar in style to the gas holder, 

surmounted by tall wood-frame windmill tower (Figure 8). The wooden portion of the 

windmill was severely damaged by a storm in 1930 and was removed. It was replaced in 

1939 by an electric pump which served the farm’s agricultural needs. The main house 

was connected to the city water supply that year (Mack 1994c:5-6). The stone base and 

electric pump (no longer functioning) are still present on the property.

Lucretia Garfield died in 1918 and the property passed into joint management of 

her children. As all but one of the Garfield heirs lived some distance from Mentor, the 

property began to decline rapidly. The financial burden of caring for the aging estate 

proved too much for the Garfield family, and in 1935, they donated Lawnfield and one 

acre of land to the Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS). The WRHS acquired 

the additional 6.82 acres, which compose the current park, through later donations 

and purchases.

The WRHS and the Lake County Historical Society (LCHS) co-owned 

Lawnfield, with on-site management provided by the LCHS, until 1988. Congress 

authorized the James A. Garfield National Historic Site (JAGA) on December 28, 1980. 

The National Park Service (NPS) later purchased the land and buildings from the 

Lake County and Western Reserve Historical Societies. The WRHS owns the contents 

of the house (furnishings, objects d’arte, etc.) and continues to manage the property 

under a cooperative agreement with the NPS (Hunt 1999:2). JAGA is administrated by 

the superintendent of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area (CUVA), located 

approximately forty miles from JAGA. The 1993 fieldwork for the proposed access road, 

sanitary sewer line, and parking lot, and the 1994 monitoring was under the direction of 

MWAC Archeologist Rose Pennington.
4

JAGA
5

ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING

Glacial Geology, Topography, and Soils

JAGA lies atop glacial lake deposits laid down during the Wisconsin Glacial 

Period. More specifically, JAGA is located on the proglacial Lake Warren beach ridge. 

In Lake County, the Lake Warren beach coincides with the earlier Early Wisconsin 

wave-cut Lower Cliff, which exaggerates the elevation of the linear deposit of beach 

sands above the underlying proglacial Lake Whittlesey lake bed deposits (Lee 1994:13). 

The project area is characterized by Tyner and Otisville loamy sands mixed with fine 

to coarse glacial gravels. Tyner soils are characteristically deep, well drained, rapidly 

permeable, and formed in sandy sediment on beach ridges (Ritchie and Reeder 1979:60). 

Otisville soils are characteristically deep, excessively drained, rapidly permeable, and 

formed in water-sorted sand and gravel on postglacial beach ridges (Ritchie and Reeder 

1979:56). Slopes for Tyner soils typically range from 1 to 12 percent; slopes for Otisville 

soils typically range from 1 to 6 percent. The slope at JAGA is more characteristic of 

Otisville soils, being relatively flat with a gentle slope to the northwest, and a grade 

difference of no more than 5 feet (1.52 m) across the entire site (Westerly Group and 

William Behnke Associates 1991:77). Soils in this part of Ohio are alfisols. Alfisols 

are typically warm, moist soils with gray to brown surface horizons with subsurface 

horizons of clay accumulation that formed under forest conditions (USGS 1970:87). 

Flora and Fauna

The orchards, crops, and fields of the former Garfield farm have given way to 

cultivated lawn, flowering plants, and mature trees. The majority of JAGA’s vegetation 

consists of a well-manicured lawn peppered with escapees such as Shasta daisies, 

pachysandra, and English and Boston ivy. The mature trees that dot the park dominate 

the vegetation. Most notable are the magnificent London Plane (sycamore) and 

European copper beech, located along the west property line. Many more trees shaded 

the park, but several have recently been removed to facilitate the excavation of the sewer 

line trenches and the grading of the access road and parking lot. Around the foundation 

of Lawnfield and the campaign office, the Garfield Garden Club has planted flowering 

plants and shrubs. A Cornelian cherry copse lies just east of the campaign office 

(Westerly Group and William Behnke Associates 1991:81-83). 

The vicinity of the new parking lot, in the northern portion of the park, was, until 

recently, overgrown with young saplings and trees, including maple, apple (a remainder 

of the former orchard which occupied this area), swamp elm, mulberry, ash, and 

beech. The floor was covered with leaf mold, deadfall, and some weeds, with very little 

understory. This was the area formerly occupied by the Garfield farm’s “new” orchard, 

vegetable garden, and poultry run (Westerly Group and William Behnke Associates 

1991:82). The chicken coop and poultry run foundation border this area immediately 

to the north. The carriage house/gas holder roughly borders the area on the south. 

In March of 1994, all trees were removed and the area was cleared in preparation for 

parking lot grading. 
6

JAGA

Just north of the new parking lot lies the northernmost portion of the existing 

JAGA property and the location of the remaining old farm buildings, the horse barn and 

granary. This area is somewhat overgrown with a number of shrubs, including burdock, 

barberry, forsythia, staghorn sumac, and Osage orange that are mostly the remainders 

of past historic plantings (Westerly Group and William Behnke Associates 1991:81-82). 

In 1993, the area east of the gas holder was very overgrown and included sporadic but 

dense patches of poison ivy, somewhat hindering survey in this area. 

Because of JAGA’s suburban location, fauna is limited to small species such as 

rabbit, squirrel, chipmunk, skunk, and small birds. Recently, there has been a problem 

with raccoon infestation in the basement of Lawnfield and in the second floor of the 

carriage house. Indeed, as recently as July 1994, attempts were underway to remove 

the animals from the carriage house even as interior demolition was in progress for 

its conversion to a visitor center. JAGA has also been plagued with an infestation of 

groundhogs, which have burrowed throughout the grounds and disturbed the carriage 

house floors.
7

PREVIOUS ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

The 1990 Inventory and Evaluation

The first archeological investigation of JAGA occurred in July of 1990 (Lee 1994). 

It included both a shovel test survey and a test unit survey. As has been stated previously, 

this investigation was included as part of the initial planning phase of the proposed new 

parking lot and access road. Additionally, testing around the foundation of the main 

house and several outbuildings was initiated in preparation for future renovation of 

those structures. As of this writing, renovation of Lawnfield is still in the planning stage. 

The Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) and the Cleveland Museum 

of Natural History (CMNH) entered into a cooperative agreement for the CMNH 

to conduct the archeological investigation of JAGA. The goal of the project was to 

identify archeological deposits that could be affected by the planned construction 

and renovation. Co-Principal Investigators for the project were MWAC Archeologist 

Vergil E. Noble and CMNH Archeologist Alfred M. Lee, with the fieldwork directed 

by CMNH Archeologist Stephanie Belovich. Fieldwork was performed by CMNH 

field school students from July 2, 1990 through July 25, 1990, and concentrated on five 

locations: the main house (Lawnfield), the campaign office, the existing gravel parking 

lot, the proposed new parking lot, and the carriage house/gas holder (Noble 1990; Lee 

1994). Figure 4 shows the location of test units and the shovel test survey zone of the 

1990 CMNH investigations. 

CMNH Test Units (TU) 1-3, placed along Lawnfield’s foundation, recovered 

small amounts of architectural construction materials and revealed the presence of a 

builder’s trench. These test units also provided information regarding the depth of the 

house’s stone facing, and the depth and direction of two downspout drains (Lee 1994). 

Test Units 6, 15, and 22 were placed northwest of the campaign office. These 

intersecting units located a stone foundation approximately 6.4 m north of the north 

facade of the campaign office. The foundation was traced west until its southwest corner 

was located. This feature has been interpreted as the remains of the large circa 1876-1877 

icehouse built by Garfield (Lee 1994). 

Test Units 7, 8, 9, and 17 were placed around the margins of the existing gravel 

parking lot. Intersecting TUs 7 and 17, to the east of the lot, uncovered a deep cylindrical 

pit filled with brick, cobbles, and other rubble. This feature has been interpreted as a 

probable pre-Garfield era well (Lee 1994). 

Eight test units were excavated in and around the carriage house and gas holder. 

Four units (Test Units 4, 5, 10, and 21) were placed along the north, west, and foundations 

of the carriage house. TU 4 was located at the joint between the present gas holder and 

the carriage house. The remaining four test units were placed inside the stables (north) 

portion of the carriage house. Testing along the south facade of the carriage house 

revealed that the foundation of the gas holder was much larger and deeper (over 6 feet 

[1.8 m] in some locations) than that under most of the carriage house. However, this 
8

JAGA

deep foundation did extend west under the carriage house for an unknown distance. 

Test units placed inside the stables uncovered brick and stone partition foundations, 

a circular brick feature of unknown function, and stratified deposits containing tackrelated materials (Hunt 1999:4). 

The 5 m interval shovel test survey of the proposed new parking lot northeast of 

the carriage house resulted in the location of a few sparse historic refuse concentrations 

and a sparse prehistoric scatter. The latter was defined by the recovery of a Late 

Woodland projectile point which resembles a Madison point, and several chert flakes. 

The crew also examined the ruins of a small brick structure. The structure was 

determined to be a relatively late and historically insignificant spring house and was 

subsequently leveled in the spring of 1994 (Lee 1994). 

The 1991 Carriage House Excavations

From May 28 through July 1, 1991, a five-member MWAC crew under the 

direction of Supervisory Archeologist William J. Hunt, Jr., conducted archeological 

excavations at the carriage house/gas holder (Hunt 1991; 1999). These excavations were 

initiated in preparation for the conversion of the carriage house to park visitor center, 

a process involving a significant amount of internal demolition. Hunt set two primary 

goals for the investigation: first, to determine the original shape and dimensions of the 

gas holder; and, second, to establish the reason for the differing brick configurations 

on the carriage house entryway floor (bricks on the east end were oriented with their 

long axes running north to south and were poorly set with crumbly limestone mortar, 

while bricks on the west end were oriented with their long axes running east to west and 

were expertly mortared with very hard concrete). Additionally, as much archeological 

information as possible regarding the carriage house had to be retrieved as this would be 

the last opportunity to do so prior to construction. With that in mind, Hunt concentrated 

his efforts on the oldest portions of the carriage house: the south room/carriage storage 

area and the north room/stables. Twelve test units were placed in the south room and 

17 in the north room. In order to explore the question of the construction sequence of 

the carriage house and gas holder, five excavation units were placed around the exterior 

perimeter of the carriage house (Figure 4) (Hunt 1999). 

Throughout the 1991 project, artifacts were sparse and recovered items were 

primarily late, i.e., circa 1920s to present. However, Hunt’s work resulted in discoveries 

that clarified the evolution of the gas holder and carriage house. Foremost was the 

confirmation of Lee’s observation that the gas holder had a thick, deep foundation, and 

that this deep foundation extends under the east portion of the carriage house. The 

massive stone foundation extends approximately 3.5 m to the west under the east portion 

of the carriage house and corresponds with the brick and softer mortar floor on the east 

end of the room. This massive foundation enclosed a basement room over 2 m deep. It is 

apparent that the gas holder building was once approximately twice its present size and 

that the west portion of the gas holder—as represented by the deep foundation—was 

apparently leveled at the time of the carriage house construction in 1893. Evidently, the 

former west portion of the gas holder was rectangular in shape (Hunt 1999). 
9

PREVIOUS ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

Furthermore, evidence was recovered which suggests that the ground floor of 

the former west portion of the gas holder building was covered by a heavy wood floor, 

and that the basement most likely had a wood floor as well. It has been conjectured 

that the ground floor may have supported heavy objects such as sacks of feed, bales of 

hay and/or buggies and wagons, while the basement may have been employed as a fruit 

cellar. The basement was filled with clean gravel, apparently at the time the carriage 

house was constructed, thus obscuring any archeological evidence of its use. Access to 

the gas holder basement may have been through an opening in the southeast corner of 

the south room of the carriage house. Hunt interpreted this opening as evidence for a 

basement stairway. Previously, this space had been misidentified as a crawl space. The 

opening is located 3.2 m (10.5 feet) west of the wall presently separating the gas holder 

from the carriage house. The razed blocks from the former west portion of the gas holder 

building may have been incorporated into the foundation of the carriage house during 

its construction. Finally, the discovery of roofing slate in pre-1893 contexts lead to the 

conclusion that the original gas holder building, or an earlier building, had a slate roof. 

Hunt (1999) observed there was no evidence for a slate roof in the twentieth century at 

this location. 

Regarding the difference in configuration of the brick floors in the carriage 

house entryway (south room), it is apparent that this was the result of being composed of 

different construction materials laid at different times by persons of disparate skill levels. 

While the relative chronology of the two flooring episodes remains unclear, it appears as 

if the west portion is the most recent. Evidence suggests that this portion of floor was 

removed to facilitate repairs to the subsurface drains. Hunt (1999) hypothesized that 

this occurred either during the early 1930s or after 1935 when the property was donated 

to the WRHS.
10

JAGA
11

THE 1993 AND 1994 ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

Project Area Description

The 1993 archeological investigation of JAGA included a transect (TR) shovel 

test (ST) inventory for the proposed access road and sanitary sewer line. In addition, two 

small test units were excavated in the area of the proposed parking lot, and two other 

test units were excavated south of the proposed parking lot (Figure 4). Investigations 

were conducted from June 21 to July 2, 1993 by MWAC Archeological Technicians Kay 

Adams, Jennifer Moon, Harold Roeker, and Julie Schablitsky, under the direction of 

Archeologist Rose E. Pennington. 

