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Proposed NPS Approval, Archeological Investigation, 2024, George Washington's Boyhood Home NHL
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park » Proposed NPS Approval, Archeological Investigation, 2024, George Washington's Boyhood Home NHL » Document List
The National Park Service (NPS) invites review of and comment on its proposed determination of No Historic Properties Adversely Affected for (and thus it proposed approval of) an undertaking planned by the George Washington Foundation, owner of the 76-acre George Washington's Boyhood Home National Historic Landmark (Ferry Farm- -"GWBH" in documents attached), which is under an NPS-held conservation easement: an archeological investigation by the Foundation at two locations and overseen by an archeologist certified by the NPS.
For a detailed description by the George Washington Foundation of the proposed archeological investigation, including goals and Research Design; site plan; site photos; curation/cataloging; reporting; and protocols for avoiding burials, and in the event of discovery of those or funerary objects, see "Proposed Scope of Work" in "Document List" linked at upper left of this webpage.
For an NPS map of the Area of Potential Effect (APE), see "APE Map" also in "Document List" linked at upper left of this webpage.
The archeological investigation would occur at two locations illustrated on the map and detailed site plan in the above-referenced Proposed Scope of Work:
a) "FF-42," an area of 35 ft. by 30 ft. encompassing an investigation-location (western third of FF-42) that was Section-106 reviewed and approved by NPS for investigation in 2023 but not yet investigated by the Foundation, plus a proposed, adjoining investigation-area of 20 ft. x 35 ft. adjoining on the east (eastern two-thirds of FF-42). The goal of the Foundation's investigators is to better identify a pit-feature and to identify any related features adjacent. This would entail hand-excavation of the plowzone. Once it is removed, investigators would look for any other architectural features (postholes/piers) associated with the pit feature and excavate those. They also propose excavating one additional quarter of the pit feature's fill, meaning that a total of 3/4s of the fill of the feature will be excavated leaving one quarter set-aside. Investigators will identify two 5 ft. squares inside FF-42 for preservation/non-excavation.
b) "FF-44," an area of 110 ft. by 100 ft. encompassing an extremely complicated zone extensively and deeply disturbed throughout the 20th century and containing at least some subsurface remains of a kitchen that was constructed during the Strother occupation of the site, retained in use during the Washington family era, and featured a stone-lined cellar. Later, the same location hosted, successively, a nineteenth-century farmhouse; a c. 1914-1995 farmhouse featuring a concrete-lined cellar; and an exhibit structure installed by local government in the mid-1990s and later removed. Investigators will excavate a small column-sample to retrieve and analyze any macrobotanical materials present in the burned layers. Investigators will identify four contiguous, 5 ft. by 5 ft. squares for preservation, where no excavation will take place and stratigraphic sequence will be preserved.
Aside from the proposed parameters and set-asides individual to "a" and "b", above, the proposed work would follow the format of past investigations at Ferry Farm. In order for future generations of archeologists to apply new methods and techniques there, portions of significant, sealed context of all pre-20th century brick or stone foundations remains would be left unexcavated. For sealed contexts, between one quarter and one half of the fill would be left intact depending on the Foundation's archeologists' understanding of the feature. For complex features, they would excavate three quarters of the fill. For features that are easy to interpret, half of the fill would be left unexcavated.
NPS reviews the George Washington Foundation's request for approval of the archeological investigation under the terms of the conservation easement that NPS holds over the property. The easement makes provision for the Foundation to propose to NPS "archaeological investigations" there, for NPS review under the terms of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and consideration of approval. Approved investigations would occur under the direction of a qualified professional archaeologist. The easement incorporates among its provisions pages 44734-44737 of Archeology and Historic Preservation; Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines (Federal Register, September 29, 1983), which stipulate that archaeological documentation, including "observation, directly, through excavation," may be "undertaken as an aid to various treatment activities, including research, interpretation, reconstruction...." Approved investigations, the easement continues, "shall be documented and reported." The easement also describes the right of the NPS to protect in perpetuity the natural, cultural, archeological, ecological, open space and aesthetic features of Ferry Farm, and describes the restrictions of the easement as intended to prevent uses, which if allowed to occur, would have an individual or cumulative adverse effect.
