Archaeologists working near Pemaquid Falls have uncovered a 18th century home and blacksmith’s forge believed to have belonged to wealthy Bristol merchant and his family. Part of an archaeological survey of the Pemaquid Peninsula dating as far back as the 1970s, the Robert Given homestead gives a glimpse into the life of a wealthy colonial family living in an era of newfound regional stability.
“It’s a very small window into an era that is starting to stabilize,” said Dr. Neill DePaoli, an archaeologist leading the dig. According to DePaoli, the Given homestead was built in 1761, a time of growing tranquility as British troops began to turn the tide against hostile Wabanaki tribes in the French and Indian War.
According to James Nyman, a graduate student at the University of South Carolina, the Givens’ homestead shows a man originally of modest means who attained considerable wealth in international trade. Given, according to Nyman, started off as a common sailor and apparently built more and more additions to his home as he grew progressively wealthier.
At the time of his death, said Nyman, Given was one of the richest men in the Pemaquid area. He lived in the home from 1761 until his death in 1797. His wife and six kids continued to live in the home until 1819.
Southern Maine Community College sponsored the dig, a three week field school for students from SMCC, University of Southern Maine, Michigan State, and other colleges around the country.
“It brings together people from all kinds of schools,” said Nyman.
While excavators at Colonial Pemaquid have had difficulty finding artifacts due to past construction in the area, workers at the Pemaquid Falls dig site have found a preponderance of objects.
“We’re very fortunate that the land hasn’t been disrupted much,” said DePaoli, “There are tons of artifacts.”
Workers at the site have uncovered what Nyman and DePaoli believe to be a blacksmith’s forge, a cold cellar, and a kitchen, indicated by the presence of broken and fire-touched animal bones. Pencils, thimbles, and remnants of colonial glass bottles, used for medicine, have also been found. According to DePaoli, it is undetermined whether the forge is contemporaneous with the Given family or a relic of the home’s next owner, Oakman Ford, who lived there until 1865.
If the forge is from Ford’s era, according to DePaoli, then it could have been used in the shipbuilding trade. If part of the Given home, then it would most likely have been used for the making of agricultural equipment, utensils, and horseshoes. DePaoli is currently looking for someone to do a chemical analysis of the slag found at the forge site in order to determine its age.
The final day of the three-week field school was Aug. 13. The artifacts will now be analyzed and catalogued. Work will most likely continue next year.
“It’s a very special property,” said DePaoli. “The landowners are accommodating, allowing us to come back year after year.”
DePaoli has been working in the area for nine years, discovering some 10,000 artifacts from the colonial era and before.
“The whole [Pemaquid] region is an archeological site. It’s an incredibly rich region,” he said.
