B08_Att_7_Archeology_Site_Condition_Assessment_08.pdf

MONITORING FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION AT THE PEACEFUL

VALLEY RANCH SITE (32BI67) AND SITE CONDITION

ASSESSMENTS AT THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK

(THRO), BILLINGS COUNTY, NORTH DAKOTA

(Peaceful Valley Ranch House and Lodge)

Midwest Archeological Center Technical Report No. 103 by

William J. Hunt, Jr.

National Park Service

Federal Bldg., Room 474 100 Centennial Mall No.

Lincoln, Nebraska 68508

MONITORING FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION AT THE PEACEFUL

VALLEY RANCH SITE (32BI67) AND SITE CONDITION

ASSESSMENTS AT THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK

(THRO), BILLINGS COUNTY, NORTH DAKOTA

Technical Report No. 103 by

William J. Hunt, Jr.

National Park Service

Federal Bldg., Room 474 100 Centennial Mall No.

Lincoln, Nebraska 68508

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

Not Available

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

(a) (1).

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ABSTRACT

This report describes the goals, fieldwork methodology, and results of archeological fieldwork that took place September 16-27, 2007 at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

This work focused on two tasks. The first was to monitor excavations associated with foundation replacement at the Peaceful Valley Ranch House (32BI67). Among the findings of this work were discovery of a hand-dug well in the basement, evidence for a late-19th-to-early-20th centuries fire in the log kitchen addition, a surprisingly complex stratigraphic history for the site, and evidence for a former scoria roof and possible log walkway. In conjunction with this, and as time allowed, the author revisited sites in various areas of the park to assess their conditions. Twenty sites were visited with all assessed as in good condition.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to mention that THRO Superintendent Valerie Naylor and her fine staff created an environment which allowed this work to be quickly and easily accomplished.

That was greatly appreciated during my brief stay in this beautiful park. A small project report will be completed in FY 2008 for this project. My primary contact at the park during this project was THRO Chief of Facility Management Lynn Heiser. Heiser coordinated the project's contractors (Permanent Slate, Inc.), park staff, and helped me with any logistical needs I might have including arranging for park housing during my visit. The men working for the contracting firm Durable Slate, Inc. at Pleasant Valley Ranch were open to the requirements of my investigation, cooperated in all ways, and were kind enough to include me in their meals and evening diversions. They are a good bunch and I greatly appreciated their hospitality.

INTRODUCTION

Although Theodore Roosevelt National Park (THRO) was established in southwestern North Dakota in 1978, the history of its creation actually began much earlier with Roosevelt's death in 1919. This event initiated a movement to memorialize his conservation efforts and, in 1924, areas in his beloved North Dakota Badlands were scouted for this purpose. Ten years later, a cooperative agreement to start a Roosevelt Regional Park Project was signed by the Resettlement Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the National Park Service (NPS), and the State of North Dakota. The project was jointly administered by NPS with the overall goal of making it a state park. CCC camps were established in both North and South Units. In 1935, the project areas were referred to as the Roosevelt Recreation Demonstration Area (RDA).

Park infrastructure including roads, trails, picnic areas, and campgrounds were built by the CCC along with the Works Projects Administration (WPA) and Emergency Relief Administration (ERA). All these projects ended in 1941 with North Dakota announcing shortly afterward that it did not want the land as a state park. In 1942, the lands were included in a study to establish the areas as a National Park. Subsequent legislation to accomplish this was not passed, however, and the lands were transferred in 1946 to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge.

A year later, legislation passed which incorporated the South Unit and Elkhorn Ranch site into a new entity -- the Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park. The North Unit was added to the park in 1948 with additional lands added to both units over the years.

Eventually, the park's diverse cultural and natural resources were acknowledged. This, and its association with Roosevelt fostered passage of a law in 1978 that changed the Memorial Park to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and, at the same time, placed 29,920 acres of the park under the National Wilderness Preservation System (Uhler 2007). The park is dedicated to the preservation and public enjoyment of important historic, prehistoric, cultural, scenic, and natural resources (Theodore Roosevelt National Park 1987, 1995).

Today, the park incorporates 70,446.89 acres (744.77 nonfederal) and is composed of three units (Figure 1). The South Unit is the larger with 46,158.57 acres. About 60 miles to the north of the South Unit is the North Unit. This unit is just over half the size of the southern unit with 24,070.32 acres. Between these two administrative areas is the Elkhorn Ranch, the site of Roosevelt's second cattle ranch with 218 acres.

This report describes the goals, fieldwork methodology, and results of fieldwork focusing on two tasks. The first was to monitor excavations associated with foundation replacement at the Peaceful Valley Ranch House (32BI67). In conjunction with this, and as time allowed, the author revisited sites in various areas of the park to assess their conditions. The primary contact at the park was THRO Chief of Facility Management Lynn Heiser. Fieldwork took place from September 16-27, 2007. Dr. William J. Hunt, Jr.

was the only fieldworker. Field records are curated at the Midwest

Figure 1. Location of the three units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Archeological Center (Federal Bldg., Room 474, 100 Centennial Mall No., Lincoln, Nebraska 68508) under MWAC Accession No. 1186 and THRO Accession No. 519.

Environment

Theodore Roosevelt National Park encompasses a segment of the Little Missouri River Badlands. Elevations vary from 1,958 ft above mean sea level (AMSL) in the North Unit to 2850 ft AMSL at Buck Hill in the South Unit. Soils are regosols (weakly developed soil with texture finer than sandy loam) with textures ranging from loams to clay loams.