The 1994 investigation consisted chiefly of monitoring ground disturbance 

associated with the grading of the access road and parking lot and the trenching of 

the sanitary sewer line. As a result of various delays, ground disturbance associated 

with the access road, parking lot, sanitary and storm sewers, and construction of the 

comfort station (restrooms), occurred intermittently from March through July of 1994. 

On-site Archeological monitoring occurred in six segments: March 28 to April 6; April 

11 to April 15; May 24 to May 27; July 7 to July 8; July 20; and July 29. Monitoring was 

performed solely by Archeologist Pennington on all occasions except July 20 when she 

was accompanied by the 1994 CUVA crew consisting of MWAC personnel Supervisory 

Archeologist Jeffrey J. Richner and Archeological Technicians Bob Caversagie, 

Tim Porter, and Keith Richter; and on July 29, when she was accompanied by Bob 

Caversagie. The contractor for the project was M. E. Osborne, of Mentor, Ohio. NPS 

project supervision was performed by Denver Service Center (DSC) Project Manager 

Dan Cloud. 

The 1993 Proposed Access Road

The area covered during shovel testing for the proposed access road extended 

from the east property fence, west to within 5 m of the main house, and north from the 

south property fence to the edge of the proposed parking lot (Figure 4). The westernmost transects terminated just north of the Cornelian Cherry copse (TR7, TR8) and 

just south of the campaign office (TR9). This provided ample coverage of the area to be 

disturbed by the grading of the access road and attendant equipment staging. 

The 1993 Sanitary Sewer Line 

At the time of the 1993 investigations, the route of the new sanitary sewer line 

had not been fully determined. Only that portion of the line running between the main 

house and the carriage house had been determined. Therefore, this was the only portion 

of the line to be shovel tested. Three transects were tested running north from the 

northwest corner of the main house to just south of the carriage house southwest entry. 

These transects covered an area encompassing 5 m on either side of the sewer centerline (Figure 4). 
12

JAGA

The 1993 Proposed Parking Lot

As the area of the proposed parking lot had been extensively shovel tested 

in 1990, the goal was to define the extent of the light prehistoric scatter identified at 

that time. Three 1m-by-1m square test units were excavated in the general area of the 

proposed parking lot (Test Units 1, 2, and 3, with TU 1 south of the proposed area). One 

additional 1m-by-1m square test unit (Test Unit 4) was excavated south of the proposed 

parking lot, in the area of the proposed access road (Figures 13 and 17). Test Units 2 and 

3 were randomly placed in order to gauge, respectively, the scatter’s western and eastern 

extents within the proposed parking lot disturbance zone. Test Unit 1 was excavated just 

southwest of Transect 4 Shovel Test 23 where an object initially thought to be a partial 

biface was recovered. Upon closer examination, this object was determined to be a piece 

of glacial gravel. While not within the area proposed for the actual parking lot, Test 

Unit 1 was well within the parking lot/comfort station disturbance zone. Additionally, it 

was expected that Test Unit 1 could intercept a potential trash scatter from the carriage 

house and gas holder to the west. Test Unit 4 was excavated along Transect 2, between 

Shovel Tests 13 and 14. Transect 2 Shovel Test 13 produced a flake of debitage, and 

Transect 2 Shovel Test 15 produced an odd pitted stone, possibly a nutting stone, and a 

piece of potential debitage. Test Unit 4 was excavated in order to determine if a definable 

prehistoric scatter was present in this area. 

The 1994 Access Road/Parking Lot/Sanitary Sewer Line Monitoring

Primarily, monitoring was limited to the disturbance zones previously mentioned 

for the 1993 investigations. However, additional sanitary sewer trenching performed in 

order to connect the first manhole at the southwest corner of the property to the line 

running to the northwest corner of the main house, and trenching from the north 

facade of the tenant house to the sewer line running parallel to the west facade of the 

carriage house necessitated monitoring in those areas as well. Trenching between the 

comfort station and the gas holder produced a cobble feature (described under results, 

below). In addition, a non-historic bust and plaque surrounded by a small brick floor and 

garden, located just west of the northwest corner of the main house, was removed. This 

required only a cursory examination as this recent feature lay atop sandy fill. Finally, 

internal demolition work at the carriage house produced cultural materials necessitating 

archeological interpretation. 

The 36-inch-diameter PVC storm sewer runs north parallel to the access road 

until it reaches the new parking lot, where it turns approximately 35 degrees, running 

northwest across the parking lot. An 8-inch-diameter PVC arm of the storm sewer 

branches off from the parking lot and runs west to a drain just east of the gas holder. 

The storm sewer runs through an extensively-surveyed area and therefore did not 

require close monitoring. Overall, the total area of project disturbance was quite broad, 

encompassing nearly 35 percent of JAGA’s total acreage (Figure 4). 
13

THE 1993 AND 1994 ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

Fieldwork

The 1993 Proposed Access Road

The datum point for the access road shovel test grid (Figure 5) was marked by 

a nail in the center of a stake located 2.5 m west of the east fence line and 3.7 m north 

of the utility pole along Mentor Avenue. It should be noted that the fence line is 2 m to 

the west of the actual property line. The datum point was previously established by the 

engineering surveyors of Land Design Consultants, Inc., of Mentor, who were at JAGA 

to stake the utility lines. 

Using an Ushikata surveyor’s compass set on a tripod and a plumb line over the 

datum point, a baseline was established at a 90-degree angle to magnetic north. A 

100 m metric tape was then used as a guide to set marked pin-flags at 5 m intervals. 

Initially, eight parallel transects were established from TR 1 at datum, to TR 8 at 35 

m west of datum. 

Shovel tests progressed along a magnetic north line at 5 m intervals and were 

numbered sequentially (e.g TR 1 ST 1-31, TR 2 ST 1-28; etc.). The only variation to this 

pattern was provided by two shovel tests labeled simply ST A and ST B, which were 

excavated in order to provide further coverage in the area of the gas works. ST A was 

located 174 degrees and 4.05 m from the northeast corner of the gas holder. ST B was 

located 5 m east of ST A. 

Shovel test excavation began at the baseline. However, TR 1, ST 1 was offset 1 m 

to the east so as not to disturb the datum. A few other shovel tests also had to be slightly 

offset due to the presence of impenetrable tree roots or architectural structures, such 

as the pump house. As a consequence of being offset to the west by the pump house, 

TR 1, ST 17 and 18 intersected the TR 2 line. Therefore ST 17 and 18 did not need to be 

excavated as a part of TR 2. TR 5, ST 18 and 22 were skipped because they fell on large 

(recent) compost heaps. 

As the work progressed along TR 1, it soon became apparent that an additional 

transect would be required to the east in order to fully cover the area of the access road. 

Rather than abandon the grid pattern already in use, it was decided to call the transect 

placed to the east of TR 1, TR A. Thus, TR A, ST 1 was placed 5 m to the east of TR 1, ST 

6. TR A ran parallel to TR 1 along a magnetic north line. 

It was further decided to extend the grid with the addition of TR 9, for a total 

of 10 transects (A through 9) and a coverage of 45 m along the baseline. TR 9 was 

deemed necessary to cover the area that was to be disturbed by the installation of 

buried utility lines. 

The number of shovel tests excavated along each transect varied from a high of 

31 in TR 1 to a low of 4 in TR 9 since the north-south coverage ranged from a low of 15 

m to a high of 150 m. TR A through 6 were terminated at the south edge of the proposed 

parking lot (north of the carriage house). It was unnecessary to expand the grid north, as 

this area had been surveyed by the CMNH in 1990. 
14

JAGA

TR 7, 8, and 9 were short. It was unnecessary to enlarge them since the access 

road will disturb only the area to the east (TR A through 6). However, it was necessary 

to excavate them at least as far as the main house, since buried utility lines will have an 

impact on this area. TR 7 and 8 were terminated on the north edge of the Cornelian 

Cherry copse. TR 9 terminated just south of the campaign house. 

A total of 219 shovel tests were excavated along the 10 transects (TR A through 

9). This large shovel test grid ensured complete coverage of the area to be disturbed by 

the construction of the proposed access road, staging for the access road construction, 

and the installation of buried utility lines. 

All shovel tests measured an average of 30 cm in diameter except for TR 4, ST 

15, which was expanded to a 50 x 50-cm square in order to better view its anomalous 

stratigraphy (see results, below). All shovel tests were excavated until sterile subsurface 

sand or clay was encountered. The contents of each shovel test were screened through 

1⁄4-inch hardware mesh. All recovered cultural materials, with the exception of recent 

cultural debris such as plastic, were bagged and marked according to provenience. Coal, 

when observed, was recorded and then discarded. Large bricks and chunks of mortar 

were not collected but were measured and described; small brick fragments and sample 

pieces of mortar were collected. The location of each shovel test was plotted on project 

drawings and standard MWAC recording procedures were followed. 

The 1993 Proposed Sanitary Sewer Line

In order to test the route of the proposed sanitary sewer line between the main 

house and the carriage house, 42 shovel tests were excavated over three transects (Figure 

6). These transects, which covered an area extending 5 m on each side of the sewer 

centerline, were aligned toward magnetic north and oriented on a new datum point. 

The new datum was a nail in a surveyor’s stake set by Land Design Consultants, 

Inc., of Mentor. This was chosen due to the unreliability of the Ushikata in measuring 

over long distances and because of the visual obstruction caused by the intervening main 

house. The stake was located 4.15 m (342 degrees) northwest of the northwest corner of 

the main house. 

The new transects were designated TR 10, 11, and 12. The middle transect, TR 

11, overlaid the centerline of the sanitary sewer line trench and was in a direct line with 

the datum point and the line of the surveyor’s stakes which marked the centerline. TR 10 

ran parallel to TR 11, 5 m to the east. TR 12 ran parallel to TR 11, 5 m to the west. 

Using a compass, shovel tests were spaced at 5 m intervals as before. The number 

of shovel tests excavated on each transects varied according the amount of subsurface 

disturbance encountered. TR 11 was the longest, with 16 tests; TR 10 was the shortest, 

with 12 tests; and TR12 had 14 tests. The first three shovel tests in TR 11 and 12 were 

skipped or terminated due to dense gravel, probably associated with the existing gravel 

parking lot and drive immediately to the west. 
15

THE 1993 AND 1994 ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

The only other anomaly occurred in TR 10, ST 3 and 4, where a probable 

sandstone foundation was uncovered. The diameters of these two tests were expanded 

in an irregular fashion in order to further explore this feature. As this feature was 

encountered near the very end of the field session and we did not have a probe among our 

equipment (efforts to improvise an effective probe proved unsuccessful), we were unable 

to determine the full extent of the foundation. Only those portions of the foundation 

which lie in ST 3 and 4 were exposed. 

TR 10 through 12 were excavated and recorded in the same manner described 

for TR A through 9. However, once the foundation was exposed in TR 10, ST 3 and 4, 

these tests were carefully excavated by trowel. The foundation segment was mapped 

individually for each test. 

The 1993 Proposed Parking Lot

Test Unit 1 was opened adjacent to the west side of TR 4, ST 23 (Figure 7). The 

southeast corner of TU 1 was located 23.65 m at 335 degrees from the northwest corner 

of the pump house. TU 1 was 1m x 1m square and was excavated in arbitrary 10 cm levels. 

Test Unit 2 was arbitrarily placed approximately 15 m to 20 m northeast of where 

the 1990 crew recovered the Madison point. This is approximate since existing 1990 

project records are unclear as to exact unit placement in this area. The southeast corner 

of TU 2 was located 40.8 m at 279 degrees from the southeast corner of the tenant’s 

house. TU 2 was 1m x 1m square and was excavated in arbitrary 10 cm levels. 

Test Unit 3 was arbitrarily placed to try to determine the east edge of the “lithic” 

scatter, and because no test units were apparently placed there in 1990. The southeast 

corner of TU 3 was located 157.3 m north of the southeast corner of the east fence and 

10.5 m at 270 degrees west of the east fence. TU 3 was 1m x 1m square and was excavated 

by arbitrary 10 cm levels. 

Test Unit 4 was opened just north of TR 2, ST13. The southeast corner of TU 4 

was located 16.25 m at 185 degrees southwest from the southwest corner of the pump 

house. TU 4 was 1m x 1m square and was excavated by arbitrary 10 cm levels. 

Test units were dug using a combination of shovel skimming and troweling. Each 

unit was excavated until sterile subsurface sand or clay was encountered. The contents 

of each excavation level were screened separately through 1/4 inch hardware mesh. 

All recovered cultural materials, with the exception of recent cultural debris such as 

plastic, were bagged and marked according to provenience. Coal, when observed, was 

noted then discarded. Large bricks and chunks of mortar were not collected but were 

measured and described; small brick fragments were collected. The location of each 

test unit was plotted on project drawings and standard MWAC recording procedures 

were followed. Plan maps of level floors were generated as it was deemed necessary; wall 

profile maps were drawn for each completed test unit. TU 4 provided the only exception 

to this pattern. It quickly became apparent that TU 4 was non-productive; therefore, 

after “chunking out” a corner of the unit to see what lay below, and observing no change, 

excavation was halted and Unit 4 was closed. 
16

JAGA

The 1994 Monitoring Phase

Monitoring consisted chiefly of visual observation, on-site photography, and 

surface collection (Figure 8). The author was on-site during the grading of the access 

road and a small portion of the parking lot, and during trenching near the tenant house. 

