Digging Into My New Job
Today, our new Community Engagement Coordinator Sara Nixon reflects on her first few weeks on the job, which coincided with an archaeological dig of our site. We really threw her into the process last month, and she took on the challenge with great enthusiasm. Learn more about the dig and its importance for our site, as Sara shares her unique experience.
I had the usual first-day jitters when I arrived at The Brown Homestead on a Monday morning. I showed up in an outfit I picked out days before, following my grandmother’s wisdom to “dress to impress” – after all, first impressions are important when you’re starting a new job. But my butterflies fluttered away as soon as I stepped through the iconic green door and into my new workplace. Right away, it was clear that The Brown Homestead was going to reshape what I thought a workplace was supposed to be like. The whole house was buzzing with excited activity - people were preparing a seemingly life-time supply of apples and granola bars. Staff and volunteers were gathering under a tent, equipped with shovels and sifting screens. Standing in my skirt and heels, I quickly noticed that everyone was wearing activewear and hiking boots. Not only was it my first day as the new Community Engagement Coordinator at The Brown Homestead, but it was also the first day of the Stage 2 Archaeological Survey being conducted on site. It was a big day for the both of us.
The front entrance of John Brown House greets with you a green door, usually decorated with a seasonal floral wreath.
Digging into the Brown Homestead
With an eye towards the projected growth and evolution of the organization in the coming years, The Brown Homestead sought to proactively undergo a Stage 2 test-pitting archaeological survey of the property under the direction of Dr. John Triggs of Triggs Heritage Consulting in June 2023. The idea was to identify the presence of any archaeological resources present on the property, so that, if so, the artifacts or settlement features found can be evaluated for cultural heritage value and incorporated into the interpretive heritage of the site.
An aerial satellite image of The Brown Homestead property, with the Study Area of the Stage 2 Archaeological Survey outlined in red and its perimeter measured in metres.
It’s for good reason to suspect that objects of cultural heritage value (re: old, storied things) might be buried on the property. Situated on Pelham Road, The Brown Homestead is located along a centuries-old transportation route, not only used by Niagara’s first European settlers, the United Empire Loyalists (UELs), since the turn of the nineteenth century, but also as part of a web of Indigenous trade networks stretching back hundreds of years. Beyond this, the home itself is over 220 years old – built by the UEL John Brown and his family, who may have settled here as early as the 1780s. While homes built by UEL families are sprinkled across Niagara, the John Brown House is particularly significant, for much of the land around it has remained intact and undeveloped, save for a few outbuildings. The Brown Homestead has potential to be an archaeologist’s treasure trove.
So, under the patient guidance of Dr. John Triggs and his wife/fellow archaeologist Dr. Lisabeth Robinson, my first day of work at The Brown Homestead also coincided with the first shovels in the ground to commence the test pitting. In accordance with the Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists, the property was transformed into grid of little red flags spaced every 5x 5 metres, and alternating teams of TBH staff and volunteers worked together to excavate a hole at least 30 centimetres in diameter and 50 centimetres deep at each flag, sifting through the soil using mesh screens. Any unearthed object that looked to be human-made or human-used was to be recorded, labelled and bagged, and taken for cleaning and further assessment. Over the course of two weeks, about 300 test sites would be dug with the goal of finding objects and other clues that could help tell the story of how the land had been used over time.
To help guide the stories we uncovered, we were fortunate to have a Field Liaison Representative from the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Jodie Lovegrove, to monitor the dig and assess any Indigenous materials we found.
Our dig participants hard at work, with an up close shot of Ron Chappell and Brown descendant Jan Chappell sifting through soil on a mesh screener.
Though this archaeological survey was the culmination of several months of research, report writing, and preparation, I like to think the timing of the dig was actually organized as part of my orientation! I mean, what better way to get to know your new workplace than by personally digging several dozen holes across its property? While it’s safe to say that this was likely a once-in-a-career onboarding process, taking part in the dig during my first two weeks here offered an entirely novel learning experience in getting to know The Brown Homestead and how I will approach my work here.
Getting to Know the Property
An aerial image of the property photographed in 1954, overlayed with a black outline of our 7.5 acre property. Note the fruit orchards and farmland. Ministry of Natural Resources Canada, 1954-1955.
By Day 2, I had swapped my cute outfit for proper digging attire and had a shovel in hand. The survey had begun at the back of the study area site, and would slowly make its way across the red-flagged grid towards the front of the property along Pelham Road. As I moved from test pit to test pit, I quickly came to appreciate the vast landscape of the Homestead, scenically situated amongst vineyards and meadows, with the forested Short Hills Park in the distance. I also got a sense of the agricultural history tied to the site.
Historic maps, aerial photographs, and other sources provide evidence of the orchards and farming plots that once stood on the acreage behind the house, as well as a large rectangular pond. It’s hard to imagine this vastly different landscape, until you’re out there digging. Under the hot sun, it’s easier to step into the shoes of the families that stewarded the land before us. At one point during my first day of digging, my sifting partner and I found deposits of charcoal in our test pit. Evidence that someone at some point lit a fire at the exact location where we were digging might not seem exciting, but to me it was proof of ordinary, everyday life on the property – that the families who lived here actually called this place “home”.
View of the John Brown House from the west. Notice the subtle differences in the masonry in the oldest part of the house, the summer kitchen (left) dated to 1796, and the main house (dated to 1802-1804), and where the stone meets.