The vegetation in this semiarid climate varies according to slope, aspect, soil and moisture availability. The park vegetation has been divided into fifteen physiographic/vegetational classes: breaks, cottonwood forests, wooded draws, upland grasslands, old river terraces, grassland flats, bottom grasslands, toe slopes, rolling grasslands, Achenbach hills, ridge and ravine, scoria hills, sagebrush bottoms, prairie dog towns, and juniper woodlands. Large mammals in the park include white-tailed deer, mule deer, bison, elk, pronghorn, wild horses, longhorn steers and bighorn sheep.

Predators include the coyote, bobcat, red fox, badger and weasel with occasional sightings of mountain lion. Historically, black and grizzly bears could be found in the region and gray wolves lived in the badlands in abundance. Other common mammals include prairie dogs, porcupine, beaver, skunk, and small rodents. Common birds of prey are golden eagles, prairie falcons, kestrels, turkey vultures, great-horned owls, screech owls, red-tailed hawks and rough-legged hawks (Theodore Roosevelt National Park 1987:75-79).

PEACEFUL VALLEY RANCH

Background

Peaceful Valley Ranch is located on the Little Missouri floodplain about 6½ miles north of the park entrance and about ¼ mile north of the turnoff onto the Scenic Loop Drive (Cover photo and Figure 2). The site is sometimes referred to as the "Lamb Ranch" or "the Old Lamb Ranch" after Benjamin S. Lamb, the rancher that constructed the first buildings at this location. Lamb bought the ranch (probably the range rights) from the Billy Paddock in 1885 and sold the ranch five years later. By 1915, the ranch had been sold at least twice, eventually coming to the hands of Carl B. Olsen. The Olsen family ran a grazing and farming operation adding dude ranching to their business by 1918. Carl Olsen filed a Farm name Certificate with the Register of Deeds, Billings County, in 1922 registering the property as the Peaceful Valley Ranch. During this and the following decade, Olsen worked for the establishment of a national park oriented around the petrified forest (at the west margin of the South Unit). In 1936, well before the park was

Figure 2. Location of Pleasant Valley Ranch and areas where site condition assessments were undertaken.

created (in 1947 and 1948), Olsen sold the ranch to the National Park Service (Brooks 1956; Torres 1980:27-28; Penny and Larson 1993:18-22).

During the remaining years of the 1930s, the ranch buildings were used as headquarters for the Emergency Relief Administration and the Works Progress Administration. These federal entities, along with the Civilian Conservation Corps initiated development of park infrastructure as part of a proposed state park, the interim entity being known as the Roosevelt Regional Park Project and alternatively the Roosevelt Recreational Demonstration Area (Harmon 1986:9-10; Penny and Larson 1993:22-23). With creation of Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park in 1947, the buildings of Peaceful Valley Ranch became the park headquarters. They retained this status until 1959 after which a Visitor Center/Headquarters building was constructed in Medora. Buildings associated with federal agency use and Olsen's dude ranch were torn down in the early 1960s although the ranch house was used as park housing until 1965. From 1967 to present, the ranch has been utilized by businesses providing saddle horse concessions to tourists (Penny and Larson 1993:23).

The ranch house is a one-and-a-half story frame building constructed by Benjamin Lamb sometime between 1883 and 1890. The house has been modified over time, the first of interest to this narrative being a circa 1893 frame addition on the north side of the house.

This was followed by a log addition in 1903 or 1904, the space used as a kitchen. The non-log portions of the room were whitewashed, the log walls being chinked and left bare. One account places the kitchen stove at the approximate center of the north wall.

The earthen or scoria roof was replaced by an asphalt shingled roof in 1914 or 1915. In 1947, the house was damaged by flooding and subsequently remodeled by the NPS.

Among these changes was enlarging the partial basement enclosed by earth, brick and concrete walls into a full basement with a cement foundation installed under the main portion of the house (Brooks 1956:8-10; Torres 1980:29-33; Penny and Larson 1993:24, 34-37).

The 32BI67 designation and site boundaries originally applied to the 1976 National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Peaceful Valley Ranch. In 1994, a revised National Register nomination was submitted that included only three buildings (Buildings 1, 4, and 15). This renomination was listed under Criteria A (associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history) and B (embody distinctive characteristics of a type, period, and method of construction). The site does not include a building foundation (32BI602) or any other archeological remnants of outbuildings associated with the ranch complex which may be identified in the future.

Previous Archeology

In 1987, the ranch complex was visited by a University of North Dakota archeological crew led by David D. Keuhn as part of a three year cultural resource inventory within selected areas of the park (Keuhn 1988). Archeological resources identified in the 136 acre area that incorporates the ranch complex included a pre-1920s tin can isolated find in the Little Missouri riverbank and remains of a brick foundation within the north margin of the fenced horse corral. This latter resource was recorded as 32BI602.

In 1999, MWAC Archeologist Bruce Jones returned to Pleasant Valley Ranch to evaluate subsurface potential for archeological resources around the three structures included within the National Register nomination; i.e., the ranch house (HS-1), the bunkhouse (HS-4), and the barn (HS-15) (Jones 1999). Jones was joined in this investigation by MWRO Historical Architect Al O'Bright as a part of a physical investigation he began in 1998 (O'Bright 1999). Jones' and O'Bright's work was initiated by THRO plans to stabilize the three buildings, work which would require ground disturbance around the foundations.

Three test pits, one at each structure, were positioned to allow determination of foundation construction and depths (O'Bright 1999). A 1.0 m x 0.75 m test unit opened on the north side of the log addition to the ranch house was excavated to a depth of 60

cm. A "dense lens of red scoria" identified in the 30-60 cm level was interpreted as of natural origin. Only 9 window glass fragments were recovered from this unit. Analysis of this small sample provided a tentative date of 1860-1880, dates more in line with the construction of the main portion of the house rather than the log addition.

