Well Hello There

Hello. My name is Jamie Patrick Henry and I am this spring semesters intern with the Campus Archaeology program. What attracted me to the program was the public outreach portion of it. I liked the idea of actually being able to communicate finds and information to the public and finding new ways to do this.

A little about me. I am a senior at MSU and I am planning on graduating in May but I may push that back to do another program this Summer. I am interested in a lot of Old world topics and I am leaning toward making that my focus in Graduate school. I went to Greece this past summer on a study abroad and was blown away with the differences in the work being done there. Anyways I will try and keep the blog updated on the work we are doing.

My personal project this year is going to be tailored toward getting interaction with the public on finds we have and on trying to get information out there in different ways. I am updating the Wiki right now and trying to find other ways to make Historic Information about MSU more accessible to you all. I hope to get some video blogs up going over some day to day stuff like; lab work, excavations, and putting a face with the program.

I think that is gonna be it for this entry, and I will try to make another one soon. Can you dig it?

JPH

The Man Behind the Tower

Beaumont Tower is easily the most recognizable building here at Michigan State and has come to be a symbol of the university recognized the world over.  The tower was constructed in 1928 to commemorate College Hall, the first building built at MSU, and to serve as a defensive structure in order to discourage any further construction within the “Sacred Space.”  The tower is named after John W. Beaumont, who had fond memories of his time here as a student and wanted to commemorate that time with the construction of a memorial tower.  I recently went into the archives in search of information on John Beaumont, in order to find out more about the man behind the tower.

John Beaumont was born July 20, 1858 in Elizabeth, New Jersey.  He moved to Michigan in 1875 and graduated from Michigan State, then the State Agricultural College, in 1882.  In fact, Beaumont was a student in the first class that Frank S. Kedzie ever taught here.  Upon graduation, Beaumont went to study law in Saginaw, where he was admitted to the bar in 1884.  He began practicing law in Detroit in 1886, where he would come to be ranked as one of Detroit’s foremost lawyers.  He and his partners founded the firm Beaumont, Smith, and Harris.  In 1898, Beaumont served as a seaman aboard the U.S.S. Yosemite in the Spanish-American War.  The majority of the 285 man crew comprised of Michigan residents.  During the war, the U.S.S. Yosemite intercepted and destroyed the Spanish supply vessel Antonio Lopez off the coast of Puerto Rico on June 28, 1898.  After his return from duty, Beaumont served as judge advocate of the Michigan National Guards from 1904 to 1906.  He served as an elected member to the State Board of Agriculture from 1912 to 1924.  He also served as director of various corporations throughout his lifetime; including the Hudson Motor Car Company, the International Ridge Company, the Michigan Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and the Thomas Berry Chemical Company.

After the collapse of College Hall in 1918, an artillery garage was built on its foundations.  Plans for further development and construction in the area were stopped by the “Save the Circle” campaign organized by M.S.C. alumni.  It was during this time that John Beaumont proposed his idea of building a monument that would commemorate College Hall and inspire future students.  The tower was constructed in 1928 and was dedicated on Alumni Day, June 22, 1929.  Due to illness, Beaumont and his wife were unable to attend the ceremony.  William L. Carpenter, class of 1875 and long time friend of the Beaumonts, spoke on their behalf.  In his address to the crowd, Carpenter spoke of Beaumont’s fondness for College Hall and the college.

“Mr. Beaumont believes, and has long believed, that what he received from his four years’ work and training, and especially what he got from his association during these years with strong and kindly members of the faculty, contributed more than any other single factor to make his life successful and useful…Several years ago Mr. and Mrs. Beaumont determined to do some thing to testify their gratitude for what the college had done for Mr. Beaumont.  This gift received long and careful consideration, and they finally decided it should be a memorial tower to be erected on this site.  The tower is given in the belief and with the hope that it will revive and preserve Old College hall memories and be a spiritual inspiration to the present generation of graduates and students, and to those who may come after them.”