The author was able to observe artifacts and subsurface features as they were exposed 

in these areas (Figure 4). Unfortunately, the major portion of the parking lot grading, 

trenching for the sanitary and storm sewers, and installation of buried utility lines, 

occurred in the author’s absence. Therefore, observation was limited to after-the-fact 

surface collection in these areas. Additionally, an excavator, rather than a backhoe, was 

used to trench the sewer line, thus disturbing a broader area than was anticipated and 

obfuscating stratigraphic observation of the sandy subsoil. 

The length of sanitary sewer line running from the main house to the carriage 

house was backfilled but a large portion was left open to an approximate depth of 50 cm at 

MWAC’s request. This allowed for some observation of the trench and the identification 

of a feature, a probable well. An open trench between the comfort station and gas works 

netted the observation of a cobble feature (see below). Where features were encountered, 

they were rough sketched, photographed, quickly explored with trowel and shovel, and 

were recorded using standard MWAC feature forms. Artifacts recovered from features 

and surface collections were bagged with their approximate proveniences recorded. 

The 1993 and 1994 Laboratory Methods

Upon completion of the fieldwork, artifacts, photographs, and written records 

were returned to the MWAC archeological laboratory in Lincoln, Nebraska, to be 

organized in preparation for analysis and curation. Artifacts were cleaned and sorted 

according to their raw material, probable functional group, and provenience. Written 

records were photocopied, and the originals, along with the project photographs, were 

retained for permanent storage at MWAC. Given the relatively sparse material recovered 

from the 1993 and 1994 JAGA investigations, data analysis was very basic, focusing on 

artifact identification, functional classification, and chronology.
17

RESULTS

The 1993 Proposed Access Road

The soil profiles revealed by the access road shovel tests was fairly consistent 

across the project area: approximately 10 cm of humus followed by an A horizon of dark 

brown sandy loam and a B horizon of dark yellow to tan very sandy loam, sometimes 

with clay. The A horizon averaged 25 cm in depth, with a range of 15 cm to 39 cm. The 

southern six to seven shovel tests of every transect exhibited signs of disturbance in the 

form of a surface layer of compact light tan clay. The cause of this disturbance is not 

known, but may be attributed to a combination of causes including pre-existing utility 

lines (the gas and electric meters are located along the east facade of the library wing of 

the main house), tree removal, and the former presence of a line of utility poles which 

once ran from Mentor Avenue, north across the property to the barn (a steel piling for a 

telephone pole was observed 0.5 m northeast of TR 4, ST 7). The change from A horizon 

to B horizon occurred abruptly in those tests which fell within the north wood lot. This 

may reflect the woodlot’s past use as an orchard, poultry yard, and vegetable garden. 

All shovel tests west and north of the pump house were significantly wetter than those 

to the east and south of the pump house, suggesting a higher water table in this area. 

Evidence for isolated episodes of cinder dumping occurred throughout the project area. 

One noteworthy anomaly occurred in TR 4, ST 15, where a lens of dark black 

soil was observed above a layer of compact light tan clay. This same compact light tan 

clay was observed in TR 4, ST 11 and 14. In all three tests in which the light tan clay 

was encountered, small specks of charcoal peppered the clay. The depth of the clay layer 

varies between the three tests, and ranges from 7 cm to 35 cm below surface. What set 

ST 15 apart from Shovel Tests 11 and 14 was the appearance of a straight, even black 

lens above the clay layer. As the soil profile of this test differed sufficiently from that of 

the other tests, the decision was made to enlarge the test to 50cm by 50cm, in order to 

better view its stratigraphy. The stratigraphy of the enlarged TR 4, TU 15 read as follows: 

0-14 cmbs humus; 14-17 cmbs dark brown sandy loam with sparse charcoal; 17-20 cmbs 

thin, straight, sterile, black organic layer; 20-24 cmbs compact, light tan clay; 24-33 cmbs 

brown sandy loam; 33-35 cmbs tan, sandy clay, not as compact; and, finally, 35-49+ cmbs 

brown sandy loam with pea size gravel. 

Initially, no artifacts were recovered from ST 15 except for a shard of flat glass 

from its sod plug. However, once enlarged, ST 15 yielded a whiteware sherd and a piece 

of debitage in mixed context. The artifacts came from the horizon below the black lens. 

It was first believed that the black lens may have been a charcoal layer but it lacked the 

proper consistency. More likely, it represents a layer of decomposed organic matter 

placed over fill. Isolated charcoal from otherwise sterile disturbed contexts occurred 

at various points throughout the project area and may reflect isolated cinder dumps. 

Approximately 20 m north of TR 4, ST 15, lay a compost and cinder heap at the south 

edge of the north woodlot. 

Of the 219 shovel tests excavated along ten transects (A through 9), 86 were 

positive for cultural material - nine of these were positive for prehistoric material. These 
18

JAGA

tests netted nine pieces of debitage (all isolated finds, with the exception of TR 4, ST 16, 

which produced two pieces of debitage) and a possible nutting stone. A somewhat greater 

amount of suspected debitage was collected, but much of this subsequently proved to be 

glacial or wheel-cut gravel. Those pieces of debitage which are undeniably of prehistoric 

cultural origin are generally made of poor quality material. The prehistoric scatter, while 

somewhat diffuse, seems to form an ellipse running southeast. The transects and shovel 

tests that produced prehistoric materials were: TR A ST 4; TR 1 ST 6; TR 2 STs 11, 13, 15, 

and 16; and TR 4 STs 13, 15, and 16. 

Except for a couple of sparse historic artifact concentrations near the main house 

and carriage house, historic artifact yield was low and widely scattered throughout the 

project area. Furthermore, most artifacts, particularly glass and ceramics, were very 

small suggesting that the entire area had been plowed or churned at some point. Historic 

artifacts consisted chiefly of maintenance and household related items (i.e. nails, flat 

and bottle glass, crockery sherds, etc.). Shovel tests in the vicinity of the carriage house 

produced several pieces of carriage and machine related hardware. None of the historic 

artifacts were particularly significant and most appear to post-date 1890. 

Most artifacts were too small to yield reliable dates or inferences as to their 

precise function. One late but datable artifact, a small solid clear glass caricature of a 

horse’s head, came from TR 5, ST 26, east of the carriage house. This is most certainly 

a part of a child’s glass candy container representing the comic character “Barney 

Google’s” horse “Sparkplug” from the Barney Google comic strip. The container is all 

glass and about 3 inches tall with a 3-inch base. Parts were painted black or orange. 

Marks include “U.S.A.” between the hooves and “King Features Syndicate Inc.” and 

“Copyright 1923” on the bottom rims. Other variations were made with different details. 

The container appears in the 1924 and 1925 G. Sommers & Co. catalogs and the 1925 

Butler Bros. catalog (Kovel and Kovel 1994). Such candy containers were made over a 

period of many years but reached the peak of their popularity during the 1920s, also the 

peak years for the comic strip “Barney Google.”

Another interesting artifact was recovered from TR 1, ST 22, placed 20 m north 

of the pump house. It is a ferrous object, triangular in shape, with a decorative filigree 

design cut through it and with a star shape atop its apex and another toward the bottom 

of the design. The object measures 10 cm on a side and has a ferrous brace or flange in 

the back. Its age and purpose is unknown but it is conjectured that it may have been a 

circa 1880s or 1890s wall grate. 

No subsurface features were identified in the area of the proposed access 

road, however a small pile of brick, stone and concrete rubble (Figure 9) was identified 

approximately 15 m east of the gas works building, and approximately 25 m southeast 

of the brick ruin (spring house), which was removed in 1994. The pile of bricks, broken 

sandstone pavers, large chunks of concrete, and sewer tile was located immediately 

adjacent to the west edge of TR 3, ST 25 (which produced only a shard of bottle glass), 

and approximately 15 m east of the gas holder. The bricks included three-hole perforated 

bricks (the same as those of the small brick spring or pump house located approximately 

25 m to the northwest, at the south edge of the proposed parking lot), and large, thick, 

pavers boldly impressed with the mark “BUCKEYE” (the K is larger than the other 
19

RESULTS

letters), the same bricks which pave the east floor of the carriage house. One anomalous 

small brick impressed with a long six-sided geometric shape was observed. 

James R. Garfield, great-grandson of the president and current JAGA groundskeeper believes that yet another spring house may have been located here (personal 

communication 1993), but there is no evidence of the stone footing he describes. He 

may be remembering the small brick spring house described above, which does match 

his description. A second interpretation is that this represents the remains of a large 

icehouse which is depicted immediately east of the gas holder on a historic base map 

dated October 2, 1924 (Newman 1991:137, Base Map 5). If the debris pile does represent 

the remains of that structure, then much of it had been removed previously as very 

little debris was visible and prodding with trowel and shovel produced very little else. 

A third alternative is that the pile may have been a wheelbarrow dump for superfluous 

construction materials, as the bricks were in angular rows suggesting dumping, and the 

other materials were in a mixed pile. Unfortunately, with so little debris remaining in a 

disturbed and overgrown condition, and given the number of lesser outbuildings that 

were constructed and razed on the farm over the years, an exact structural identification 

is currently impossible. 

The 1993 Proposed Sanitary Sewer Line

Of the three sewer line shovel test transects (TR 10, 11, and 12), only the easternmost one, TR 10, exhibited undisturbed soil stratigraphy. Shovel testing along this 

transect uncovered the remains of a structural foundation and a gravel drive (discussed 

below). Undisturbed soil profiles were consistent with those previously described. 

Artifact distribution among the three transects was light and consisted chiefly of nails, 

glass, and stoneware. Prehistoric cultural material was limited to one possible firecracked rock from TR 12. 

Transect 10

TR 10 was very interesting in that it is located on an old gravel roadbed and a 

foundation. Twelve shovel tests were excavated along TR 10. Initially, only one, ST 3, 

produced artifacts - a badly deteriorated sanitary can fragment and cut nails from 

the same level, and in association with, the stone foundation uncovered in ST 3 and 

4, described below (subsequently, Expanded ST 3 and 4 would produce a few more 

artifacts). ST 9 through 12 encountered a probable gravel roadbed. With the exception 

of these tests, and ST 1 and 2, which were very disturbed, the remaining tests exhibited 

the expected soil profiles as previously described. 

ST 9 through 12 encountered a thick layer of uniform natural gravel, highly 

compact. The gravel layer, which extends variously from 10 cmbs to 28 cmbs, was 

encountered below a compact layer of brown to dark yellow sandy loam with varying 

degrees of clay content. The matrix of the roadbed itself was dark brown to black in 

color and below this lay the tan to light brown sandy loam B horizon. No artifacts were 

associated with this gravel bed, save for the occasional small bit of coal or clinker which 

was discarded. It is conjectured that this may represent the remains of a circa 1895 drive 
20

JAGA

which lead to the southwest entry of the carriage house (Westerly Group and William 

Behnke Associates 1991: Appendix Page 63, Figure 48). 

Expanded Transect 10 ST 3 and 4: Foundation 

TR 10, ST 3 and 4 uncovered a probable sandstone foundation (Figure 10). The 

diameters of these two tests were expanded in order to explore this feature further. 

The stones were thick, sawed, and retained remnants of mortar, including one large 

chunk with clear wood impressions recovered from Expanded ST 4. Several cut nails 

and a badly deteriorated sanitary can fragment were recovered in association with the 

sandstone blocks in ST 3. The probable foundation was identified at 8 to 10 cmbs, in a 

dark brown sandy loam soil. 

The placement of the foundation segments in ST 3 and 4 suggested that two 

corners had been exposed, one in each shovel test. Subsequent observations in 1994 

would suggest that these might represent the western corners of a structure. The two 

corners lay 5 m apart in a direct line with each other and were oriented at roughly a 30 

degree angle from the main house, just to the northwest of the campaign office. The 

foundation was exposed at a depth of 8 cmbs to 10 cmbs. Compact clay formed the 

matrix. Associated artifacts were sparse: cut nails and wire nails (ST 3 and 4), the base 

of a badly deteriorated sanitary can, a piece of plastic coated wire, and a piece of molded 

plastic (all from ST 3), and a portion of a milk glass electric insulator of the knob and 

tube type (ST 4). Additionally, several large shards of window glass found in situ were 

collected from ST 4. Samples of mortar were collected from both tests with one large 

chunk from ST 4 displaying wood impressions. 

The foundation segment uncovered in ST 3 consisted of numerous large 

chunks of small cut sandstone blocks, many irregular in shape. Running parallel to the 

sandstone blocks were three whole yellow mason’s bricks with a ridged side surface. 

Several of the stone blocks and bricks were mortared, possibly with limestone mortar, 

as it was fairly friable. The arrangement of the stones and bricks suggest a wall collapse, 

although whether outward or inward remains unclear. 