The Foundation's research design for this as with previous archaeological investigations includes the goal of developing a better understanding of the spatial use of the Ferry Farm landscape over the thousands of years of its occupation. In accordance with that research design and also the Preferred Alternative (Alternative "D") for treatment of the overall property—selected through an NPS National Environmental Policy Act/Environment Assessment public/agency/consulting-party review in 2013-2014, and including research on and creation (beginning with NPS public/agency/consulting-party National Historic Preservation Act/Section-106 review in 2015 and 2021) of an interpretive landscape with missing Washington-era landscape features and structures—the proposed archaeological investigation for 2024 would emphasize seeking evidence of such features and structures.
As the archeological investigation is planned by the George Washington Foundation, and would be implemented by them, not the NPS, the federal undertaking under review is the NPS consideration and proposing of a No Historic Properties Adversely Affected finding, and thus its proposed approval of the investigation.
Since the conservation easement requires NPS response to the Foundation's plans and proposals within a limited period of time, this review combines the Section 106 steps of Initiation of Consultation, Identification of Historic Properties, and Assessment of Adverse Effects, as per 36 CFR 800.3(g).
NPS Proposed Area of Potential Effect (see "APE Map" in "Document List" linked at upper left of this webpage), Identification of Historic Properties: the easement-covered Ferry Farm property is a National Historic Landmark and a set of cultural landscapes, adjoins the Rappahannock River on the east, and encompasses a grouping of archeological sites—all resources that are documented extensively in the nomination materials for Ferry Farm receiving National Historic Landmark Status in 2000...and also documented in many subsequent reports on file with NPS and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. See map attached below for APE.
Proposed NPS Determination of No Historic Properties Adversely Affected: The NPS proposes a determination of No Adverse Effects. That includes consideration of (1) the Rappahannock River, which adjoins the property, and the visual resources of the property, the temporary/three-month duration of the proposed archeological investigation; topography and distance that would hide the physical footprints of the investigation from both the river (570 feet west of the western edge of the investigation footprints) and Virginia Route Three; and distance and fencing that would screen the investigation footprints from the nearby facilities that attract and host visitors: the Ferry Farm entrance-road, the Ferry Farm Visitor Center, and the Washington House interpretive structure; and (2) to archeological resources, given the proposed set-asides, that at FF-42 ground disturbance would be limited partly to the plowzone, and that FF-44 hosted intensive ground-disturbance and house-sized structures during the 20th century.
540-424-0512
For a detailed description by the George Washington Foundation of the proposed archeological investigation, including goals and Research Design; site plan; site photos; curation/cataloging; reporting; and protocols for avoiding burials, and in the event of discovery of those or funerary objects, see "Proposed Scope of Work" in "Document List" linked at upper left of this webpage.
For an NPS map of the Area of Potential Effect (APE), see "APE Map" also in "Document List" linked at upper left of this webpage.
The archeological investigation would occur at two locations illustrated on the map and detailed site plan in the above-referenced Proposed Scope of Work:
a) "FF-42," an area of 35 ft. by 30 ft. encompassing an investigation-location (western third of FF-42) that was Section-106 reviewed and approved by NPS for investigation in 2023 but not yet investigated by the Foundation, plus a proposed, adjoining investigation-area of 20 ft. x 35 ft. adjoining on the east (eastern two-thirds of FF-42). The goal of the Foundation's investigators is to better identify a pit-feature and to identify any related features adjacent. This would entail hand-excavation of the plowzone. Once it is removed, investigators would look for any other architectural features (postholes/piers) associated with the pit feature and excavate those. They also propose excavating one additional quarter of the pit feature's fill, meaning that a total of 3/4s of the fill of the feature will be excavated leaving one quarter set-aside. Investigators will identify two 5 ft. squares inside FF-42 for preservation/non-excavation.
b) "FF-44," an area of 110 ft. by 100 ft. encompassing an extremely complicated zone extensively and deeply disturbed throughout the 20th century and containing at least some subsurface remains of a kitchen that was constructed during the Strother occupation of the site, retained in use during the Washington family era, and featured a stone-lined cellar. Later, the same location hosted, successively, a nineteenth-century farmhouse; a c. 1914-1995 farmhouse featuring a concrete-lined cellar; and an exhibit structure installed by local government in the mid-1990s and later removed. Investigators will excavate a small column-sample to retrieve and analyze any macrobotanical materials present in the burned layers. Investigators will identify four contiguous, 5 ft. by 5 ft. squares for preservation, where no excavation will take place and stratigraphic sequence will be preserved.