John Beaumont saw his tower for the first and only time during his last visit to campus in 1937; however, he often listened to the radio programs when he knew that the tower chimes were to be played.  Mr. Beaumont contracted Parkinson’s disease and passed away July 17, 1941 at the age of 83.  His love and devotion for his alma mater lives on today through the memorial tower he and his wife graciously donated to the university.  Today, Beaumont Tower stands upon the highest point of the circle as Michigan State’s crown jewel and most iconic building.  The tower itself serves as a monument of inspiration to students of the past and future and is reflected in the sculptured ‘Sower’ over its entrance; an image in which Beaumont hoped would echo the inspiration that came to him through the lives and words of his teachers.

Early Greenhouses

Recently the Campus Archaeology team could have been found just west of the Main Library digging once again.  This time in search for Beal’s greenhouse.  The green house is thought to be located on the crest of the eastern embankment of the Beal Gardens.  As an intern who has vested interests in making a map encompassing all of the campus buildings, both past and present, this was an intriguing topic.

On the campus today if one inquires about greenhouses they will be directed either towards the Old Botany building and the Greenhouse directly behind which plays host to a wonderful gallery of different climates and the plant species found there, as well as research.  The other option would be the massive complex of greenhouses located just south of the Bio-Chemisty building.  These greenhouses on the  other hand are used solely for research.

However, before the university was as large as it is today, and before it carried the title of a university, greenhouses could be found in a more central location on campus.  This first greenhouse was built in 1866  and torn down in 1974 and all of the plants moved to the new greenhouses closer to the Botanical Gardens, started in 1873 by professor William J. Beal.

The second greenhouse was constructed in 1874, shortly after Beal’s gardens had been created.  This greenhouse however was dubbed to small for the growing college and was torn down around 1913.  The third greenhouse was enlarged and built directly on top of it.  The location of our most recent excavation is somewhere near the location of these two greenhouses.

In 1904 a greenhouse for experimentation was built in front of the Horticultural Laboratory, known today as Old Horticulture.  This greenhouse was a gift of the Lord and Burnham company.  Also, two greenhouses built by professor Taft in 1889 were being used to test the preferable methods of greenhouse heating.  One was built to use steam as a heat source and the other hot water.  These were located Northwest of the Botanical Laboratory and were torn down before 1900.

Going back to our excavations. Near the end of our excavation an interesting artifact was found.  It was a flat corrugated piece of material.  It was gray and beige in color and was extremely fragile.  Though my analysis of the material was brief and my hypothesis is purely speculation, I believe it may be a piece of cooling ventilation.  Working in a greenhouse I have seen similar material used.  These sheets of corrugated material are stacked vertically, one next to the other and placed perpendicular in an exterior wall.  The small gaps between the sheets allow for a small amount of air-flow to enter the greenhouse and therefore air-flow can be constant but not too drastic or dynamic.  Also, nowadays these sheets will have water running through them, which allows for air to cool even more when entering the greenhouse on a hot day. I would find it to be very interesting if the artifact was, in fact, used for the similar function as in today’s greenhouses because it would show how although technology is rapidly increasing, in some cases it is better not to reinvent the wheel and use previous methods that have proven their functionality.

Regulations for the Women’s Building

It seems I’m long overdue for an update on my work with Morrill Hall.   Thus far I have concluded my raid of the archives in the search of Morrill Hall’s history.  A synopsis of the history I’ve collected can be found on the Campus Archaeology Wiki page at  http://campusarch.wikispaces.com/Morrill+Hall+%281900-Present%29. 

I have started diggin into my presentation I am to do as part of my internship at this point but for this post I’d like to share a particularly neat thing I came across in the archives.  One of the most interesting things I found was a list of “Regulations for the Women’s Building” which gives enormous insight on the lives of the women living in Morrill Hall in the early 1900s.  The archives have the list of regulations from 1901, 1904, and 1911.  Originally I came across a copy of one of the documents in a box of information compiled by a former History professor at MSU.  There was no context to this document and I was unsure where it came from or what year it was for.  The people at the archives are really something and when I asked them if they had any ideas to its origin, they found where it came from almost immediately.  It turns out the regulations were part of a handbook that the women living in Morrill Hall would have received.  It was a separate handbook from what the men would get, which makes sense since men and women were treated very differently at the college during the early 1900s.  These documents help to illustrate those differences and get a sense of a female student’s life at MAC.  Also it’s a good way to see both the differences and even a few similarities between the lives of college students today and those in the past.  