Approximately 15 cm to the west of this arrangement was a semicircular pattern 

of stones, mortar, and cement, suggesting a post support. Such a post would measure 

approximately 15 cm to 20 cm in diameter. Whether this post was associated with the 

foundation is unclear. The post mold was in linear alignment with a similar impression 5 

m to the north in ST 4 (see below). 

The foundation segment uncovered in ST 4 was similar to that of ST 3, except 

that the sandstone blocks were somewhat more scattered in their arrangement and 

there were no bricks present. A portion of what appeared to be a poured concrete block, 

approximately 15 cm wide, was uncovered in the southwest quarter of the enlarged 

shovel test. Approximately 5 cm to the west of this arrangement was a semicircular mold 

of mortar atop a stone block. This probable post mold was in linear alignment with that 

of ST 3 at 5 m to the south. Unfortunately, there was not enough of the mortar present in 

the ST 4 post mold to accurately determine the diameter of the post with which the mold 

was associated. 
21

RESULTS

Transect 11

Sixteen shovel tests were recorded for TR 11. ST 1 through 4 were skipped as they 

lay in a zone of compact gravel associated with the existing access road and parking lot 

to the west. ST 6 was offset 2 m east of the line due to gravel. Several tests along this 

line displayed disturbed stratigraphy. Those tests which were undisturbed evidenced 

soil profiles consistent with previous descriptions: an 8 cm to 10 cm deep humus layer, 

followed by a dark brown sandy loam A horizon, followed by a dark yellow, and much 

sandier, B horizon. ST 6 through 9 were very disturbed, with mottled bands of brown, 

black, and dark yellow sand and sandy loam with some clay content, and a thick band 

of clay at top (as in the disturbed tests near the baseline of TR A through 9). A probable 

drain field was located in ST 7, and possibly ST 8. In ST 7 and 8, a thick layer of white, 

angular, limestone gravel was encountered at 31 cmbs. In association with the gravel in 

ST 7 was a large sherd of vitrified red-ware drainage pipe. A similar, or perhaps the same, 

pipe is depicted in the 1991 draft of the Cultural Landscape Report by the Westerly 

Group and William Behnke Associates (1991: Appendix page 57). The presence of the 

drainfield and its subsequent exploration for the preparation of the Cultural Landscape 

Report (Westerly Group and William Behnke Associates 1991) is the most likely cause of 

the disturbance noted in the shovel tests along this transect. 

ST 12 included a number of large, round lake cobbles, which were initially 

believed to be in association. The test was expanded to 50 cm x 50 cm, and it became 

evident that the cobbles were random and probably not in deliberate association 

after all. However, several small sherds of a Rockingham glazed yellowware vessel 

were recovered from the expanded test. Several cut nails and a shard of flat glass 

were also recovered. 

ST 15 was offset 1.5 m to the east to test a depression which may have been a 

tree fall or may have been associated with the 1990 investigations. Oddly, the A horizon 

was disturbed but the B horizon was not. The abrupt change from the A horizon to the 

B horizon noted in the North wood lot units and shovel tests is evident here. As ST 15 

lies about 6 m from the entrance to the carriage house, which was built after President 

Garfield’s death, it may be conjectured that this is further evidence for a spreading of 

topsoil connected with the agricultural program carried out in this portion of the 

property during Garfield’s lifetime. A hard-paste hand-painted cobalt-blue porcelain 

sherd from a pre-1914 oriental deep saucer was found in the soil plug of ST 15. This 

piece does not match any of the Garfield China in the collection of the WRHS, although 

Lucretia Garfield was known to have collected Chinese and Anglo-Japanese china and 

porcelain. The only other artifacts recovered from TR 11, ST 15 were several ferrous 

objects, including nails, and one shard of colorless bottle glass. 

Of the 16 shovel tests recorded for TR 11, only 12 were excavated, with only 10 

positive for cultural material. Cut and wire nails account for the majority of recovered 

artifacts. Stoneware, flat glass, and curved glass were also recovered in small quantities. 

All artifacts were recovered from approximately 20 cmbs to 25 cmbs. 
22

JAGA

Transect 12

Fourteen shovel tests were excavated along TR 12, ten of which were positive for 

cultural material. Recovered artifacts included several cut nails, small chunks of mortar, 

a small red ware sherd, a small sherd of cream-colored salt-glazed crockery with a rolled 

and flattened lip band, a small whiteware sherd, a small shard of green bottle glass, and 

one possible fire-cracked rock (recovered from disturbed context in ST 7). Virtually 

every shovel test had some small bits of coal or clinker, which were discarded. All shovel 

tests along this transect (which ran close to the existing gravel parking lot and drive) 

were very disturbed, with a thick band of compact clay on top and a zone of mottled 

dark brown, brown, and orange sandy loam with some clay, beneath. ST 10 and 14 did 

not appear as disturbed, evidencing the expected A and B horizon soil profiles below the 

clay. However, while the A horizon remained the standard dark brown sandy loam, the 

B horizon sandy loam appeared to have darkened to an orange or rust color. In addition, 

the texture of ST 10 through 14 was much looser than that of ST 1 through 9. 

The 1993 Proposed Parking Lot

Overall, results obtained from the parking lot test units mirrored those obtained 

from the access road survey. It appears that the soil in the area of the proposed parking 

lot is finer in consistency than that of the access road transect shovel tests to the south; 

however in all other respects the soil profile is identical. Artifact yield was light and 

consistent with that of the proposed access road. Prehistoric artifacts included just 

four pieces of chert debitage (three from TU 1). No prehistoric subsurface features 

were identified; however a historic plow scar was identified, confirming this area’s past 

agricultural function. Also identified was a postmold, probably associated with one of a 

line of utility poles, which once served the barn to the north. 

Test Unit 1

The stratigraphy of TU 1 is largely representative of the project area as a whole 

(Figure 11). Beneath 10 cm of rich black humus (there was much leaf mold and composting 

in this area), lies 23 cm of dark brown sandy loam with pea size gravel, and beneath this 

lies brown sandy loam with gravel. There was an abrupt change between the dark brown 

and the brown sandy loams. The brown sandy loam graded into a B horizon consisting 

of light brown to dark yellow/tan much sandier loam with gravel and fist-sized lake 

cobbles. No features were observed and artifact yield was light to moderate. 

Three small flakes of chert debitage were recovered from TU 1 (one each from 

Level 1, 0-10 cmbs; Level 3, 20-30 cmbs; and Level 4, 30-40 cmbs). All flakes were 

recovered from mixed contexts which contained historic artifacts. The most notable 

historic artifact recovered was a black transfer print sherd which appears to have been 

burned. The sherd is circa pre-1860s and was recovered from Level 3. This level also 

produced a few cut nails, a tiny shard of milk glass, two small pieces of charcoal, and one 

flake of chert debitage. Other artifacts recovered from TU 1 include a wire-wrapped pin, 

perhaps from a window sash, a ferrous fishhook, wire and cut nails, a hinge, wire, amber 

and colorless bottle glass, whiteware, porcelain, and brick—all in small pieces. Coal was 
23

RESULTS

observed but not collected. Level 1 was the most productive, with the yield decreasing 

by level. TU 1 bottomed out into sterile sand at 40 cmbs (Level 4). 

Test Unit 2

Below a thin humus layer, Level 1 (0-10 cmbs) consisted of a loose sandy brown 

loam containing many tree roots which graded into a light brown or tan sandy loam 

containing roots and pea gravel near the top of Level 2 (10-20 cmbs). Level 3 (30-40 cmbs) 

consisted of a very fine dark yellow sandy gravel with much root disturbance. Nearing 

the floor of Level 4, at 36 cmbs, a dark circular stain on a very compact yellow clayey 

loam surface was observed. Excavation carefully proceeded to the bottom of Level 5 

(50 cmbs), where the soil was observed to be a dark yellow to tan, very compact sandy 

gravel with lake cobbles and much root disturbance, especially in the north wall. The 

soil had a slight orange cast to it and was lighter than that of the other test units. Despite 

its compact nature, there appeared to be very little clay in the soil. However, by Level 5 

the soil was very gravelly. 

The circular stain identified in Level 4 was at first believed to be a rodent burrow 

as it was similar in dimension to rodent burrows then present on the property. The 

circular stain fill measured 35 cm in diameter and contained soil which was darker 

and looser than the surrounding matrix. The circular fill was a medium brown to dark 

brown sandy loam and was devoid of cultural material. It is now conjectured that this 

stain may be the mold of a utility pole. This is further suggested by the presence of 

broken cables and cable anchors in the ground approximately 5 m to the south of Unit 2. 

James R. Garfield (personal communication 1993) confirmed that the barn at the north 

edge of the property was once electrified, and that a line of utility poles had stretched 

from Mentor Avenue north across the property. However, it is unknown when these 

poles were removed from the property. The cables do not appear particularly old. 

Test Unit 2 yielded few artifacts. However, while less productive than Test Unit 1, 

it was more productive than TU 3 and 4. Level 1 produced a faunal bone of indeterminate 

identification that displayed saw-cut marks, a small quantity of curved and flat glass, 

and a basal portion of a small unglazed red-ware flower pot. Level 2 produced a small 

quantity of flat and curved glass. Level 3 produced one fairly large chert flake, one shard 

of thick flat glass, and one cut nail. Decalcified limestone and a small portion of brick 

were observed in Level 3 but not collected. The last two levels of Unit 2 (Levels 4 and 5) 

were culturally sterile with the exception of the probable postmold. Isolated specks of 

charcoal peppered the unit, but not in direct association with the circular stain. This 

anomaly was not assigned a feature number. 

Test Unit 3

Level 1 (0-10 cmbs) consisted of a culturally sterile medium brown fine sandy 

loam with small gravel. Level 2 (10-20 cmbs) consisted of medium brown fine sandy 

loam with small to medium gravel. The only artifact collected from TU 3, a tiny shard 

of aqua-colored bottle glass, was recovered from this level. At Level 3 (20-30 cmbs), the 

A horizon consisted of dark to medium brown fine sandy loam with gravel, grading into 

light brown sand with some clay content. Numerous large roots disturbed the northeast 
24

JAGA

quarter of the unit. Several small flecks of charcoal were observed in this level. Level 

4 encountered the B horizon consisting of light brown coarser sand with some clay 

content, gravel, and several large, natural lake cobbles. This B horizon was darker than 

that of Unit 2, as was the B horizon of Unit 1. Flecks of wood charcoal were observed 

throughout the unit with a small concentration visible in the southeast corner of the unit 

at 38 cmbs. This was interpreted as the remains of a stump burn. 

Of most interest in Unit 3 was the discovery of a probable plow scar in the east 

wall. It was most evident in the A horizon, but grazed the top of the B horizon. The plow 

scar was visible in the wall profile from about 7 cmbs to about 26 cmbs and appears as 

a linear series of gently undulating arcs, spaced exactly 13 inches (33 cm) apart. A few 

large lake cobbles were visible within this soil zone. One prominent rodent burrow 

was encountered about 15 cm below the plow scar, and parallel to it, in the B 

horizon. Unit 3 encountered sterile sand at the bottom of Level 4 (40 cmbs) and 

excavation was terminated. 

This area was used variously as a vegetable garden and orchard throughout 

the Garfield family’s residence. The presence of the plow scar and evidence of historic 

stump burning provide archeological confirmation of the area’s past agricultural use. 

Test Unit 4

Level 1 (0-10 cmbs) consisted of seven cm of humus below which lay the A 

horizon. This horizon consisted of dry dark brown sand with some clay content and 

much lake gravel. A large root obstructed the southwest corner of the unit. Small brick 

fragments and specks of charcoal were observed throughout the level but not collected. 

The soil of Level 2 (10-20 cmbs) was the same as that of Level 1, with the top of the B 

horizon change becoming evident at 20 cmbs. No artifacts were noted, but small specks 

of intermittent charcoal were observed. Level 3 (20-30 cmbs), the B horizon, consisted 

of a light brown fine sand with a little clay content and much gravel. Specks of charcoal 

were still evident but there were no artifacts. As nothing in the floor or wall of the unit 

indicated the presence of a feature and as no cultural material was observed beyond 

the light peppering of charcoal, the southwest corner of the unit was “chunked out” 

to see what was below. Observing no change and reaching sterile sand at 40 cmbs, the 

excavation was halted and TU 4 was closed. 

The 1994 Monitoring Phase

Among other observations, the 1994 monitoring phase recorded three historic 

features: a large cobble feature just north of the gas holder and two previously unrecorded 

wells, one east of the pump house and one along the route of the sanitary sewer line. 

Nothing was observed in the soil profile that would contradict the 1993 soil assessment. 

With the exception of two notable historic artifact concentrations in the area of the new 

parking lot, artifact distribution was light and scattered, as it was in 1993. No prehistoric 

artifacts or features were uncovered in 1994. 
25

RESULTS

Access Road

Grading for the access road (Figure 12) netted the observation of a previously 

unrecorded hand-dug, circular, brick-lined well that was 6.5 m directly east of the pump 

house. This was designated JAGA 1994 Feature 1 (Figure 13). Feature 1 was uncovered by 

a front-end loader as it was scraping tree remains from the area. The well is surrounded 

by a concrete pad and lies approximately 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) below original grade. 

