POLLEN AND MACROFLORAL ANALYSIS ON SAMPLES FROM BUILDING 48, HARPER'S FERRY NATIONAL PARK, WEST VIRGINIA

Pollen and macrofloral samples were examined fran three excavation units
in front of Building 48 at Harper's Ferry National Park inWest Virginia. Since
trash was dumped in front of this building, one or more of these excavation units
may include trash deposits. Building 48 was constructed during the 1820s and
probably housed the armory workers until the Civil War. After the Civil War,
Building 48 served as a tenement until the 1950s. It is the pre-Civil War period
that is represented in the majority of the pollen and macrofloral samples. Unit
10 provides an intermittent record from the 1820s to the 1990s, and was examined
in part for comparative purposes. Oily the earliest samples representing the
pre-Civil War occupation were examined from Excavation Units 5 and 1. Previous
pollen and macrofloral analyses of Package 116 at Harper's Ferry provided
information identifying formality of the landscape at the master armorer's
residence in the 1820s, and a subsequent decline in the landscapir^ after the
1830s and 1840s. This decline coincides with the acceptance of industry in the
United States during the 1830s and 1840s. The armory was modernized in the
1830s, and the armory grounds were renovated. The military took over the daily
operations of the armory in 1841. As a result, uniformity was created in the
architectural and landscape design of Harper's Ferry. Conditions around Building
48^during these times are represented in the pollen and macrofloral saiqples.
Evidence of the armory worker's diet may be seen in kitchen debris that was
dumped in front of the building. Evidence for diet will also be examined. These
samples will also be examined for evidence of formalization and possible
subsequent deterioration of the landscape similar to that noted at the master
armorer's residence.