 

Some of the regulations include: 

“GUESTS – No student should have a guest over night without permission from the Dean.  Permission for meals must be obtained from the Steward before taking guests to the dining room and written notice left at her office.”  

“Quiet Hours: – Quiet must be preserved during day and evening study hours.  Students should be in their rooms and quiet from 10 p.m. to 6:15 a.m. every day, and from 3 to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Party Hours: – Social functions should be limited to one a week.  Four eleven o’clock parties are allowed each student during the term.  Students will register in Dean’s office before going to parties and cancel the same on return.

Hours for Callers: – On Friday and Saturday evenings until 9:45 p.m. callers may be received in the parlor and in the reception room. “ 

“LIGHT AND HEAT – Students will provide their own bulbs or electric light standards and are requested to turn out the light when leaving the room.  Neither alcohol, kerosene or gasoline lamps will be allowed under any circumstances.” 

“ILLNESS must be reported at once.” 

“WALKS – Students are not allowed to walk about the grounds after supper nor with young men outside the limits prescribed.” 

Also included in the regulations was a schedule of the hours in which bells were rang summoning women to meals and announcing study and rising times (6:15 a.m. every day except Sunday)!   There were also specifics on how women were to treat their dorm room as well as club regulations. 

 

It is quite clear the lives of the students at the college were much more regulated in the past than they are today.  Morrill Hall in particular was meant to be a safe haven for women and these particular regulations helped to ensure that.  Although in many ways these sorts of regulations represent a drastically different way of life from today, I think a few similarities can be found.  The dorms still play a big role in the social lives of students with mentors organizing floor activities and all the advertisement for University events.  Also, the University continues to do what it can with long lists of things one can’t have in a dorm room and the rule about showing your ID and signing in guests after midnight to make the dorms a safe place for students to live just as the Regulations for the Women’s Building did. 

 

In The Shadow of Beaumont

Hello everyone,

My name is David Lewandowski and I am one of the three interns for the Campus Archaeology Program this fall.  I am a senior here at Michigan State, majoring in Anthropology with a minor in American Indian Studies.  My plans after graduation are to attend graduate school and to ultimately recieve my Ph.D. and become a professor.  As far as grad schools are concerned, I would like to go somewhere in the Southwest.  I have participated in two field schools in the Southwest, Crow Canyon’s high school program and a field school run by Dr. Alison Rautman in central New Mexico, and would love to work there in the future.  This past summer I participated in a field school on the Mohegan Reservation in Connecticut.  This field school was a great experience for me.  I knew very little about the area, time period, and people prior to the field school.  During the Mohegan field school, I was exposed to things that an undergrad wouldn’t usually experience during a field school.  I learned a great deal about the Native communities in Connecticut, along with the varrying views Native people have with regards to archaeology.  The field school was also my first experience in dealing with historical archaeology, which helped to prepare me for my internship with CAP.

I applied to become an intern with CAP because I knew it would be a great opportunity to further my knowledge and experience within archaeology and to meet other like minded people.  I am really enjoying my internship this fall.  So far I have been exposed to so many new things regarding archaeology and the history of Michigan State.  This semester I have been working both in the lab and in the field, and conducting research for my own individual project.  I have also really enjoyed the public outreach that CAP participates in.  I love sharing my knowledge of archeaology with people I meet, which is one of the reasons why I would like to become a professor.  It is also rewarding to share the information that you have uncovered with the larger Michigan State community. 

I have entitled this post ”In the Shadow of Beaumont” for a couple reasons.  One reason relates directly to the work that we have done at the College Hall site, which is located where Beaumont Tower now stands.  It was absolutely thrilling to have been a part of the excavations that uncovered the northeast corner of College Hall, the first building built here at Michigan State.  My individual project this semester focuses on College Hall and the area that is now the location of Beaumont Tower.  With our work in the field at this site, research needs to be done with regards to the construction sequences of the site and the histories of the structures that have and currently stand there.  So far, I have been researching three buildings; College Hall, the artillary garage, and Beaumont Tower.  This means that I spend a lot of time in the MSU Archives, which I have come to enjoy.  It is really exciting to uncover the history of a site that you are working at and to be able to compare the written and archaeological records.  With my project on College Hall, I feel like I am continuing the legacy of John Beaumont by further preserving the history, site, and story of College Hall.  Beaumont and his wife donated money to erect Beaumont Tower in order to commemorate College Hall, a building that John had fond memories of.  Many people walk by Beaumont Tower everyday, without knowing exactly what it represents, or even what is below the ground that they are walking on.  Through the work that we are doing at CAP, we are hoping to educate people regarding the history and archaeological resources of Michigan State and to further preserve the history and archaeology of the nation’s pioneer land grand intistution.