This feature does not appear on any maps, nor was its presence known to JAGA or 

WRHS personnel—not even James R. Garfield was aware of its presence. 

The well, which was capped by an iron manhole cover, was just over 17 feet (5.18 

m) deep and contained approximately 4 feet (1.22 m) of water when it was discovered. 

The feature was a hand-dug, circular well consisting of an unknown number of courses 

of mold-formed, 2-x-4 inch brick, and Portland cement. The pipefittings were galvanized 

steel with a “street-L” configuration and clearly ran to the pump house where they 

emerged adjacent to the circa 1939 pump. Both the pipe and the well were in excellent 

condition; however, just visible at its bottom was a mass of small tree roots. 

Feature 1, which was surrounded by a tooled-edged concrete pad, had an opening 

diameter of 2 feet 1.5 inches (63.75 cm), with a 7 inch (17.5 cm) overhang of surrounding 

brick and cement. Four bricks set at a 90-degree angle to the other bricks, presumably 

to support the cement pad, created this ledge. The ferrous manhole ring was fused to 

the manhole cover. The interior of the cover was embossed: THE DONLEY BROS. CO. 

CLEVE. O. According to a representative of M. E. Osborne, the contractor, this company 

did not exist before the mid 1930s but is currently still in business. 

The northwest corner of the concrete pad was located 21 feet 6.5 inches (6.5 m) 

southeast of the northeast corner of the pump house. The center of the well was 24 feet 

10 inches (7.45 m) from the northeast corner of the pump house. The southwest corner 

of the concrete pad was 20 feet 2.5 inches (6.1 m) northeast of the southeast corner of 

the pump house. The center of the well was 24 feet 3 inches (3.38 m) from the southeast 

corner of the pump house. 

After consultation with the Ohio EPA and the National Park Service/Midwest 

Regional Office in Omaha, the NPS/DSC project supervisor decided to remove the 

top portion of the well, fill the remaining portion, and continue with the access road 

as planned. The well was pumped overnight; however, at least three feet of water 

remained in the well the next morning. When it was noted that water was seeping 

into the well as fast as it could be pumped, the decision was made to fill the well in 

spite of the standing water. 

First, the protective raised pallet of earth surrounding the well was graded down 

to match the surrounding area. Then the concrete pad was removed along with the top 

six courses of brick exposing the fact that the brick courses had been parged on their 

exterior surface. The concrete pad was 12 cm thick. The concrete pad and top brick 

courses were removed to allow the access road to pass over without any change to its 

grade. Thus opened-up, the well’s shape became more evident. It appeared to have a top 

diameter of approximately 6 feet, and a bottom diameter of approximately 4 feet. 
26

JAGA

The well was filled by dumping a large sheet of bentonite into the well, followed 

by 5 gallons of Claymax. Finally, fourteen cubic yards of slurry were poured into the well, 

driving the water to the surface where it drained off. A Lake County Health Inspector 

was present during these proceedings. 

Parenthetically, a shallow, bell-shaped brick-lined pit was observed 4.75 m north 

of the pump house. The bricks are of the standard 2-x-4 mold-formed variety and were 

mortared with Portland cement. A ferrous ring surrounded the top of the pit; its cover 

was missing. The basin was filled with soil and leaf litter. At the time of examination, the 

basin was approximately 70 cm deep. This pit is interpreted as a probable catch basin or 

valve access associated with the pump house. No action will be taken with regard to this 

feature as it is not currently in the path of development. 

Sanitary Sewer Line

This portion of the project area consisted of the sanitary sewer line running from 

the first manhole west of the existing gravel drive, across the drive to the northwest 

corner of the house, veering north across the property to the carriage house. In addition, 

branches of the sanitary sewer line ran to the comfort station north of the carriage house 

and to the north facade of the tenant house (west of the existing gravel drive). The trench 

was approximately 3.5 m wide and dug with an excavator rather than a backhoe. The 

soil profile appeared fairly consistent across the project area: 20 cm to 30 cm of dark 

brown loamy sand with occasional lenses of glacial gravel or lake pebbles above dark 

yellow sand. 

The contractor wished to backfill as the line was being laid; however MWAC was 

told by DSC that the entire length of trench would be left open to a depth of 20 inches 

for our inspection. Despite this assurance, that portion of trench which ran from the 

first manhole, east across the existing drive to the house (a distance of approximately 

40 m, paced), as well as a portion of the trench running north from the house to the 

carriage house (approximately 15 m, paced) had been completely backfilled prior to our 

arrival. This is unfortunate as the backfilled area possessed the possibility of displaying 

evidence for the circa 1876 barn complex which is believed to have been located under 

the existing gravel drive and parking lot. WRHS staff, who observed the trenching, 

could not recall seeing any possible features; however they did observe a few early (ca. 

1850s) ceramic sherds which may be associated with the Dickey occupancy. 

The following observations are described in the order in which they were 

encountered moving north along the sanitary sewer trench: 

Cinder Block Septic Tank This feature had already been removed and the trench 

backfilled before the arrival of MWAC personnel; however, a few of the cinder blocks 

were still evident on the backdirt pile and the author was able to get a description of the 

tank from DSC project supervisor Dan Cloud. Apparently, the excavator encountered 

what appeared to be a septic tank approximately three feet (91cm) below grade. The tank 

was 4 feet wide by 8 feet long and 5 feet deep. It was constructed of cinder block with a 

concrete or stone lid that had collapsed in, filling the tank with soil. A 4-inch diameter 

clay pipe fed into the tank. The tank was uncovered approximately 9 m northeast 
27

RESULTS

of the northwest corner of the main house near the flagstone walk. This area had 

been backfilled before our arrival. Certainly, this septic tank was a twentieth century 

feature—the cinder block examined by the author was no more than fifty years old. 

Dry Well and Adjacent Probable Cobble Well (Feature 2) Feature 2, a previously 

known dry well/utility manhole and an adjacent previously unknown probable cobble 

well (Figure 14), was clearly visible in the exposed east wall of the sanitary sewer trench. 

This position is just north of the fully backfilled portion of the trench. The presence of 

the dry well was known, as it had been visible on the ground surface prior to trenching. 

The dry well had been capped with a sandstone square, which was removed in 1993, 

long enough for a cursory examination of its contents. At that time, the well contained 

various pipes and shut-off valves, which have since been removed. The dry well, as 

exposed during trenching, was semi-circular. The remainder had been obliterated by 

mechanical excavation during construction. The archeological elements of the dry well 

consisted of mortared mold-made brick, which had been thinly parged. Thirty cm of the 

dry well, top to bottom, were exposed. This feature did not appear to be particularly old, 

but it almost certainly pre-dates the cinder block septic tank described above. 

Conversely, the presence of the cobble well was a complete surprise. It was 

adjacent to the dry well to the north (Figure 14). Very little of it was visible as much of 

its southern and eastern portions remain buried and its northern and western portions 

having been obliterated by the mechanical excavation However, the arc of the visible 

portion of this feature suggests that it was very large and may have been truncated by the 

dry well. This suggests that the feature predates the dry well.

While the dry well and the cobble well appear unrelated, they were assigned the 

same feature number, JAGA 1994 Feature 2, due to their spatial proximity. It was initially 

believed that this facility may have been the hand-dug well previously recorded by the 

CMNH; however, Lee’s (1994:24) description of the 1990 feature does not match that of 

1994 Feature 2 (see interpretation, below). Feature 2 was located 17.5 m northwest of the 

northwest corner of the Campaign Office, 19.9 m northwest of the northwest corner of 

the main house. 

The probable cobble well was exposed as an arched or rounded wall of mortared 

cobbles, faced on its interior side, i.e., the side rounding toward the dry well. A vertical 

brick was set with mortar along the top course of cobbles, as is often observed at the top 

of wells. This cobble wall was exposed at 24 cmbs, and was troweled down until 48 cm of 

the feature was exposed, from top to bottom. Due to time constraints and the probability 

that the feature had been largely destroyed by the mechanical excavation, no attempt 

was made to chase the feature beyond this point. The well extended west approximately 

24 cm out of the east wall of the sanitary sewer line trench, and extended approximately 

40 cm in its north-south dimension along the east trench wall. Approximately 28 cm of 

the cobble well wall was observed on the spoil pile. 

Small Ferrous Feature A small concentration of cut nails and a ferrous pipe 

was observed in the east trench wall, approximately 10 m south of the carriage house, 

44 m southeast of the large Copper Beech tree. It is likely that this feature represents 

the remnants of one of the pipes leading from the present pump house or from one of a 
28

JAGA

series of wells that predated it, and provided water either to the carriage house or to the 

orchard and garden north of the carriage house. No conclusion has been drawn from the 

presence of the nails except that, given the feature’s proximity to the carriage house 

and the number of randomly occurring nails recovered from across the project area, 

this is not surprising. As this feature was small, it was not given a feature number and 

was not recorded. 

Possible Tenant House Wing Foundation Large sections of mortared brick, 

as well as large sections of concrete set with bricks at odd angles (suggesting that the 

brick was used as fill in the concrete), were unearthed by the excavator along the north 

facade of the tenant house during sanitary sewer line trenching in that area (Figure 15). 

Unfortunately, the trench was being backfilled as MWAC personnel were alerted to the 

presence of this feature. Therefore it was obliterated before it could be recorded properly. 

However, photographs were taken of the trench and what was left of the brick and 

concrete on the spoil pile. It is known that there was once a non-historic wing attached 

to the north facade of the tenant house and that it and a concrete block chimney were 

removed during renovation in 1988 (Grabinski 1994b:6). The date that the north wing 

was added is unknown, but may have occurred during the 1950s when much unrecorded 

maintenance was performed at JAGA. 

Additional Observations. Trenching along the west facade of the carriage house, 

initiated in order to connect the sanitary sewer line into that structure, necessitated 

the temporary removal of the large post-1900 granite water trough. While no cultural 

material was observed in the trench, the removal of the trough netted an interesting 

observation. The underpinnings, or footings, of the stone blocks upon which the trough 

stood were revealed to be recycled polished granite headstones. One of the stones was 

sheared off at some point in the past while the other bore the inscription “Harold J. 

Waste, 1907-1967,” with a floral motif below. This is interesting in that it establishes an 

approximate date as to when the trough was moved to its most current location. It was 

known to have been relocated between 25 and 30 years ago, but the date was uncertain. 

It is likely that these stones were rejects or practice pieces from the local stonecutter. 

Parking Lot Work in the area of the new parking lot and the construction of the 

comfort station just north of the gas holder uncovered a large cobble feature (designated 

JAGA 1994 Feature 3), and two artifact concentrations. 

Cobble Feature (Feature 3). This feature was uncovered during unmonitored 

trenching between the gas holder and the comfort station initiated in order to connect 

the sanitary sewer line into the comfort station. The author was unable to examine the 

feature until approximately two weeks after its discovery and an unknown amount of 

damage was inflicted upon it by ongoing construction of the comfort station. 

Feature 3 was located approximately 3 m south of the south facade of the comfort 

station cement pad, and approximately 10 m north of the north facade of the gas works. 

It was approximately 2 to 3 m north, and approximately 5 m east of the sloping ramp into 

the northeast facade of the carriage house. In addition to the damage sustained by the 

feature itself, exact location was difficult to determine due to the condition of the site. 

The location has been estimated due to the many obstacles to measure accurately. 
29

RESULTS

The feature consisted of numerous large cobbles and boulders interspersed 

with several mold-made bricks and late nineteenth-century midden refuse (Figure 

16). Large chunks of mortar, some with post impressions, were present but were not in 

direct association with any of the stones or bricks. The loose, disorganized nature of 

the feature suggests secondary deposition (a dump) as opposed to a structural collapse. 

However, elements of the feature do suggest that it may represent redeposition from a 

demolished structure. A large ice house purported to have stood very near this location 

is one possibility. 

Exact dimensions were difficult to determine for this feature as it was uncovered, 

and partially obliterated, by the contractor prior to its examination. The feature, as 

exposed, lay approximately 50 cm below the graded ground surface, and measured 

approximately 110 cm in its east-west dimension. Its extent north-south was impossible 

to determine, as was its total depth. This was a very large feature judging by the amount 

of rubble displaced by the backhoe.

Probing with a trowel produced bottle glass (including manganese, brown, and 

aqua; patent medicine type bases, thick soda type bottle glass, and canning jar rims); 

flat glass; cut nails and roofing slate with nail holes; faunal bone and a clam shell; saltglazed stoneware; large manganese glazed stoneware sherds, including a complete rim 

with handle; several sherds and a portion of the shoulder from one large brown glazed 

stoneware vessel, possibly a molasses jug; large rim sherds from a whiteware chamber 

pot; and various other whiteware sherds. Two bottles, complete but shattered in the 

feature, were recovered. The bottles bear lipping-tool finishes on their necks, suggesting 

a nineteenth or early twentieth century date for this feature. There appeared to be several 

other bottles and vessels, some possibly complete, still imbedded in the feature. The 

predominantly sandy matrix (mixed with a small amount of brown loam, yellow clay, 

and pebbles) of the feature, however, coupled with the depth to which it was excavated 

by the backhoe, make the feature very unstable and prone to collapse, thus precluding 

further exploration by trowel or shovel. 

