Spotlight: David Schatz

Meet David Schatz. Dave heads up our urban archaeology program and gets excited about digging around old neighborhoods in Louisville. Dave holds an MA from the University of Louisville and has years of practical experience that allows him to devise effective and scientifically defendable ways of investigating deeply buried urban features.

Hotel Nulu

Last year, Corn Island excavated the site of Marriott AC Hotel Downtown. The hotel had its grand opening just before Derby, and has placed some of the artifacts uncovered on display in their lobby. The 1.07 acre lot excavation revealed 13 features including a basement, three cistern, and nine privies. Five of those privies were sampled. The recovered artifacts are varied and in good condition and provided a good deal of information about the inhabitants of this block from 1860s into the 1900s. In addition, other features, notably cisterns, were exposed and documented, revealing information about construction techniques as well as placement on the residential lots.

A large variety of glass bottles were also recovered, including ones from Falls City Brewing and all manner of medicinal bottles and vials.

A large amount of glass marbles and children’s toys and dishes were found at the site.

Excavated stoneware jugs displayed along with some modern decor.

Beecher Terrace

Corn Island conducted excavations of the historic neighborhood that lies below Beecher Terrance earlier this year. This week we presented some of our findings to with Gray & Pape and SHPO.

Happy Holidays!

We at Corn Island would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holidays this winter. This year, we designed our cards pulling inspiration from decorated redware pottery found at the Conrad-Seaton house. Here’s to another great year!

Spot Light: Kathy McGrath

Kathy McGrath is key to the success at Corn Island. She received her Master’s degree in Anthropology from Ohio State University in 1993. Kathy, with 20 years of experience, celebrates her 10-year anniversary with Corn Island this summer. As Operations Manager, she wears a lot of hats. Among her important duties is the management of the archeological laboratory. Kathy is very experienced in database management and analysis, interpretation, and preservation of material culture. Kathy is also Corn Island’s lead for Master Planning projects in which she supports the overall effort by researching the cultural history and past land use of project sites. Kathy is a valuable component of our marketing team, preparing materials for project proposals and teaming arrangements. Kathy can be reached at kmgrath@ciarch.com.

1700’s Coin

Now you just don’t find a late 1700’s coin while doing archaeology in the Louisville area just any day! Minted in Mexico, this was found on one of our current dig sites.

10 Year Anniversary

The end of 2016 brings Corn Island Archaeology LLC to the successful completion of ten years as a local provider of cultural resources services! A huge and heartfelt “thank you” to all our clients, teaming partners, and associates as we celebrate our ten-year anniversary as a company. You have entrusted us with your interesting and locally significant projects over the years, and we hope to continue working with you all in the future. Best wishes for a prosperous and happy new year!

Clover Hill

NRHP-listed Clover Hill (JF30) is one of the earliest resources along the Dixie Highway corridor. The period of significance ranges from 1800 to 1899 with dates of significance including 1826, 1857, 1859, and 1863. AThe area of significance consists of Exploration/Settlement. Diaries kept by one owner provided abundant information, including the construction periods of the house. Additions included an octagonal room built in 1863. The property had been first owned by Robert Nicholas Miller, who served in the State Legislature in 1831 and 1848. Miller had been in the area since 1804 and first bought property at this location in 1817. The first portion of the house dates to 1826. The house was later owned by son Howard Miler, his wife Medora Griffin, and their nine children. Between 1908 and 1912, Colonel Bennett H. Young, who had served in the Confederate Army bought the property as a summer retreat. After exile to Canada and obtaining his law degree in Belfast, Young returned and made productive contributions to Louisville, including his book on prehistoric archaeology, Prehistoric Men of Kentucky.

Barnwood Builders

This Sunday, November 6, the show Barnwood Builders will feature the deconstruction of a double pen log cabin known as the Devine House, located in western Kentucky at Grand Rivers. Five years ago, Corn Island Archaeology architectural historian Anna Maas and historic architect Christopher Quirk performed detailed documentation of this historic building. Jim Pritchard, then of Brockington, oversaw the archaeology for this project.

34th KHC Archaeology Conference

The 34rd Annual Kentucky Heritage Council Archaeology Conference will be hosted in partnership with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Kentucky Archaeological Survey, Corn Island Archaeology, and the Kentucky Organization of Professional Archaeologists. The conference will take place at the Ramada Downtown North in Louisville, Kentucky.

In conjunction with this year’s conference, the Kentucky Archaeological Survey and Corn Island Archaeology have organized a special session on Native American use of the Falls of the Ohio River region. The intent is to provide an opportunity for invited researchers to present on their latest data and interpretations, and to interact with others interested in the archaeology of this geographically important area. Informal sessions will be held on Thursday and Friday (March 2nd and 3rd) and formal papers from invited speakers will open the conference on Saturday (March 4th). On Friday afternoon there will be an opportunity to examine projectile point and ceramic collections from the Falls of the Ohio River region. This will be followed by a tour of Locust Grove.