A 0.75 m x 0.95 m test unit excavated to a depth of 1.2 m on the north side of the bunkhouse resulted in the recovery of a variety of artifacts (ceramics, cut and wire nails, firearms cartridges, flat and curved glass, and animal bone) to -96 cm and identification of an ash lens at -90 cm. Window glass fragments suggest a mid-1880s date which conforms with the structural history of the building. Cut nails suggesting a pre-1890 date were recovered at the base of the cultural deposits. Materials from the upper 30 cm suggest have a modern (post-1975) derivation.

A 1.0 m x 0.75 m test unit placed on the west side of the barn was excavated to 40 cm.

This resulted in the recovery of only modern items. A brick walk constructed of very crumbly brick was identified, however. This had been partially removed to install the structure's present concrete foundation.

Based on these small tests, Jones concluded that the deepest deposits are associated with the bunkhouse and are associated with the early years of the ranch's occupation. He noted that stabilization of the structures will "clearly impact archeological deposits that relate to early ranching activity and subsequent dude ranch operations at Peaceful Valley" (Jones 1999:3). Jones' archeological review of 2005 documents proposing an existing foundation conditions survey resulted in the recommendation that an archeologist be on-site to record and recover significant archeological materials as work at the ranch house progressed (Jones 2005). In 2007, the park circulated a request for assessment of action (Section 106 review form) for the ranch house's foundation stabilization and replacement of the basement's concrete floor. In response, Jones once again recommended monitoring of the ground disturbance (Jones 2007).

Present Project

The foundation replacement plans (Figure 3) prepared for the ranch house (Fitzpatrick Structural Engineering, P.C. 2006) call for:

a) demolition and replacement of the interior concrete and timber walls on the east and north sides of the frame structure's basement;

b) excavation of a shallow exterior concrete foundation and wall on the east side of the frame structure's basement;

c) removal of soil between the interior and exterior foundations on the east side of the frame structure's basement;

d) demolition of deteriorated base logs of log foundations under the east, north, and west sides of the circa 1904 log addition;

e) demolition of interior floor joists in the circa 1904 log addition and excavation of subfloor dirt fill to 24" below new beams; and

f) replacement of existing concrete basement slab with a new 4" slab.

In response, the archeological plan was to:

a) monitor removal of the structural features (foundations, basement and log addition floors) and construction excavations on the east, north and west sides

Figure 3. Foundation demolition plan for the Peaceful Valley Ranch.

of the structure, and

b) conduct test excavations below the log addition floor and monitor subsequent construction excavations there.

Prior to initiation of demolition the project archeologist attended a pre-construction meeting held by the park for staff of the Durable Restoration/Durable Slate Company which had won the award. Subsequently, the archeologist visited to the ranch site as the contractor's crew was setting up their equipment. At this time, a circular slump noted in the basement floor next to its west wall was tentatively identified as the location of a probable well or cistern.

Log Kitchen Addition

After the floor boards were removed from the log kitchen addition, a 50 cm long test unit (TU1) was placed between the east-west floor joists and immediately next to a north-south log footer which ran down the center of the room (Figure 4). Excavation proceeded in 20 cm arbitrary levels measured from the base of the floor joists. Excavated fill was passed through ¼" hardware cloth to effect artifact recovery. Excavation was halted at - 60 cm.

Figure 4. Locations of Test Units 1 and 2 in the log kitchen addition of the Peaceful Valley Ranch House (view to northwest).

Figure 5. Stratigraphic profile of the north wall T.U. 1.

The soil stratigraphy (Figure 5) in this unit from top to bottom was:

1. 0-8 cm bd - loose light brownish gray silt.

2. 8-9 cm bd - thin layer of ash

3. 9-11 cm bd - charcoal layer

4. 11-12 cm bd - thin band of red angular sandstone or scoria.

5. 12-19 cm bd - compact yellow brown clay.

6. 19-22 cm bd - soft brown soil.

7. 22-26 cm bd - gray sand.

8. 26-30 cm bd - scoria chips.

9. 30-42 cm bd - light gray sand.

10. 42-43 cm bd - charcoal.

11. 43-60 cm bd - gray sand.

Artifacts were confined to the upper five strata with the preponderance of materials from the compact yellow brown clay layer. This layer appeared to have materials associated with the ranch's occupation. The brown layer below contained only a few highly corroded nails suggesting it represents a period of construction or repair. Other objects recovered include wire and cut nails, clear curved glass, a cuprous rivet head, and bone. The layer of ash and charcoal (see #2 and Figure 5 above) and burned patches on the floor joists indicated there had been a fire in the room that had been extinguished before it could destroy the building. Oral history for the structure indicates Mrs. Rasmussen had her kitchen stove against the north wall of the building. This is the likely source of the fire in and under the floor. The Rasmussens lived in the ranch house during a period the Burgess family was living in town (Penny and Larson 1993:34). The fire must have occurred sometime between circa 1898 when Burgess bought the land and 1915 when the ranch was sold to the Olsen family.

Based on these findings, it was decided to expand TU1 to the west by adding a contiguous 1.6 m long x 54 cm wide unit, TU2, the size of the unit constrained by the joists. The artifact-laden strata were removed as a unit with only a handful of objects recovered as a result; i.e., far fewer objects than from TU1 although the unit was over three times larger. Two areas of small north-south oriented wood fragments were noted near the middle of TU2 about 30 cm apart. These lay on the lower layer of scoria at 26 cm bd. The contractor estimated the depth of the fragments to be the same as the lowest log of the cabin addition. This suggested they may be remnants of the cabin's original floor joists or floor boards.