Initially, it was hypothesized that this feature may represent a filled trench 

leading to the gas works, and its trajectory seemed to confirm this. However, this proved 

not to be the case as a small exploratory trench excavated by a backhoe demonstrated 

that the feature stopped at least 3 m north of the gas works. The feature was exposed to a 

depth of 1.7 m, but its terminating depth was not found. 

Artifact Concentration 1 Unmonitored storm sewer trenching uncovered two 

artifact concentrations. The first, a small concentration of metal artifacts, including gas 

jets, lamp fixtures, finials, and assorted other items, were uncovered together just under 

ground surface. Among the items in this concentration were two mace-like spiked balls 

joined by a chain which were unmistakably part of an armorial device or picture which 

is depicted in an 1888 photograph as having hung over the fireplace in the first floor 

reception hall (Newman 1991:266, Historical Photograph 62). The metal concentration 

was reportedly located approximately 30 m east-northeast of the north facade of the gas 

works. This may have been the location of an unusual soil lens observed by the author 

some weeks earlier during a visual scan of the then freshly graded parking lot. 
30

JAGA

At that time, the author observed an unusual lens of compact white ash and 

much lighter yellowish sand mixed with a great quantity of coal and clinker just above 

the natural sandy subsoil, located approximately 30 m southeast of the southeast corner 

of the chicken coop foundation. In this lens, one brick (standard mold-formed 2 x 4 

inches) and one railroad spike were observed but not collected. A quick probe of the 

lens with a trowel produced no further cultural material. The lens was shallow but long 

and broad (approximately 4 m long, 1 m wide and 5 cm deep) and was encountered at 

approximately 4-6 inches (10-15 cm) below original grade. It is likely that this unusual 

soil lens represented the top of the metal concentration uncovered during trenching. 

Artifact Concentration 2 The second artifact concentration was reportedly 

located a few meters east of the cobble feature. During trenching in this area, WRHS 

personnel collected a large number of ceramic sherds, as well as other artifacts. MWAC 

has since received the artifacts that were surface collected by the WRHS personnel 

and they include numerous richly decorated Limoges porcelain, Meissen, Haviland, 

and Stafordshire pieces. Among these pieces are sherds from a china service known 

to have been used by the Garfields while in the White House, as well as other pieces 

documented as belonging to Lucretia Garfield. However, this china service set was not 

Garfield’s presidential china (see interpretation below). Only a representative sample 

was collected, many more small sherds remained observable on the ground surface. 

This concentration also produced bottle glass, flat glass, metal, fabric, plaster, burned 

whiteware, and stoneware. 

Additional Observations

The 1994 monitoring phase also netted several observations not directly 

associated with ground disturbance for the access road, storm and sanitary sewers, 

comfort station, or parking lot. 

Foundation No further light was thrown on the foundation feature discovered 

in 1993, as the sanitary sewer line trench did not extend that far east. However, masonry 

building materials were uncovered during unmonitored installation of a buried fax line 

between the main house and the carriage house. These materials, which included large 

sandstone cobbles, poured concrete, a sandstone brick (4 x 4 x indeterminate inches), 

and a portion of a mold-made red clay brick imbedded in some concrete, were reportedly 

uncovered approximately 18 m north of the northwest corner of the campaign office, 

and 5 m east of the masonry feature uncovered in 1993. It is conjectured that these 

two masonry features are related and are remnants of the foundation of an as-yet 

unidentified structure (see interpretation, below). 

Unfortunately, only those materials which were not backfilled when the fax 

line was buried are listed above. WRHS personnel observed other building materials, 

but these were backfilled with the fax line. Furthermore, the discovery of this masonry 

“feature” was not reported to MWAC but was discovered by the author upon her return 

to the site some weeks later. Thus, the information that could potentially either link or 

disassociate the two masonry features (1993 and 1994) was obliterated. 
31

RESULTS

Carriage House Bottle Cache and Faunal Bones The Carriage House to Visitor 

Center conversion proceeded concurrently with the access road/sewer/parking lot 

trenching and grading. During demolition within the carriage house, workers uncovered 

a cache of bottles in fill dirt under the staircase which lead to the second floor of the 

carriage house. This area was completely closed-off and the bottles were found only 

after the staircase had been removed. Eleven complete bottles, one complete jar, and one 

broken bottle were removed from this deposit. It is possible that more bottles remain in 

this deposit but as construction grade had been reached in this area, the decision was 

made to leave any remaining bottles in situ. 

Most of the bottles are liquor bottles but a few appear to be liniment-type 

pharmaceutical bottles. Most retain their original corks and one retains a minute 

(illegible) portion of its original label. One tall brown liquor bottle retains its original 

cork-lined crown cap. All of the bottles appear to have lipping-tool finishes on their 

necks. The jar appears to be a small canning jar capped with a zinc band surrounding a 

milk-glass liner. One of the bottles, a large, squat, brown liquor bottle is embossed with 

“GANNEYMEDE 76” on the lower portion of its front face. Two of the liniment-type 

bottles—one complete bottle and the one broken bottle—are embossed with a stylized E 

V & CO. within a circle. 

MWAC Museum Specialist W. E. Sudderth (personal communication 1994) has 

tentatively dated the bottle cache as post-1892 and pre-1920, based on a combination 

of lip finishes, mold seams, base marks, and other identifying factors. Parenthetically, 

a badly rusted 1957 Ohio auto license plate was found on top of the deposit. This could 

have easily slipped through the boards of the staircase, and it is probably not associated 

with the bottle deposit. 

The 1991 MWAC crew also recovered a number of liquor bottles from the 

carriage house. The bottles recovered by the 1991 crew were of a somewhat later vintage, 

dating largely from the 1910s into the 1930s. Interestingly, the bottles recovered in 1991 

were found in the south stables area, a location obscured from public view. Noting 

that a number of soft drink bottles were found in the more exposed north room, Hunt 

(1994:42) stated that:

All alcoholic beverage bottles, however, were discarded in the south end of 

the room, probably reflecting the stigma which would accompany public 

consumption of alcoholic beverages on a property such as JAGA. It appears that 

someone with relatively easy access to the Carriage House often drank in the 

south end of the Stables, a location isn’t [sic] easily seen from the outside of the 

building or from the South Room, where the public had at least occasional access. 

Consumption of soft drinks would not have been associated with a stigma and 

could have been consumed in a more visible location. [Hunt 1994:42]

Being that the bottles recovered in 1994 were found in an area that was completely 

enclosed by the staircase leading to the second floor of the carriage house, it is not out of 

the range of possibility that they were placed there either at the time that this portion of 

the carriage house was built or by someone who worked in the carriage house. 
32

JAGA

In addition to the bottles, workers also recovered two faunal bones from the 

carriage house. The first was a rib from a mid-sized mammal, such as a pig or sheep. 

It had been saw-cut on one end. The bone was found approximately 30 cm (12 inches) 

below the threshold stone of the northwest door of the carriage house (carriage house 

room #111). The bone was found in the fill zone just above the original grade sand that 

lies approximately 52 cmbs. The foundation of the carriage house had been exposed 

below the sandstone foundation blocks as a layer of rotted sill beams above pea gravel 

fill and large cobbles. The bone was an isolated find, as there was no evidence of 

additional material. 

The second faunal bone was uncovered under the carriage house foundation— 

this time from under the outer wall of one of the east facing horse stalls, just north of 

the ramp of the carriage storage portion of the carriage house. This bone appeared to 

be a portion of a scapula from a mid-sized mammal, such as a pig or sheep. This bone 

had also been saw-cut. This bone was found in similar context and depth as the rib 

described above. It appears to be an isolated occurrence as no other midden material 

was observed. It appears as if these bones were isolated drops at the time the carriage 

house was constructed—perhaps the work of the family pet. 

Campaign Office In July, 1994, Robert C. Mack, the author of the historic 

structures report for the campaign office (Mack 1994) was at JAGA to conduct further 

exploration of that building. While exploring the base of the structure, he removed a 

section of lattice work, exposing the sandy, gravelly fill upon which the campaign office 

sits. He recovered a complete Pernod aperitif bottle from this area. The bottle was blown 

in a turn-mold and is of green glass with an irregular laid-on, fire-polished lip. The 

bottle’s base exhibits a deep push-up with mamelon. The product name was impressed 

into a blob seal of glass, hand-applied to the shoulder of the bottle. The seal reads “E. 

PERNOD. COUVET.” in a circle, with a cross in the center. The last three letters of 

PERNOD are shallowly impressed but are legible. The cork is present inside the bottle. 

This bottle most likely pre-dates 1910 (W. E. Sudderth, personal communication 1994). 

The author troweled around the area from which the bottle was removed and found a 

small whiteware sherd. Given that the campaign office was moved to its present location 

in 1885, the presence of a possible trash midden associated with its relocation is not 

inconceivable. More cultural refuse may be present in this fill but the active presence of 

several raccoons under the structure prevented further probing. 
33

INTERPRETATION

Access Road Survey Area

Well (JAGA 1994 Feature 1)

The major questions associated with JAGA 1994 Feature 1 are its chronological 

placement and function. James R. Garfield believes that it may have been dug while he 

was away at school in the 1930s—a supposition which supports the general impression, 

based on the brickwork, pipe fittings, and manhole cover, that this well was dug between 

the mid-1930s and the early 1940s. This is supported by Mr. Garfield’s brother who 

recalls work being done in that area during the mid-1930s and, he believes that the well 

was dug during that time (James R. Garfield, personal communication 1993). Accepting 

that the manhole cover is original to the well, the contractor’s belief that the Donley 

Brothers, the manufacturer of this cover, began business in the mid-1930s helps to 

support a 1930s to early 1940s date. Ultimately, the association of the well pipes with the 

1939 pump in the pump house suggests that this well was dug and fitted in 1939 to supply 

water to the garden north of the pump house, the previous well perhaps having gone dry. 

Sanitary Sewer Line Survey Area

Foundation

The identity of the structure that had been associated with the foundation 

uncovered in 1993 just north of Lawnfield is not certain. There are five potential 

candidates for this building: 

•	 the horse barn which now stands north of the carriage house, 

•	 a privy, 

•	 a reconstruction of Garfield’s birthplace cabin, 

•	 a ca. 1880 cow barn, or 

•	 a ca. 1900 children’s playhouse. 

The first three may be readily dismissed. The original location of the horse 

barn can be placed farther west and under the present gravel parking lot. Moreover, 

the foundation in question is too small for that structure. Next, the foundation is too 

large for a privy and the associated soil matrix and artifacts are not commensurate with 

such an interpretation. Finally, the reproduction of the Garfield birthplace cabin, which 

was moved here in 1938 from the Great Lakes Exhibition, is now at the Lake County 

Historical Society. It is also too small for the foundation. Furthermore, the photographs 
34

JAGA

of the cabin when placed at JAGA indicate that it sat just slightly north-northeast of the 

foundation’s location. 

The remaining two candidates, the cow barn and the playhouse, bear more 

consideration. The dimensions and location of the foundation appear to match those 

of the westernmost cow barn, which was one of four buildings depicted as part of the 

barn and shed complex from the New York Herald newspaper map of Lawnfield dated 

September 26, 1881 (Figure 3). The four cow barns are depicted as being equal in size 

with the campaign house (5 m on its short side), and their location is depicted as being to 

the north of the campaign office and main house. However, it is quite possible that the 

New York Herald map may be inaccurate. Moreover, the artifacts associated with the 

foundation, such as the milk glass electrical insulator, are much later in date. However, 

later artifacts and construction materials may indicate either that the foundation 

was reused for a later structure or that the foundation remained open, allowing later 

materials to become associated with it. The associated post molds may relate to the line 

of utility poles which ran back to the “new” barn complex during the 1920s and 1930s, or 

they may have been associated with support posts within the structure. 

The second, and perhaps even more likely candidate for the structure’s identity, 

is a ca. 1900 children’s playhouse (Figure 17). The playhouse was constructed from a 

converted trolley car and is depicted in three photographs dating from the first decade 

of the twentieth-century. Judging from the camera angle of each photograph, the 

playhouse stood precisely where the foundation was uncovered. 

Ultimately, the true nature of this structure may remain obscure as many 

structures have circulated around this area in the past and portions of the area have 

been extensively disturbed.

Cobble Well and Dry Well/Utility Manhole (JAGA 1994 Feature 2)

The brick dry well uncovered adjacent to the earlier cobble well of Feature 2 is 

almost certainly the remains of a utility manhole installed to allow access to a waterline 

shut-off valve. The initial examination of this feature in 1993, when it was still intact 

and visible from the ground surface, suggested that it was chronologically late, perhaps 

associated with the connection of Lawnfield to the city waterline in the late 1930s. 