The closer the diggers got to the outbuildings and house, the more materials we began to uncover, and the more appreciation we grew for the built history that still stands on the property. We spent whole mornings and afternoons under the shadow of the Norton Cabin, and by the Victorian-era brick walls of the dairy. As we dug close by the John Brown House, we admired the intricacies of the building’s masonry – subtle differences between the oldest part of the house, the summer kitchen, built in 1796, and the rest of the house built in 1802-1804, as well as details around the windows and in the chimney work.
As we surveyed the areas around the house and closer to the road, we began to find more pieces of household items like ceramics and even part of a clay pipe – more evidence of daily life. Our expert leaders, John and Lisabeth, were eager to find evidence of the privy, which was often also used the way we would use a garbage can today (though I wasn’t so sure I wanted to know the families to this level of intimacy!).
Over the course of two weeks and all different types of summer weather conditions, our team of diggers uncovered objects and materials representative of the eras connected to the site. Most significantly, we found a few pieces of chert, demonstrating the presence of Indigenous peoples on this land hundreds of years ago. We also found ceramic sherds dating back to the Brown family era (c. 1780-1820). Some of these items, like these ceramic pieces, are “diagnostic” in value, meaning that their marking can pinpoint their date of origin (think also, of a coin, or a manufacturer’s mark on a piece of glass). We even discovered a rusty barrel hoop near the dairy.
I just so happened to be off the day the diggers excavated what might have been a nineteenth century privy. Due to not being able to find undisturbed subsoil via regular test pit, it was expanded to one square metre, and dug one metre down. The many layers of disturbed soil revealed many artifacts, including pieces of thin glass, ceramic, nails, animal bones, and the clay pipe piece mentioned above. Pictured here (left to right) are, project lead archaeologist Dr. John Triggs, TBH Director of Community Engagement Jessica Linzel, MCFN field representative Jodie Lovegrove, archaeologist Dr. Lisabeth Robinson, and volunteer Nick Nobile.
Volunteers Jordan Albers and Ashley Zimmerman proudly show off their finds.
The dig also uncovered remnants of built features on the site that are no longer standing. Not only did we locate a possible privy, but we also discovered the foundation of the old Victorian porch that once spanned the width of the John Brown House. Closer towards the back meadows of the property, early on in our dig we hit gravel where the old pond had been filled in. These sorts of findings help to substantiate our understanding of the site and how it has changed over time.
Every discovery we made both reinforced, and added to, what we already know about The Brown Homestead - that this land has been stewarded by countless generations of people, where they worked the ground, built their families, and made their home.
Two soldiers and a horse pose outside of the John Brown House during the years of the First World War (1914-1918). Notice the intricate craftmanship of the porch spanning the full length of the house. The Powers family lived in the home during this era. The Brown Homestead Archival Collections.
Getting to Know the People
Participating in the dig also gave me a unique opportunity to get to know the people associated with The Brown Homestead. I can confidently say that nothing connects people quite like sifting through piles of dirt! I had the chance to partner with my fellow colleagues, as well as with volunteers. As we dug and sifted under the sun, we asked about each other, and what drew us to The Brown Homestead. Some of the volunteers I met have been involved with the Homestead for a few years, and for others, it was their first time here. In fact, close to 55 volunteers participated in the archaeological survey over its duration - 39 of them new to our organization.
Fellow diggers spoke of their interest in local history, archaeology and heritage restoration. Some shared about “always wanting to be a part of a dig”, and others, like myself, felt closely aligned with the values and vision set out by The Brown Homestead and wanted to join the cause.
This might not be the best quality picture, but we just had to exclaim another Happy Birthday to John, who is pictured here with his birthday cake!
Apart from the manual labour, I also really valued our lunch-hours together. Staff, volunteers, and the archaeologists would gather under the tent and eat lunch while we shared our finds, and commiserated about the weather, or what we didn’t find. We also got to enjoy the nourishment generously provided by Zehrs Pen Centre (the piles of granola bars and apples I saw on my first day!). One of the dig days happened to be Dr. Trigg’s birthday, and we brought out a cake to celebrate! I am always one for a yummy treat!
Getting to Know What’s Possible
A close up of completed test pits and their corresponding red flags, with the old spire of the Welland Avenue United Church in the background. Part of the vision for The Brown Homestead is to create an architectural sculpture park and gardens, featuring modern outdoor artwork as well as built heritage remnants like the spire.
The time I spent at the dig also gave me the space to envision the bright future The Brown Homestead is working towards. As I worked outdoors next to the spire salvaged from the Welland Avenue United Church, I could imagine what the future Architectural Sculpture Park might look like, with its gardens sprawling with oversized built-heritage remnants. As we uncovered ceramic pieces in the test sites around the dairy, my gears began to turn on how we could incorporate a history of serving ware into the ice cream shop we hope to soon open on site. The objects we uncovered will help us shape our interpretation of the site and the stories we’ll share through the community-based exhibits, programs, events and offerings I’ll get to help develop over the coming years. The dig made for a very exciting start to my new job here at The Brown Homestead, and I am very excited for The Road Ahead.
To learn more about the archaeological dig, check out this blog post written by our generous sponsors The Niagara Community Foundation, who supported the dig through a David S. Howes Fund Grant. Also, stay tuned for the release of our next episode of The Open Door podcast featuring a conversation with Dr. John Triggs in August.