Test excavations southward indicated the wood fragments did not continue in that direction. Further, the stratigraphy became much simple with only two to three strata in 60 cm instead of the eleven strata observed in the northern portion of the room.

Given the shallowness of the artifact-bearing deposits, the general scarcity of artifacts, and the fact that the cabin floor was to be totally excavated, a decision was made to conduct shovel probing throughout the rest of the room. Artifacts continued to be rare with only a few ceramic fragments, a broken bottle, and a few ferrous metal items (chain, stove part, mower sickle blade) recovered. With the room totally explored, this portion of the fieldwork was completed and attention was turned to monitoring foundation demolition and excavations and determining the cause of the depression in the east margin of the basement.

Foundation Monitoring

As the contractor began removing the basement's east interior wall, a few interesting artifacts were recovered. These included two Hires Root Beer bottles with paper labels, a fine-toothed hard rubber comb, a teaspoon, a cast iron stove leg cover, a (veterinary?)

medicine bottle, and a tin lid for a cooking pot. These objects had apparently been set on top of the concrete wall and had subsequently fallen into a hollow space between the wall and the earth outside the structure.

Excavations at the northwest corner of the cabin encountered a log extending 80 cm north from the corner and in alignment with the cabin's west wall (Figure 6). The upper surface

Figure 6. Log footer extending north from the log kitchen addition. Note that the log is resting on the same scoria layer (Layer 8) observed inside the structure.

of the log was at about 27 cm below the ground surface. The log was about 14 cm in diameter and sat on a 7 cm thick sand layer which in turn lay on a 4 cm thick stratum of scoria. Examination of the soil strata west of the log indicated the strata here were similar to those observed inside the north end of the log kitchen addition. Further excavation revealed that three layers of logs were below ground level here with the lowest log actually resting on the same scoria layer observed inside the building. The scoria extended to about 1½ m west of the addition's west wall and for at least that far north of the addition. This corresponds to an area of slightly higher ground elevation paralleling the north and west sides of the log kitchen. It seems possible that the lower scoria layer may have been put down as the floor of the log kitchen and as a layer supporting the footer logs.

The history of the building suggests the log structure may have had a earth roof (Penny and Larson 1993:34). The roof may have included scoria and been similar to that now on the lodge north of the ranch house. The upper scoria and clay layers may represent that roof which was later replaced with asphalt shingles

The log extending north from the northwest corner has no counterpart on the northeast corner. It is possible the log may have supported a boardwalk on the north side of the building.

Basement Depression

With the first visit to the ranch house, the archeologist observed a shallow earth-filled depression in the east margin of the basement. It was located 6.90 m north of the basement's south wall and 80 cm west of the east basement wall's concrete footer. The footer itself extends about 10 cm out from the concrete block wall. The top of this footer was used as the reference datum in measuring elevations of stones and depth of excavation. Maximum excavation depth was 56 cm below datum.

After clearing loose concrete chunks and loose fill at the center of the depression, large blocks of dry-laid stone became evident. These occur in a circular arrangement under a floor soft brick (Figure 7). The brick floor, in turn, is overlain by a thin (2 cm thick) layer of poured concrete.

Figure 7. Fully exposed stone-lined well. Note segment of overlying brick floor that had collapsed into the well.

The mouth of the structure, interpreted as a well, is elliptical with the long axis of the opening being 1.03 m northwest-southeast and its short axis 95 cm. The outside diameter of the structure is about 1.8 m. The stones used in its construction are 16-40 cm in length and 16-34 cm in width.

The well is situated north of the east end of the original ranch structure and, if it is contemporaneous with that building, would have been outside the house. It is likely the well would have been filled in at the time the addition was built over it. The brick floor was then laid without mortar on top of the filled well and over an unknown extent of the basement. As the fill in the well settled, however, portions of the floor collapsed into the depression. Subsequently, the upper portion of the well and collapsed floor was filled with sand and capped with a thin concrete floor. A bottle base recovered in the interior margin of the well stones may postdate the brick floor and predate the concrete floor.

Wood fragments in the upper fill of the well may indicate the well had been covered with a wooden platform, perhaps to support a pump.

The brick floor appears to be confined to the northeastern quarter of the basement. It is about 20 feet long north-south and about 10½ feet wide. The alignment of the brick is not square to the basement walls and probably predates that concrete block structure.

Artifacts (n = 165 objects)

Test excavations and monitoring resulted in the collection of 165 historic objects (Table 1). Artifacts were analyzed by first sorting them into groups by material class; i.e., ceramics, glass, metal, organic materials, rubber and plastics, stone, and brick. The resulting diverse groups of objects were then sorted once more by material subclass. For example, ceramics were reduced into smaller categories by considering their paste; e.g., stoneware, yellow ware, whiteware, and porcelain. Metal objects as a group were reduced into smaller categories by determining whether they were ferrous (magnetic) or non-ferrous and, if the latter, sorted once again into cuprous and non-cuprous (e.g., aluminum, zinc, lead) metals. Once the material groups had been established, further reduction was undertaken according to morphological characteristics such as shape, size, decoration, surface treatment, and color. Finally, each object in the resulting subgroups was classified according to probable function based on an outline developed by Roderick Sprague (1980-1981). The combination of morphological and functional classifications provides the investigator with clues to manufacturing locale and temporal associations. Functional classification allows one to place the object within a specific cultural context by determining how an object was actually used.

Architectural Items (n = 55 objects)

Architectural items were subdivided into subcategories construction materials and fixed heating.

Table 1. Historic objects identified and recovered in 2007 sorted by function.

Functional

Class Subclass Category Cat.