Aside from the proposed parameters and set-asides individual to "a" and "b", above, the proposed work would follow the format of past investigations at Ferry Farm. In order for future generations of archeologists to apply new methods and techniques there, portions of significant, sealed context of all pre-20th century brick or stone foundations remains would be left unexcavated. For sealed contexts, between one quarter and one half of the fill would be left intact depending on the Foundation's archeologists' understanding of the feature. For complex features, they would excavate three quarters of the fill. For features that are easy to interpret, half of the fill would be left unexcavated.
NPS reviews the George Washington Foundation's request for approval of the archeological investigation under the terms of the conservation easement that NPS holds over the property. The easement makes provision for the Foundation to propose to NPS "archaeological investigations" there, for NPS review under the terms of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and consideration of approval. Approved investigations would occur under the direction of a qualified professional archaeologist. The easement incorporates among its provisions pages 44734-44737 of Archeology and Historic Preservation; Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines (Federal Register, September 29, 1983), which stipulate that archaeological documentation, including "observation, directly, through excavation," may be "undertaken as an aid to various treatment activities, including research, interpretation, reconstruction...." Approved investigations, the easement continues, "shall be documented and reported." The easement also describes the right of the NPS to protect in perpetuity the natural, cultural, archeological, ecological, open space and aesthetic features of Ferry Farm, and describes the restrictions of the easement as intended to prevent uses, which if allowed to occur, would have an individual or cumulative adverse effect.
The Foundation's research design for this as with previous archaeological investigations includes the goal of developing a better understanding of the spatial use of the Ferry Farm landscape over the thousands of years of its occupation. In accordance with that research design and also the Preferred Alternative (Alternative "D") for treatment of the overall property—selected through an NPS National Environmental Policy Act/Environment Assessment public/agency/consulting-party review in 2013-2014, and including research on and creation (beginning with NPS public/agency/consulting-party National Historic Preservation Act/Section-106 review in 2015 and 2021) of an interpretive landscape with missing Washington-era landscape features and structures—the proposed archaeological investigation for 2024 would emphasize seeking evidence of such features and structures.
As the archeological investigation is planned by the George Washington Foundation, and would be implemented by them, not the NPS, the federal undertaking under review is the NPS consideration and proposing of a No Historic Properties Adversely Affected finding, and thus its proposed approval of the investigation.
Since the conservation easement requires NPS response to the Foundation's plans and proposals within a limited period of time, this review combines the Section 106 steps of Initiation of Consultation, Identification of Historic Properties, and Assessment of Adverse Effects, as per 36 CFR 800.3(g).
NPS Proposed Area of Potential Effect (see "APE Map" in "Document List" linked at upper left of this webpage), Identification of Historic Properties: the easement-covered Ferry Farm property is a National Historic Landmark and a set of cultural landscapes, adjoins the Rappahannock River on the east, and encompasses a grouping of archeological sites—all resources that are documented extensively in the nomination materials for Ferry Farm receiving National Historic Landmark Status in 2000...and also documented in many subsequent reports on file with NPS and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. See map attached below for APE.
Proposed NPS Determination of No Historic Properties Adversely Affected: The NPS proposes a determination of No Adverse Effects. That includes consideration of (1) the Rappahannock River, which adjoins the property, and the visual resources of the property, the temporary/three-month duration of the proposed archeological investigation; topography and distance that would hide the physical footprints of the investigation from both the river (570 feet west of the western edge of the investigation footprints) and Virginia Route Three; and distance and fencing that would screen the investigation footprints from the nearby facilities that attract and host visitors: the Ferry Farm entrance-road, the Ferry Farm Visitor Center, and the Washington House interpretive structure; and (2) to archeological resources, given the proposed set-asides, that at FF-42 ground disturbance would be limited partly to the plowzone, and that FF-44 hosted intensive ground-disturbance and house-sized structures during the 20th century.
Contact Information
Noel Harrison540-424-0512