Getting into the swing of things

It is now the middle of October.  I am in disbelief.  The semester is going by so quickly.  It has now been several weeks since I have joined the Campus Archaeology program as an Intern.

My name is Jeff Gepper and I am an undergraduate senior here at MSU.  I am majoring in Anthropology, and receiving a minor in Geography.  After this year I plan on doing one of two things.  Option one attending graduate school at university x (currently undecided).  Option two refers to me putting off graduate school for a year to teach English in China.  The second option I have chosen for several reasons.  Firstly, I am currently learning mandarin.  Secondly, my hopes for my future are to conduct either archaeological or cultural work in China.

Anyways, that is a brief, very brief, introduction to who I am, but to move on now, I will discuss what i have been up to regarding my work as a CAP intern.  The majority of work so far have occurred in the bowels of Mcdonel hall, in the Archeology lab.  I have been cleaning artifacts found in the trash pit located next to Saints Rest.  The work can sometime be tedious, in example, cleaning hundreds of tiny shards of broken window and bottle glass.  But that does not mean I do not enjoy it.  I have made many discoveries that have been absolutely fascinating.  The first to come to mind it the white-ware ceramics with the maker’s crest printed on the back.  Now I personally have no experience in 1860’s ceramics, therefore have no factual evidence as to where it came from.  nevertheless, David (another awesome intern) have done much speculating as the origin of the artifact.  judging by the crown placed upon the top of the crest I make the assumption it comes from somewhere within the United Kingdom.  Once again i would like to reiterate that all of this is pure speculation, but that does not mean it is not fun to do.  Besides the ceramics the other exciting artifacts are mainly found in the metallic items, such as cut nails and pins.  These artifacts are specially fun to clean because at first they appear as a clump of rust and dirt.  After careful brushing and slight poking the item takes the form of a rusty nail or something similar.  The best so far was when one of the clumps of rust turned out to be a broken bolt with two nuts, possibly 3/8 “,  screwed onto it.  Quite fun to discover what that was.  other objects we clean are bricks, stones, and a good amount of butchered animal bone, specifically a cow and possible and pig.  Overall the lab has been the main area of focus, unfortunately due to computer failure and other related problems cataloging artifacts has not been happening, but hopefully will begin soon.

The lab as fun as it may be, is nothing compared to actual digging though.  Which I got the chance to participate in the very exciting excavation that uncovered the Northeast corner of College hall, the first building on MSU’s campus.  Under the time crunch placed on us we dug quickly, but carefully through the soft sand on the eastern side of the structure.  it was so nice it was digging in warm butter.  Though I found out my wall cutting abilities need a little, or a lot, of practice.  I hope I get the opportunity to practice it soon.  Due to our digging methods we found few artifacts, which included cut nails, pins, brick, and bone.  It was amazing however when Chris Valvano found a metal pin while excavating with a large shovel.  Now since there is only so much room in the excavation unit I was assigned the task along with another intern to probe the surrounding area to try and get a feel for where the rest of the structure may lie.  This was going well, until I made a fatal mistake.  In my eagerness to shove the metal shaft into the ground I became overzealous and punctured what turned out to be a major irrigation line for the entirety of the “Oak Opening” area.  Thankfully the maintenance crew was very understanding and friendly.  With tha experience under my belt I will from now on be very aware of my surroundings and constantly be checking for possible underground lines.  As the sun moved toward the West on Friday, our time became extremely strained and digging fervently Terry and Chris uncovered the actual foundation corner of the first building on the campus.  It was a great feeling to be a part of a team that will surely go down in MSU’s history books.