Provenience Object # Description Temporal

Association Architecture Construction materials 6859 Basement unmortared brick floor brick 1

Architecture Construction materials 6884 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#1, 0-20 cm flat glass 1

Architecture Construction materials 6911 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 flat glass 1

Architecture Construction materials 6861 Log kitchen subfloor nail, cut 1 4" long pre-1895

Architecture Construction materials 6879 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#1, 0-20 cm nail, cut 4 1.7" & 3 shafts pre-1895

Architecture Construction materials 6895 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#1, 20-40 cm nail, cut 12 Fragments of one nail pre-1895

Architecture Construction materials 6896 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#1, 20-40 cm nail, cut 3 Fragments of one nail pre-1895

Architecture Construction materials 6904 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 nail, cut 1 fragment pre-1895

Architecture Construction materials 6905 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 nail, cut 15 fragments pre-1895

Architecture Construction materials 6906 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 nail, cut 8 fragments pre-1895

Architecture Construction materials 6880 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#1, 0-20 cm nail, wire 2 1 3" common; 1 2½" finishing

Architecture Construction materials 6907 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 nail, wire 3 1 3" common, 1 common fragment, 1 2½" finishing pre-1895

Architecture Construction materials 6904 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 nail, wire? 1 fragment

Architecture Fixed heating 6848 On dirt ledge behind west concrete basement wall stove leg cover

1 Cast iron. Shaped like a scalloped shell; bolt hole broken through middle. Overall length 4.77" (12.12

cm) x 5.33" (13.53 cm) wide x 2.0"(5.00 cm) deep

Architecture Fixed heating 6919 East side of house next to foundation stove finial 1 Cast iron

Class

Subclass Category Cat.

Provenience Object # Description Temporal Association

Commerce & Industry

Agriculture Animal husbandry

6852 On dirt ledge behind west concrete basement wall bottle 1 Amber; 2.00" (5.14 cm) diameter round 4.92" (12.51 cm) high body;

machine made w/cut-off scar on base;

remnants of paper label; Kork-N-Seal cap closure (post-1911) (; base marked "8 [O inside square] 3" identifies manufacturer as the Owens Bottle Co. & made 1911-1929 (Tolouse 1971:393)

1911-1929

Commerce & Industry

Agriculture Animal husbandry

6853 On dirt ledge behind west concrete basement wall picket pin 1 Ferrous tapered pin 15½" long. 2" diameter flat head.

Commerce & Industry

Agriculture Animal husbandry

6872 Log kitchen subfloor picket pin 1 Lower end of ferrous tapered pin 10" long

Agriculture Animal husbandry

6863 Log kitchen subfloor leather strap

1 1" wide x 6" long; harness element?

Commerce & Industry

Agriculture Animal husbandry

6917 Log kitchen subfloor leather strap

1 1" wide x 5" long with three rivet holes; harness element?

Agriculture ? 6918 Log kitchen subfloor bolt 1 Ferrous metal, 4" long

Commerce & Industry

Agriculture Haying 6862 Log kitchen subfloor sickle blade 1 Ferrous metal

Commerce & Industry

Agriculture ? 6873 Log kitchen subfloor chain 1

Commerce & Industry

Agriculture Animal husbandry

6882 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#2, 0-20 cm rivet 1 Cuprous; harness element?

Domestic Items Cleaning & maintenance

6864 Log kitchen subfloor handle 1 Wood; working end broken away;

about 5¾" long x 1" wide x ¾" thick

Domestic Items Food faunal 6860 Log kitchen subfloor bone 3

Domestic Items Food faunal 6876 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#1, 0-20 cm bone 3

Domestic Items Food faunal 6898 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 bone 2 Large mammal

Domestic Items Food faunal 6899 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 bone 2 Fetal pig?

Subclass Category Cat.

Provenience Object # Description Temporal Association

Domestic Items Food faunal 6900 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 bone 2 Rabbit?

Domestic Items Food faunal 6901 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 bone 6 Fetal sheep or pig?

Domestic Items Food faunal 6877 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#1, 0-20 cm bone 1 Fish

Domestic Items Food floral 6878 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#1, 0-20 cm nut hulls 2 walnut & cherry/plum

Domestic Items Furnishings decorative 6869 Log kitchen subfloor ? 1 Pressed glass container fragment;

slight SAV suggests date circa 1880-

Domestic Items Furnishings decorative 6910 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#2 ? 1 Pressed glass container fragment;

slight SAV suggests date circa 1880-

Domestic Items Housewares & appliances food storage 6858 Stone-lined well, 20 cm below floor canning jar base

1 Aqua; valve mark on base; marked "4 W"

1900-1940

Domestic Items Housewares & appliances food storage 6869 Log kitchen subfloor canning jar base?

1 Clear glass from rectangular-bodied jar. Base mark: interlocked HHHs

Domestic items Housewares appliances food storage 6850 On dirt ledge behind west concrete basement wall canning jar lid

1 Light green glass; 3.15" (8.00 cm) diameter. Made for spring bale closure. "3" molded on interior surface

Domestic Items Housewares & appliances culinary 6847 On dirt ledge behind west concrete basement wall pot lid 1 12" diameter stamped tinned lid with wire loop handle culinary/ gustatory

6881 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#1, 0-20 cm knife handle

1 wood scale w/3 square ferrous rivets

Domestic Items Housewares & appliances gustatory 6849 On dirt ledge behind west concrete basement wall teaspoon 1 5" (12.66 cm) long; tinned metal

Domestic Items Housewares & appliances gustatory 6883 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#1, 0-20 cm tumbler? 1 Small clear glass fragment bearing floral cut glass decoration gustatory 6910 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#2 tumbler? 1 Small clear glass fragment bearing floral cut glass decoration gustatory 6885 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#1, 0-20 cm goblet 2 Fragments clear glass; probably from one vessel gustatory 6887 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#1, 0-20 cm tumbler? 3 Clear glass rim fragments

Subclass Category Cat.