However, the Westerly Group and William Behnke Associates (1991:Appendix, 

page 51) in their JAGA cultural landscape report, state that the pipes associated with 

this feature extend across the site, to the main house, carriage house, pump house, and 

former location of the barns. It is the last statement that is troubling: to which barns are 

they referring? If it is to the original barn complex which stood under what is now the 

gravel parking lot to the west, then the well is much older than the pipe fittings observed 

by the author would suggest. However, it seems more likely that the pipes fed into the 

barn complex north of the carriage house or to other non extant outbuildings. It is 

conjectured that this feature post-dates 1900 when much of the property was being 

modernized, but pre-dates the 1940s. Ultimately, however, the age of this feature 

remains uncertain. 
35

INTERPRETATION

Similarly, the age of the adjacent cobble well is also uncertain. The use of natural 

lake cobbles set with soft mortar suggests that this is a feature of some time depth. It 

may be early-Garfield or perhaps even pre-Garfield, although this is pure speculation 

based merely upon the well’s appearance. Because of the circumstances surrounding its 

discovery (in the wall of the partially backfilled sanitary sewer line trench), no artifacts 

were found in association with this feature, and thus no conclusions regarding the 

feature’s age can be drawn from the artifactual evidence. 

Another question surrounding this well is whether it is, in fact, a new observation. 

Lee (1994:24) reports locating a feature which he interpreted as a cylindrical hand-dug 

well. The 1990 Feature 1 was very near the location of JAGA 1994 Feature 2:

First observed at a depth of 60 cm below surface, the feature was identified 

as a well-defined cylindrical pit, 1.02 meters in diameter. The feature was 

excavated to a depth of 1.5 meters below surface, at which point excavation was 

terminated for reasons of safety. The pit was filled with large cobbles and small 

boulders, ranging in size from 20 cm to 40 cm in nominal diameter. The stones 

were geologically indigenous to the area and were probably collected locally 

as fieldstone. Cultural materials recovered within the feature were limited to 

coal cinders, brick fragments, and geologically exotic, cobble-sized pieces of 

limestone. [Lee 1994:24]

In addition, Lee’s crew recovered parts of a ceramic toy figurine from the 

excavation level just above the 1990 feature. This toy has been dated to the 1870s or 

1880s, leading Lee to conclude that the well had been filled about the time the 1894 

pump house well was excavated (Lee 1994). 

Unfortunately, due to the lack of photographs or diagrams of the 1990 feature, 

coupled with the lack of a clear project map, it is difficult to determine if this could be the 

same feature encountered in 1994. The author believes that the 1990 and 1994 projects 

encountered two different, nearby well features. It appears that the 1990 crew were 

excavating approximately 5 m to the west, much closer to the east edge of the existing 

gravel parking lot. Furthermore, the description of the 1990 feature does not match that 

of the 1994 feature. Apparently, the 1990 feature consisted of loose cobbles thrown, 

with some building debris, into a deep pit as fill. Whether these cobbles represent the 

building components of a well is unclear. Certainly there is no description of mortar or 

any ordered association in Lee’s account. Alternatively, the well encountered in 1994 

consisted of cobbles mortared into place to form part of a circular wall. Moreover, the 

feature observed in 1994 was apparent at 24 cm below the ungraded ground surface; the 

1990 feature was not observed until 60 cm below the ground surface. Thus, it is highly 

probable that two cobble wells were present in this area. This is not inconceivable 

given the knowledge that the Garfield’s are known to have dug several wells, and it 

may be assumed that more than one was dug by the Dickey family over the tenure of 

their occupancy. 
36

JAGA

Parking Lot Survey Area

Cobble Feature (JAGA 1994 Feature 3)

Little can be said about this feature beyond that which has been stated in a 

previous section. The feature was composed primarily of cobbles mixed with other 

building materials such as bricks and chunks of mortar, over which was spread what 

appeared to be a thin late-nineteenth century trash midden consisting mostly of 

household refuse. The cobbles and other building materials indicate that this is the 

remains of a structure. However, the loose, disorganized nature of the feature suggests 

not an in situ collapse but rather a secondary deposition. Thus, it is conjectured that 

Feature 3 represents an excavated trench into which the debris of a collapsed or razed 

structure was pushed, and over which a layer of household refuse was opportunistically 

dumped prior to the trench being covered with soil. 

That leaves the question of what structure Feature 3 represents. As mentioned 

previously, a second large icehouse is believed to have stood in the general vicinity; 

however there is little documentary evidence to support this hypothesis. The author 

believes, rather, that Feature 3 represents the debris of the razed portion of the older 

gas holder building. Certainly the artifacts associated with the feature are roughly 

contemporary with the razing of the west portion of the gas holder and the construction 

of the carriage house. 

Historic Artifact Concentrations

General Discussion Because of the relatively well preserved and clustered nature 

of the two artifact concentrations identified in 1994—the metal concentration found 

east-northeast of the carriage house, and the ceramic concentration found east of the 

comfort station—and because of the general lack of refuse dumping observed across 

the project area, it is conjectured that these represent two isolated dumping episodes. 

Furthermore, it is believed that these dumping episodes resulted from the disposal of 

obsolete household furnishings in concert with the 1904 renovation of Lawnfield. 

During that year, a new entry was built and “unrecorded changes in furnishings, floor, 

wall coverings, and decoration” occurred (Newman 1991:9). 

The Garfield China The presence of known household items within the metal 

concentration has been discussed previously. Within the ceramic concentration, of 

particular interest are numerous sherds of Meissen, Haviland, and other marks, which 

match vessels currently in the JAGA collection, documented as having belonged to 

Lucretia Garfield, and known to be incomplete sets. 

Even more interesting are two sherds of peach-bordered porcelain decorated 

with a delicate gold floral motif just below the border. These sherds match a nearly 

complete dinner service in the JAGA collection. In addition to the peach and gold floral 

border, several of the JAGA pieces include a gold monogrammed “G” within the floral 

border. The centers of these dishes are undecorated. Several pieces of the service are 

marked Haviland, a French manufacturer, but are stamped with a faux English Registry 

mark. These vessels are of particular interest as it has been postulated they may have 
37

INTERPRETATION

been the Garfield presidential china. In fact, the Smithsonian Institution has displayed 

pieces from this service with that designation. However, MWAC Museum Specialist W. 

E. Sudderth disputes this interpretation:

The dinner service used during the short Garfield presidency was a set designed 

by the American designer/photographer Theodore Davis for the Rutherford B. 

Hayes Table...... The china was delivered to the White House in 1880......during 

the Garfield tenure 3 of the pieces chipped—and were sent to the Hayes’ as a 

memento of their tenantcy [sic].

......the designs for the set were composed of American flora and fauna with each 

of the courses bearing a suitable representation of an appropriate subject, i.e., 

birds for the game course, fish for that course, etc. [Sudderth 1994:1]

This Theodore Davis set described by Sudderth is not the china service presently 

in the JAGA collection. 

Sudderth’s research indicates that the mark on the JAGA service is a Haviland 

mark dating to 1871, thus predating Garfield’s presidency by nearly a decade. The faux 

English registry mark was possibly added to lend an air of sophistication to the set—

English china being the considered the finest nineteenth-century ceramics. Or, perhaps, 

the porcelain blanks were manufactured in England and the set was merely decorated 

by Haviland. Sudderth believes, and the author concurs, that the JAGA china service was 

probably a special commission by the Garfields for their personal use, perhaps during 

Garfield’s years in the U.S. Senate, and may have been used by the family, unofficially, 

while in the White House. 

Soils and Artifact Distributions

Soils

The only general comment to be made regarding changes in the excavated 

sediments, beyond that which has been presented previously, is that the soil in the area 

north of the pump house and carriage house is much finer and looser in consistency than 

that across the remainder of the property. This observation is undoubtedly the result of 

this area’s many years of cultivation as orchard and vegetable garden. Moreover, the area 

north and east of the carriage house would have experienced less sediment compaction 

from pedestrian and vehicular traffic than that portion of the property which lies to the 

south and west of the carriage house. 

Artifact Distributions

Artifact Density The results of the 1990 and 1993 surveys indicate that artifact 

density is much lighter across JAGA than would be expected on a property of its age 

and length of occupation. While a light artifact scatter occurs across the breadth of the 

property, the most concentrated scatter occurs in the vicinity of the pump house and 

carriage house, and appears to be largely associated with activities associated with those 
38

JAGA

structures. The two exceptions to this are the previously described concentrations of 

household items (metal and ceramic) found east of the comfort station and in the north 

parking lot area. And these appear less to be ongoing refuse dumps than they appear 

to be isolated depositional episodes, perhaps related to renovation activities within 

Lawnfield. Where definable trash dumps do occur they tend to be associated with 

structures, such as the small midden under the campaign office or the small midden 

associated with the probable building rubble of Feature 3 (cobble feature). 

Garfield Trash Dump Site A viable explanation for the lack of an extensive 

household midden at JAGA was provided by James R. Garfield (personal communication 

1993) . He recounted that the family periodically carted trash via wagons to a dump site 

over the ridge to the north and paralleling the Lake Shore railroad tracks, a distance 

of just under a mile. At the location described by Mr. Garfield, there is indeed a large, 

overgrown mound, the result of generations of Garfield family refuse. Unfortunately, 

this historic trash dump deposit is located on private property. The Garfield trash 

dump site should be verified by archeological fieldwork and recorded in the Ohio 

Archaeological Inventory. 

Pre-Garfield Occupation Another JAGA observation is the almost complete 

absence of early artifacts associated with the Dickey family occupancy. It is likely that 

much of the midden associated with the Dickey family, and certainly all of the kitchen 

midden, is buried under the enlarged main house. A few early transfer print ceramic 

sherds were observed by WRHS personnel during unmonitored sewer line trenching in 

the vicinity of the first manhole, west of Lawnfield. 

Other Features No early features, such as privies, have ever been located at JAGA. 

It is reasonable that the earlier Dickey occupation had a privy, and it is known that 

Garfield built a brick privy in 1877. It is possible that these lay under the current gravel 

parking lot, in the area of the early barn complex. It must also be recalled that some 

property lying to the south of Mentor Avenue was owned by Garfield and that buried 

features associated with the Garfield farm may be present in this area, now developed as 

private residences. It is less likely, however, that architectural features would be located 

on the property south of the road as this was cultivated as a wheat field, although a 

tenant house did stand on the south side of the road prior to its 1885 sale.
39

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

With National Park Service involvement at JAGA, funding became available for a 

much needed Lawnfield renovation and the development of a new visitor’s center (Hunt 

1999:3). In 1990, archeological investigations were conducted around the foundation of 

Lawnfield, and at various other locations on the property. This was in preparation for 

Lawnfield’s renovation and the construction of a new parking lot to service the visitor 

center (Lee 1994). Archeological investigations were conducted in the carriage house in 

1991, preparatory to its conversion to the visitor center (Hunt 1999).

The 1993 and 1994 Archeological Investigations

The subsequent 1993 and 1994 archeological investigations were conducted in 

conjunction with the installation of a new access road, parking lot, and sanitary sewer 

line at JAGA. This work was divided in two phases. The archeological inventory took 

place during the summer of 1993 and consisted of an intensive pre-construction shovel 

test survey of the access road and sanitary sewer line route, and the excavation of four 

small test units in and around the area of the proposed parking lot. The second phase, 

monitoring of the ground disturbance for the parking lot, access road, sanitary and 

storm sewers, and comfort station occurred in the spring and summer of 1994. 

The 1993 archeological investigations were prompted by subsequent changes 

in the planned location of the new parking lot and the new access road to service it, 

as well as the addition of new sanitary and storm sewers, and a new comfort station 

in the vicinity of the carriage house/visitor center. From June 21 to July 2, 1993, a five 

member crew from the Midwest Archeological Center, under the direction of the 

author, conducted a shovel test survey of the proposed route of the access road and 

sanitary sewer lines. Portions of the proposed storm sewer lines were placed parallel and 

adjacent to the access road and turned at the parking lot, and thus would be included in 

the access road survey and the 1990 parking lot survey (Lee 1994.) In 1993, a total of 261 

shovel tests were excavated over 13 transects. In addition to the shovel test survey, four 

1 x 1-m test units were excavated either within, or in the vicinity of, the parking lot to 

further explore this area. 

Difficulties with permits, contractor problems, and various other administrative 

delays, caused the ground disturbance phase of the parking lot/access road/sewer 

lines project to drag on from March 28, 1994, to July 29, 1994. For this reason, the 1994 

archeological monitoring by the author occurred intermittently throughout the four 

month span of ground disturbance. During the last month of ground disturbance, the 

MWAC crew from CUVA assisted in the excavation of the 1994 features. 

Conclusion

Of particular archeological concern was the possible presence of a small Late 

Prehistoric component identified during the previous archeological investigations in 

1990 and 1991. This prehistoric site, as well as the 1830s-1950s historic components, 

should be recorded in the Ohio Archaeological Inventory. Also of concern was the 
40

JAGA

possibility of encountering pre-Garfield and very early Garfield features, particularly 

the original Garfield barn complex. Ultimately, the 1993 and 1994 investigations netted 

very little prehistoric material, nor, for that matter, was much historic material recovered. 

However, several interesting features were identified including the foundation of an as 

yet unidentified structure. Two previously unrecorded wells were discovered, and 

a large cobble feature which most likely represents a trench or pit into which was 

pushed the debris from a razed structure, possibly the earlier gas holder building or a 

former icehouse. 