Now, being an intern for CAP I am required to create a research topic and present it. I am planning on using my Geographical and cartographic knowledge to put together a series of maps laying out where CAP has dug, where buildings once stood, and where exactly buildings are now in relation to old ones.  In order to get started I have been given the task to outline as the buildings in the west circle area.  This is one of the most exciting areas on campus because it is the site of the oldest campus buildings.  So far the building that has surprised me the most is the Armory.  It was built in 1885, and demolished in 1939 in order to make room for the current music building.  Now I personally doubt that many people on this campus realize that it once had an armory.  At least I thought it was pretty cool.

As for now that is where I stand, and I cannot wait to keep researching and finding out more cool things about MSU’s past.

Morrill and Me

       Hey there! I’m Jen Allen and I’m one of the Campus Archaeology interns for fall semester 2009. It’s been a couple of weeks so far and I’ve had the opportunity to spend lots of time in the MSU archives as well as do a little digging in the search for College Hall. I’m a senior here at MSU and major in history and anthropology as well as having a specialization in African Studies. I fell in love with archaeology after participating in Dr. O’Gorman’s field school in Illinois which I took part in almost on a whim. Since then I added anthropology as a major and couldn’t be happier with the decision. I feel archaeology is the perfect way to combine my love of different cultures, history, and even just getting to be outside as part of the work!

       My project this semester has to do with Morrill Hall and everything has gone well so far. Right now I’m working on finding everything I can on the building since the University seems set at this point to have it demolished in the near future. I have put lots of time in at the MSU archives in Conrad Hall searching for information and trying not to annoy the staff there too much with my requests and constantly forgetting to put my bag in the lockers like they want you to. I’ve also done some extra wandering inside Morrill Hall just to get even more acquainted with what I’ve been researching.  I have been in the building before on many occasions and have always loved its old and somewhat quirky feel. The building is not symmetrical as originally intended and it is just shy of 109 years old and because of this it definitely has its own unique character. It is also a building steeped in MSU’s history as it was the first women’s dormitory on the campus as well as it being a huge step in the acceptance of a practical women’s education at the College. I’ll have much more to come on what I’ve been doing and what I’ve found out about Morrill Hall in future blogs!

Owens Automatic Bottle Machine

Lately I’ve begun to seriously catalog and date the bottles from the Brody site.  I have some previous experience dating bottles, but I have quickly learned how much more in-depth it can be.  There are huge amounts of previous research to help me find out as much as i can about each bottle.  Friends of mine have been asking a lot of good questions about manufacturing techniques and how I go about dating a bottle.  I won’t attempt to address it all at once, but here’s a start.

A large portion of the bottles that were collected from Brody hall share at least one thing in common.  They were machine made, not hand blown like their predecessors.  Before 1903, bottle making was a process that depended on skilled labor and was time consuming as well.  Michael Owens created a machine that could mass produce bottles without the need of hands on glass blowing.  The patent for the Owens Automatic Bottle Machine was granted in 1903.  By 1905, more than 90% of bottles produced in the United States were machine made.  Instead of producing one bottle at a time, bottles could now be produced at a rate of four per second.  This is a staggering revolution in the bottle industry.  Cost and production time were drastically cut, providing for the rapid expansion of the beer and soft drink industries.  Because bottles could be produced so quickly and easily by machine, they were no longer an item to be saved and reused.  As a result, many of them were tossed before breaking and can be easily  found in bottle dumps like the one at Brody Hall.

Check out this video of the Owens Automatic Bottle Machine in action!!!!!

So how does the Owens ABM work?  As you can see from the above video, the machine is a very complex merry-go-round that no one should ever be allowed to ride.  The machine measures out the correct amount of molten glass for each bottle and it is then forced into a pre-existing mold attached to the machine.  Molds could be changed and added to the machine in order to produce different bottle forms and types.  Much like previous production methods, the Owens machine leaves clues in the glass that are very helpful in identification and dating.  Very much like fingerprints, each method of production has unique identifiers.

The Owens machine has several:

• Vertical seams run up to the lip, or at least very close to it.
• “Ghost” seams run parallel to more the distinct, true seams.
• Suction scar on base results from Press and Blow machine.
• Owens used various identifiable makers marks on the base of each bottle(see photographs).
• Numbering system provides reliable data on age and location of production(see photographs).

Any Questions?  I still have plenty.