Provenience Object # Description Temporal Association

Domestic Items Housewares & appliances gustatory 6893 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#1, 0-20 cm tumbler? 6 Clear glass basal fragments; about 2½" diameter gustatory 6894 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#1, 0-20 cm tumbler? 2 Clear glass rim fragments

Domestic Items Housewares & appliances gustatory 6856 On dirt ledge behind west concrete basement wall saucer 1 Yellow Melmac(?) w/white spatters 6" diameter saucer

1940s-1970s

Domestic Items Housewares & appliances gustatory 6855 On dirt ledge behind west concrete basement wall saucer 1 Milk glass 6" saucer w/ blue bachelor button flower decals. Base marked "OVEN/[script:] Fire- King/WARE/8/MADE IN U.S.A."

1950s-1960s

Domestic Items Housewares & appliances gustatory 6888 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#1, 0-20 cm saucer 5 Fragments of a single porcelain vessel w/black tracery decal & gold painted overglaze rim and saucer well margin gustatory 6912 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#2 saucer 6 Same vessel as 6888

Domestic Items Housewares & appliances gustatory 6865 Log kitchen subfloor ceramic, unid.

1 Dark blue transfer printed willow ware gustatory 6866 Log kitchen subfloor ceramic, holloware

1 Aesthetic Brown transfer printed rectangular small vegetable dish;

footed; floral pattern around body base; printed base marked "TRADE [MARK] .../[on ribbon]W H GRINDLEY .../516..." Same or similar to mark 1842 in Godden (1964:294) for W.H. Grindley & Co., Woodland Pottery, Tunstall, Staffordshire Potteries. Mark in use c.

1880-1914.

late 19th-early 20th centuries

Domestic Items Housewares & appliances gustatory 6867 Log kitchen subfloor saucer 2 Plain whiteware rim and base

Domestic Items Housewares & appliances gustatory 6913 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#2 ceramic, unid.

1 Plain whiteware rim

Subclass Category Cat.

Provenience Object # Description Temporal Association

Personal Items Body ritual & grooming hair grooming

6857 Embedded in west concrete wall comb 1 Handled, hard rubber "lice comb" marked "Little Princess" in gold letters on one face. 4.41" (11.19 cm) long x 1.40" (3.54 cm) wide. Similar to infants' combs illustrated in 1895, 1922 Montgomery Ward and 1902, 1908 Sears, Roebuck catalogs. Little Princess is a current brand name

Personal Items Indulgences alcoholic beverage

6871 Log kitchen subfloor bottle 9 Fragments of a single light aqua beer bottle produced in a post mold;

applied finish; base marked "A" circa 1885

Personal Items Indulgences soft drinks 6851 On dirt ledge behind west concrete basement wall bottle 1 Complete lt green bottle. Post mold marks to base of neck & around base.

Base marked "Hires". Paper label "Hires/[seal:

MEDAL/DIPLOMA/WORLDS

FAIR/1893]/IMPROVED/Rootbeer/[

BOT]TLED EXCLUSIVELY

BY/[The Charle]s Hires Co.

Philadelphia, U.S.A./REGISTERED." On left side of label "Healthy/Sparkling, Appetizing". On right side of label "Made from/Sterilized and Distilled Water"

1893-1915

Personal Items Indulgences soft drinks 6854 On dirt ledge behind west concrete basement wall bottle 1 Same as 6851 1893-1915

----- 6897 Possible hearth, TU#1 charcoal 1 Sample - not from a hearth

---- 6915 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#2 charcoal 1 Sample

Unknown 6889 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#1, 0-20 cm cork 1

Unknown 6891 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#1, cork 1

Class

Subclass Category Cat.

Provenience Object # Description Temporal Association

Unknown 6916 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#2 cork 1

Unknown 6868 Log kitchen subfloor crystal 1 Fragment

Unknown 6870 Log kitchen subfloor curved glass

1 Clear shoulder fragment; shape suggests similarity to square gin bottle type

Unknown 6886 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#1, curved glass

8 6 clear; 1 light aqua; 1 aquamarine

Unknown 6892 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#1, 0-20 cm curved glass

1 Clear

Unknown 6908 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 curved glass

2 Clear

Unknown 6909 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 curved glass

7 6 clear; 1 olive green

Non-cultural 6890 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#1, 0-20 cm

Scoria 1

Non-cultural 6914 Log kitchen subfloor, TU#2 Scoria

Non-cultural 6902 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 bone 1 Rodent skull

Non-cultural 6903 Log kitchen subfloor; TU#2 seed hulls 12 Cherry/plum

Unknown 6875 Log kitchen subfloor bone 1 Rodent?

Construction materials (n = 53 objects) include 1 brick (Cat. 6859) collected from the brick floor overlying the basement well. All other objects of this function are derived from below the floor of the log kitchen. These objects include 2 fragments of flat glass, 44 cut nail fragments, and 6 wire nails which appear to be of modern derivation.

According to Adams (2002:70), the relative proportion of wire to cut nails is an important temporal marker during the late 19th century. He notes that structures built before 1883 were constructed using machine cut nails or earlier types. After 1897, on the other hand, buildings were almost entirely constructed using wire nails. Referring to charts and tables for machine cut nail production in the United States (Adams 2002:72), one sees the manufacture of cut nails declining precipitously from 1880, when the government reported no wire nails manufactured, through 1898 at which time 85% of all nails produced were wire. Based on this information, one would tentatively place the cut nails found in the log kitchen to the 1890s or before.