Future plans for JAGA call for the removal and subsequent landscaping of 

the current gravel parking lot. Should this occur, it is highly recommended that the 

associated ground disturbance be monitored as the possibility remains that evidence 

of the early Garfield era barn complex may be present in this area. Furthermore, any 

potential future ground disturbance in that small portion of JAGA, which lies to the north 

of the new parking lot, should be closely monitored as no archeological investigation has 

occurred in this area. 

Thus, it should be noted in conclusion that, while previous ground disturbance 

at JAGA has traversed areas of low archeological probability, much potential exists for 

buried archeological resources, especially in the western and northern portions of the 

park. Therefore, planners of future development at JAGA should remain mindful of the 

effects their actions may have on unidentified archeological resources.
41

306

76 

10 0 10

90

80 71

271

90

480

2

615

44

80

59

422

534

5

322

20

90

20

45

11

James A. Gareld

National Historic Site

LAKE ERIE

CUYAHOGA

VALLEY

N.R.A.

NORTHEASTERN

 OHIO SCALE OF MILES

WARREN

WINDSOR

HARTSGROVE

MENTOR

CLEVELAND

 CANADA

UNITED STATES

Figure1. Project Area in Northeast Ohio.
42

JAGA

Figure 2. James A. Garfield (JAGA) National Historic Site.
43

FIGURES

Corn Field

Main Road Driveway

Residence

Oce

Barns

 And

 Sheds

 Young

Orchard

Peach

Orchard

Wheat

Field

The Ridge

M

e

adow

Lake Shore R.R. Tracks

N

E

W

Cow Barns

Figure 3. “The Garfield Farm” from the New York Herald, September 

26, 1881.
44

JAGA
45

Unit 3

Unit 2

Unit 1

Unit 4

1993 Pennington Test Unit (Pennington 1993)

Boundary of Shovel Test Transects (Pennington 1993)

Extent of Excavations (CMNH 1990)

Extent of Excavations (Hunt 1991)

N 0 60

Feet

KEY

Locations of 1990, 1991, and 1993 Archeological Projects

Midwest Archeological Center 1/2012

Figure 4. Location of the 1990, 1991, and 1993 Archeological Investigations.
46
47

The 1993 Access Road Transects

Midwest Archeological Center 12/2011

Figure 5. The 1993 Access Road Transects.
48
49

Figure 6. The 1993 Sanitary Sewer Line Transects.
50
51

Unit 3

Unit 2

Unit 1

Unit 4

The 1993 Parking Lot Test Units

Midwest Archeological Center 12/2011

Figure 7. The 1993 Parking Lot Test Units.
52
53

KEY

 Areas actively monitored

 Areas monitored after-the-fact; 

 Secondary trenching monitored 

 in the area of the comfort station

 Only initial soil stripping monitored;

 Deep trenching not monitored

The 1994 Monitoring Zone

Midwest Archeological Center 12/2011

N

Figure 8. The 1994 Monitoring Zone.
54
55

FIGURES

Figure 9. Brick and Rubble Pile Located East of the Gas Works.
56

JAGA

Figure 10. Foundation Segment in TR 10, Expanded ST 3.
57

FIGURES

0 cm 10 cm

Humus

Dark Brown Sandy Loam with Gravel

Light Brown Sandy Loam with Gravel

Not Excavated

N

Test Unit 1: West Wall Prole

Midwest Archeological Center 12/2011

Figure 11. West Wall Profile of TU 1.
58

JAGA

Figure 12. Access Road After Soil Stripping, View Northeast Toward 

Pump House.
59

FIGURES

Figure 13. Well (JAGA 1994 Feature 1), View West Toward Pump House.
60

JAGA

Figure 14. Dry Well and Adjacent Cobble Well (JAGA 1994 Feature 2).
61

FIGURES

Figure 15. Remnant of Probable Former North Wing of Tenant House.
62

JAGA

Figure 16. Cobble Feature (JAGA 1994 Feature 3).
63

FIGURES

Figure 17. Children’s Playhouse from Undated Early Twentieth Century Photograph.
64

JAGA
65

REFERENCES CITED

Garfield, James R.

1993 Personal communication.

Grabinski, Kari J.

1994a Chicken Coop: Historic Structure Report, James A. Garfield National Historic Site, 

Ohio. Report Prepared by MacDonald and Mack Architects, Ltd., Minneapolis. 

Draft dated March.

1994b Tenant House: Historic Structure Report, James A. Garfield National Historic Site, 

Ohio. Report Prepared by MacDonald and Mack Architects, Ltd., Minneapolis. 

Draft dated March.

Hunt, William J., Jr.

1991 Memorandum to the Chief, Midwest Archeological Center, from Archeologist, 

Midwest Archeological Center, dated July 8. Subject: Trip Report, JAGA Carriage 

House Excavations. File code: A26. Copy on File, National Park Service, Midwest 

Archeological Center, Lincoln.

1999 Archeological Investigation of the Carriage House, James A. Garfield National 

Historic Site, Mentor, Ohio. Technical Report No. 62. National Park Service, 

Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Johnson, Ronald W.

1984 James A. Garfield National Historic Site, Ohio: Historic Resource Study. National 

Park Service, Northeast Team, Branch of Cultural Resources, Denver Service 

Center.

Kovel, Ralph M., and Terry H. Kovel

1994 Letter to Rose E. Pennington, dated March 16, 1994. Letter on file at the 

Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, Nebraska. 

Lee, Alfred M.

1994 Locational Reconnaissance at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site, 

Mentor, Lake County, Ohio. Midwest Archeological Center Technical Report No. 

30. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Midwest 

Archeological Center, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Mack, Robert C.

1994a Campaign Office: Historic Structure Report, James A. Garfield National 

Historic Site, Ohio. Report Prepared by MacDonald and Mack Architects, Ltd., 

Minneapolis. Draft dated March.

1994b Gas Holder: Historic Structure Report, James A. Garfield National Historic Site, 

Ohio. Report Prepared by MacDonald and Mack Architects, Ltd., Minneapolis. 

Draft dated April.
66

JAGA

1994c Windmill: Historic Structure Report, James A. Garfield National Historic Site, 

Ohio. Report Prepared by MacDonald and Mack Architects, Ltd., Minneapolis. 

Draft dated March.

Newman, Paul

1991 Lawnfield, Historic Structure Report, James A. Garfield National Historic Site.

National Park Service, Denver Service Center.

Noble, Vergil E.

1990 Memorandum to the Chief, Midwest Archeological Center, from Archeologist, 

Midwest Archeological Center, dated August 3. Subject: Trip Report, James A. 

Garfield, NHS, July 2-25, 1990. File code: H2215. On File, National Park Service, 

Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln.

Ritchie, A., and N. E. Reeder

1979 Soil Survey of Lake County, Ohio. Soil Conservation Service, United States 

Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

Sudderth, W. E.

1994 Letter to Jeffrey J. Richner, dated July 21, 1994. Letter on file at the Midwest 

Archeological Center, Lincoln, Nebraska.

1994 Personal communication.

USGS (United States Geological Survey)

1970 The National Atlas of the United States of America. United States Geological 

Survey, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

Westerly Group and William Behnke Associates

1991 Cultural Landscape Report: James A. Garfield National Historic Site, Lawnfield, 

Mentor, Ohio. The Westerly Group, Inc., and William Behnke Associates. Report 

prepared for the National Park Service. Draft copy on file, Midwest Archeological 

Center, Lincoln.
67

APPENDIX A: JAGA 1993 ARTIFACTS

Parking Lot Test Units--Prehistoric Artifacts

Provenience Debitage Total

Unit 1 Level 3 1 1

Unit 1 Level 4 1 1

Unit 2 Level 3 1 1

Total 3 3

Parking Lot Test Units--Hardware

Provenience Non-Ferrous Misc. Total

Metal Hinge Ferrous Metal

Unit 1 Level 1 1 3 4

Unit 1 Level 2 - 6 6

Unit 1 Level 3 - 1 1

Total 1 10 11

Parking Lot Test Units--Domestic Artifacts

Provenience Ceramics Curved Bone Char- Mirror Total

Whiteware Redware Glass coal Frag.

Unit 1 Level 1 1 - 11 - - 1 13

Unit 1 Level 3 1 - 1 - 1 - 3

Unit 1 Level 4 - - 1 - - - 1

Unit 2 Level 1 - 1 10 1 - - 12

Unit 2 Level 2 - - 2 - - - 2

Unit 3 Level 2 - - 1 - - - 1

Total 3 1 30 1 2 1 38

Parking Lot Test Units--Architectural Artifacts

Provenience Window Nails Screw Brick Window Total

Glass Cut Wire Roof Misc Stop

Unit 1 Level 1 11 2 5 1 5 1 - 1 26

Unit 1 Level 2 2 9 - - 5 - 2 - 18

Unit 1 Level 3 - 2 - - 1 - - - 3

Unit 2 Level 1 2 - - - - - - - 2

Unit 2 Level 2 2 - - - - - - - 2

Unit 2 Level 3 1 1 - - - - - - 2

Unit 4 Level 1 - - - - - - 1 - 1

Total 18 14 5 1 11 1 3 1 54
68

JAGA

Sewer Line Shovel Tests--Prehistoric Artifacts

Provenience FCR

Tran 12 ST 7 1

Total 1

Sewer Line Shovel Tests--Hardware

Provenience Non-Ferrous Ferrous Total

Metal (misc) Metal (misc)

Tran 11 ST 5 1 - 1

Tran 11 ST 15 - 5 5

Tran 12 ST 13 - 1 1

Total 1 6 7

Sewer Line Shovel Tests--Domestic Artifacts

Provenience Ceramics Glass Total

WhitewareStonewareYellowwareRedware Porcelain Curved

Tran 11 ST 8 - - - 1 - - 1

Tran 11 ST 9 - - - - - 2 2

Tran 11 ST 10 - 2 - - - - 2

Tran 11 ST 12 - - 13 - - - 13

Tran 11 ST 14 - - - - - 1 1

Tran 11 ST 15 - - - - 1 2 3

Tran 11 ST 16 - - - - - 1 1

Tran 12 ST 5 1 - - - - 1 2

Tran 12 ST 8 - 1 - - - - 1

Tran 12 ST 12 - 1 - - - - 1

Total 1 4 13 1 1 7 27

Pr

Access Road Shovel Tests--Hardware

ovenience Wire Hook Ferrous Metal Brass 

Cylinder

Light 

Bulb

Frag

Elec

Insulator

Total

Sheet Disc Strap Unid

Tran 1 ST 25 - - 8 - - - - - - 8

Tran 2 ST 8 1 - - - - - - - - 1

Tran 3 ST 21 - - - 1 - 1 - - - 2

Tran 3 ST 27 - - - - - 1 - - - 1

Tran 3 ST 30 - - - - - 1 - - - 1

Tran 4 ST 18 - 1 - - - - - - - 1

Tran 4 ST 22 - - - - - - 1 - - 1

Tran 4 ST 24 - - - - - - - 18 - 18
69

APPENDIX A

Concluded. Access Road Shovel Tests--Hardware

Provenience Wire Hook Ferrous Metal Brass Light Elec Total

Sheet Disc Strap Unid Cylinder

Bulb

Frag

Insulator

Tran 4 ST 26 - - - - 2 - - - - 2

Tran 5 ST 4 - - - - - 1 - - - 1

Tran 6 ST 11 1 - - - - - - - - 1

Tran 6 ST B - - - - - 1 - - - 1

Tran 10 ST 1 - - - - - - - - 1

3-ext

Tran 10 ST 4 - - - - - - - - 1 1

ext

Total 3 1 8 1 2 5 1 18 1 40

Access Road Shovel Tests--Prehistoric Artifacts

Provenience Debitage Total

Tran A ST 4 1 1

Tran 1 ST 6 1 1

Tran 2 ST 11 1 1

Tran 2 ST 13 1 1

Tran 2 ST 15 1 1

Tran 4 ST 13 1 1

Tran 4 ST 15-exp 1 1

Tran 4 ST 16 2 2

Tran 6 ST 14 2 2

Tran 8 ST 7 1 1

Total 12 12

Access Road Shovel Tests--Personal Artifacts

Provenience Plastic Leather Leather Total

Toy Frag Shoe Frag Ring

Tran A ST 17 1 - - 1

Tran 3 ST 25 - 1 - 1

Tran 6 ST B - - 2 2

Total 1 1 2 4
70

JAGA
71

APPENDIX B: JAGA 1994 ARTIFACTS

Carriage House

 Provenience Glass Bone Total

Bottle Lid Mammal

Surface, 0-10 15 3 2 20

First Manhole, Sanitary Sewer 

Provenience Ceramics Total

Whiteware Earthenware

Backhoe 1 1 2

Under Campaign Office, North Façade

Provenience Ceramic Glass Total

Whiteware Bottle

Surface, 0-3 10 2 12

Feature 3, by Comfort Station, Rubble north of Gas Works

Provenience Ceramic Glass Total

Stoneware Flat Curved

Surface, 0-5 22 3 14 39
72

JAGA