A Trip to the Archives

Last week I went over to the MSU Archives with Terry to do a little research.  I’ve never been to the archives before, so it ended up being a really good way to get my feet wet.  Let me first say this about myself, I love old maps and pictures.  When the opportunity presents itself, I will pour over them for hours, even if I’m not looking for anything in particular.  But this time, lucky me, I’ve got a goal in mind.  

When we got to the archives, there was a pile of folders and maps waiting for us on the table.  Hats off to Whitney Miller for all of her help.  She really knows the archives well, and as we looked over the maps and photos it became clear that she knows MSU just as well.  The files that she pulled out for me to look at contained mostly aerial photographs from the 1940’s and 50’s.  My purpose at the archives was to find any maps or pictures that might shed light on the Brody Hall bottle dump.  This is a small step towards my big research project that is due in the spring.    

I found some interesting things.  From what I can tell so far, the land that Brody Hall sits on has seen fairly minimal use.  One map that is dated 1900 shows a small portion of what is now Brody complex divided into housing lots.  Exactly how many of these lots were actually used I have no idea.  In addition, the divided block of land is slightly north of the dump site.  Perhaps some of the debris is from these homes? Perhaps not.  

A 1919 campus map shows the location of two buildings just south of the divided lots mentioned above.  One of these buildings is labeled, “Experiment Station Barn.”  From this point we jump forward to the 1940’s when part of the area housed a university barn and horse track.  The horse track and barn appear to have been dismantled by the 1950’s, although evidence of the horse track appears in later pictures.  When the Kellogg Center was built in 1951, the area directly across Harrison Road became parking.  Some of the older photographs show variations in terrain, low spots and marshy swales.  These appear to have been filled in by the time the area was used for parking, possibly filled with bottles and then covered up?  We’ll see.  There are a few homes that pop in and out of the pictures, and closer to the river was the site of the Red Cedar Administration Building.  This building was gone by 1956.  

Now that I’ve been to the archives, I feel as though I have more questions than answers.  Hopefully the archives have more to offer as my research progresses.  If you are interested in learning more about what the MSU archives has to offer, check out the website.

Grandparents University

Last week marked the annual summer session of Grandparents University.  Every summer, MSU hosts alumni and their grandchildren for a few days of special classes and presentations all around the campus.  These lucky grandchildren get to stay in Holmes Hall, eat in the cafeteria, and also choose from a list of interesting classes to attend each day.  Professors and organizations all accross campus provide their time, knowledge, and skills to make Grandparents University special.  Students even receive bags of special little gifts and snacks(pretty good marketing if you ask me).  

CAP was one of the groups to participate in this event, and it ended up being a lot of fun.  On Tuesday, we set up a pit near the MSU museum so that we could demonstrate archaeological techniques in a hands on way.  We were near the site of the 2005 field school at Saints’ Rest, the first dormitory on campus.  It was completed in 1856 and burned to the ground over winter break of 1876.  There has been extensive excavation on the actual building site, but I was extremely pleased to learn that we would be digging in there area that may be the dorm trash pit.  I’ve never had the chance to dig a privy or midden of any kind, so I was pumped.  

Our first morning at the site started out a little slow.  It turns out that it is difficult to find a backfilled pit when the markers are gone.  Lawnmowers!!!  I got to see first-hand how troubling survey equipment can be on a rainy day, so troubling in fact that I never actually got a chance to try it out with Terry.  Sometimes technology just works for itself and no one else.  We did eventually find what we were looking for, but it had to be done the old fashion way.  We knew roughly where to dig, and once we pulled some sod back, a faint line appeared in the soil.  This line marked the outside edge of CAP’s previous November inquiry into the trash pit.

In no time at all, we were pulling out artifacts left and right.  Each bucket of soft mottled sand that was taken to be sifted seemed to contain more and more fragments of broken glass and cut nails.  There were numerous butchered cow bones and even the remains of a pig jaw.  For anyone looking for dinosaur bones, this is as close as I can take you.  As the day progressed, more and more students of Grandparents University stopped by to see what was going on.  It was a lot of fun to be out there digging and showing off our newly unearthed artifacts.  The kids were very interested, but even more interested were the grandparents.  There were tons of great questions overall, and I really enjoyed the experience of digging with so many curious people around.

Check out the Saints’ Rest online exhibit!!!