Fixed heating (n = 2 objects) is represented by two cast iron stove elements. A leg cover or "epaulet" (Cat. 6848; Figure 8A) was collected from a dirt ledge behind west concrete

Figure 8. Artifacts recovered from the Pleasant Valley Ranch House: A) cast iron stove leg cover or "epaulet" (Cat. 6848); B) cast iron stove finial (Cat. 6919); C) veterinary medicine bottle with Kork-N-Seal cap closure (Cat. 6852); D) picket pin (Cat. 6853).

basement wall as the wall was being demolished. The other stove element was a finial (Cat. 6919; Figure 8B) found at the eastern exterior margin of the log kitchen addition.

Commerce and Industry Items (n = 9 objects).

Agriculture is the sole functional subcategory represented here with three objects having something to do with farm machinery. These include a sickle blade (Cat. 6862), 4" bolt (Cat. 6918), and a length of chain (Cat. 6873). The rest of the objects have something to do with care and management of livestock. These include a medicine bottle (Cat. 6852;

Figure 8C), a picket pin (Cat. 6853; Figure 8D) and broken picket pin (Cat. 6872), as well as two leather straps (Cat. 6863, 6917) and a copper rivet (Cat. 6882) which are likely fragments of harness. The complete picket pin and the medicine bottle were collected from a dirt ledge behind west concrete basement wall as the wall was being demolished.

The remaining objects were recovered from the fill below the log kitchen floor.

Domestic Items (n = 63 objects)

Domestic items were assigned to functional subcategories of cleaning and maintenance, food, furnishings, and housewares and appliances with the latter subdivided once again into food storage, culinary, and gustatory activities.

Cleaning and maintenance (n = 1 object) is represented by a lightweight wood handle (Cat. 6864). The working end of the object has been broken away. Nevertheless, the slight size of the handle suggests it may have been part of a feather duster, rug beater, or similar object.

Food (n = 21 objects) is represented by 19 bone fragments and 2 seed/nut hulls. The bone fragments, when identifiable, are from large mammal (probably cattle), pig or sheep, rabbit and fish. The two floral elements are a walnut shell and a cherry or plum pit. The latter may be of non-cultural derivation.

Furnishings (n = 2 objects) are barely reflected by two pieces of pressed glass. The fragments are too small to allow determination of vessel form. Both specimens are sun-altered violet (clear glass which turns violet when exposed to the sun's ultraviolet radiation) suggesting they were manufactured sometime between circa 1880 and 1914 (Munsey 1970:55).

Housewares and appliances (n = 39 objects) are reflected by artifacts associated with food storage, culinary, and gustatory activities. Three fragments of canning jars, two bases and one jar lid (Cat. 6850; Figure 9A), are from as many containers. The jar lid is of light green glass and was made for a spring bale closure. One of the jar bases (Cat.

6858) is aqua in color, exhibits a valve mark and marked "4 W" in raised letters.

According to Bill Lindsey (2007) valve marks are almost exclusively found on wide mouth machine-made bottles such as food bottles and jars, milk bottles, and canning jars.

Figure 9. Artifacts recovered from the Pleasant Valley Ranch House: A) spring-bale type canning jar lid (Cat. 6850); B) brown transfer printed small vegetable dish (Cat.

6866); C) hard rubber infant's comb (Cat. 6857); D) Hires Root Beer bottle (Cat. 6856).

The mark is the product of press-and-blow machines and are commonly seen on bottles and jars made between the early 1900s through the 1940s.

Culinary activities are suggested by a tinned stamped ferrous metal lid with a small wire loop handle (Cat. 6847). Food preparation may also be indicated by a wood knife handle or scale (Cat. 6881) which is of a size suitable for a butcher knife.

Gustatory activities are indicated by 34 objects. These include a tinned metal teaspoon (Cat. 6849), 13 tumbler and 2 goblet fragments, and various pieces of table settings.

Among the objects likely associated with late 19th to very early 20th century table settings are a small fragment of dark blue transfer printed willow ware (Cat. 6865) and the foot of a brown transfer printed small vegetable dish (Cat. 6866; Figure 9B). The willow ware fragment is too small to determine its age or the type of vessel it is from.

The brown printed fragment bears a decorative motif associated with the Aesthetic movement of the late 19th century. Its base bears a remnant of a printed mark "TRADE [MARK] .../[on ribbon]W H GRINDLEY .../516...". This is the same or similar to a mark illustrated by Godden (1964:294) for W. H. Grindley & Co., of Tunstall and Staffordshire, England. Godden indicates the mark was in use circa 1880-1914.

The middle 20th century is represented by three vessels, two of which are complete. A plastic saucer (Cat. 6856) is yellow with white speckles. This Melmac plate was manufactured after World War II and is may date anywhere between the late 1940s and 1970s. Of a similar temporal association is a milk glass saucer (Cat. 6855) decorated with decals of blue bachelor buttons. The base of this vessel is marked "OVEN/[script:] Fire- King/WARE/8/MADE IN U.S.A." According to one Internet site (Moran Antiques and Collectibles 2008), this saucer is of the Bachelor Button or Bonnie Blue pattern milkglass and were offered to the public as a Mother's Oats premium in the 1950s and 1960s. The third relatively modern vessel is a porcelain saucer represented by eleven fragments (Cats. 6888, 6912). The vessel is which with a black tracery decal around the rim. Both the rim and saucer well margin have been painted with gold luster over the clear glaze.

Three plain white earthenware fragments (Cats. 6867, 6913) are from at least two vessels.

These specimens may date to the late 19th through the first half of the 20th centuries.

Personal Items (n = 12 objects)

Objects recovered from the Peaceful Valley Ranch house investigation includes one associated with body ritual and grooming and 11 with indulgences.

Body ritual and grooming (n = 1 object) is suggested by a small hard rubber comb (Cat.

6857; Figure 9C) with a lanceolate handle and "Little Princess" printed on one face of the comb in gold letters. The specimen is complete, 4.41" (11.19 cm) long and 1.40" (3.54

cm) wide. The fine teeth of the comb suggest it served as a lice comb. Reference to 1895 and 1922 Montgomery Ward (Montgomery Ward and Co. 1969a, b) and 1902, 1908 Sears, Roebuck (Sears Roebuck and Co. 1969a, 1969b, 1970) catalogs, however, allows it identification as an infant's comb. "Little Princess" is a brand name in use today although it could not be determined whether this is the same company that produced the comb from the ranch house.

Indulgences (n = 11 objects) include both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. Non-alcoholic beverage use is indicated by the recovery of two Hires Root Beer bottles (Cats.

6851, 6854; Figure 9D) from a dirt ledge behind the west concrete basement wall. Both retain paper labels and were sealed with corks. According to one source, Charles Hires was a Philadelphia pharmacist who according to his biography discovered a recipe for a delicious herbal tea while on his honeymoon. The pharmacist began selling a dry version of the tea mixture and also began working on a liquid version of the same tea. The result of was a combination of over twenty-five herbs, berries and roots that Charles Hires used to flavor a carbonated soda water drink. The Charles Hires' version of the root beer beverage was first introduced to the public at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial exhibition. The Hires family continued to manufacture root beer and in 1893 first sold and distributed bottled root beer (Bellis 2008).

The root beer bottles were produced in a cup mold with the finish created afterwards with a lipping tool. Bottle historian Bill Lindsey tells us the cup mold (aka cup base mold) was in use in the United States by the late 1850s and was the dominant mold type for mouth-blown bottles between about 1890 and the domination of bottle making by automatic bottle machines by the late 1910s. He also states that bottles with discontinuous side mold seams as seen on the Hires bottles are referred to as "mouth-blown" or "hand-made" and typically date prior to 1915. The tooled finish typically dates no earlier than 1885 to 1890 but fell into disuse between 1910 and the early 1920s with the ever increasing dominance of semi-automatic and then fully automatic bottle making machines. (Lindsey 2007).

One beer bottle is represented by nine fragments of a single light aqua beer bottle produced in a post mold. The applied finish suggests it was manufactured in the late 1880s (Lindsey 2007). The base is marked with a raised molded "A". This is probably the mark of Adams & Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa, which operated from 1861-1891. It may be a different company however since Adams & Co. made fine glassware rather than bottles (Toulouse 1971:21).

Unknown Function Items (25 objects).

Objects assigned to this functional category are either fragmented to the point where their original form could not be determined or they could have been assigned to a number of functional categories. Items included in this category include two charcoal samples, three corks, a quartz crystal, and 19 fragments of curved glass.

ASSESSING SITE CONDITION, DISTURBANCE, THREATS

To assist the park in its cultural resource management planning, twenty archeological resources were visited and assessed with regard to site condition, disturbances, and threats. The process involved relocating the site and documenting the site condition with photographs, recording the GPS position, completion of Midwest Archeological Center Site Condition Assessment Forms, and the Midwest Archeological Center Archeological Site Supplement Form for North Dakota/South Dakota. The results of this review are presented in Table 2.

Table 2.Summary of Theodore Roosevelt National Park Archeological Site Condition Assessments.

State ID #

Condition

Current Threats Potential Future Threats

Comments

32 BI 115 Good Slope erosion; trail through site

Same Firehearth noted eroding from the SE corner of the terrace

32 BI 516 Good Slope erosion Same No cultural materials observed 32 BI 519 Good Erosion of ridge margins Same No cultural materials observed

32 BI 520 Good None None 32 BI 521 Good None None 32 BI 522 Good Bison wallows Erosion 32 BI 528 Good Erosion Same Flake observed next to aluminum datum camp marked "FHWA / 193.2" 32 BI 549 Good Bison trails; springs causing slumpage Same Site in deep grass; no cultural materials observed

32 BI 555 Good Bison trails and wallows

Same No cultural materials observed

32 BI 566 Good Prairie dog burrowing; trail through site

Same 2 flakes, 1 core observed

32 BI 567 Good Bison trail, wallows, and erosion from rain

Same; artifact collectors

There is currently little or no vegetation on this site making this site highly visible. Flakes and lithic scraper observed

32 BI 568 Good None None Site is overgrown with grass; no cultural materials observed

32 BI 569 Good Erosion Same Hearth and fire-cracked rock near south end of terrace remnant.

32 BI 570 Good Erosion artifact collectors

Photos indicate this site is in essentially the same condition as when recorded in 1987. Several bifaces observed

32 BI 571 Good None None Site is overgrown with grass; no cultural materials observed

32 BI 575 Good Erosion of ridge margins

Same No cultural material observed

32 BI 581 Good Erosion of ridge margins

Same Small semi-buried artifact scatter (stove parts, stoneware, etc.) observed; depression is likely natural

32 BI 582 Good Erosion of site margins by bison when ground is wet

Same Several flakes and a scraper were observed.

Actual site may be on next higher terrace

32 BI 615 Good Slope erosion Same No cultural material observed 32 BI 633 Good None None Dugout depression is good condition

CONCLUSIONS

Peaceful Valley Ranch

Archeological investigations in the Peaceful Valley Ranch house took place in the basement of the main house, under the floors of the log kitchen addition, and in several locations around the margin of the house as…