| SPRING 2001 |
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Vol.6, No. 1
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The demands of this year’s calendar made this
expansion very necessary, such as the Spring
Living History Camp this April, our Parent-
Child weekends in June and August (new .this
year), Indian Lake Elementary this May, hosting the overnight stay
for
the Avery Trace wagontrain, Frontier Day Camp in July and our largest
event this September “Daniel Smith Days.”
More work is in the planning stages at this time for even
more expan-the near future.
Little children and a little chip may prove to be one of the biggest
finds in a long time at Historic Rock Castle.
If her suspicions are correct, says Bobbi Petznick, Collections Committee
chairwoman, the 1-1/2 inch long shard may have been a piece of original
earthenware belonging to the Daniel Smith family.
And, it may prove to be an even bigger find. It may signal the location
of the outhouse on the Property. If so, the site where the piece was found
may hold more Treasures as it was the custom of the day to bury trash
under the out-
house or “necessary room” as they were some-times referred to. Future
excavation could turn up additional evidence of early life on the plan-tation.
“The shard – a broken piece of earthenware or china – appears to be
an early example of green flameedged creamware,” says Petznick. “Great
quantities of this tableware were shipped to this country from Great Britain
as early as the 1780s.
"Futher research will authenticate and date of the
the shard," she says
A group of home-school students helping prepare the herb garden near
the smokehouse uncovered the shard beneath a brick in early June, 1995.
“What they were doing was basically digging up and throwing out; working
on our new plan to divide the garden into quarters with a path between.
In the process of turning up the soil they found the shard. One of them
said it was underneath a brick,” the Collections chair-woman says.
“It just happened in turning the soil over and relocating the plants.
I don’t know how deep it was. Some of the plants they were moving were
quite deep. Archaeologists have dug this area before.
“Frankly, I was too excited to ask.”
Petznick says her group hopefully can place the find between 1790 and
1820 and “even picture Daniel and Sarah Smith taking their meals in the
dining parlor using this green edged ‘china.
“It’s pretty significant.”
She notes that “china” was a term applied to all manner of earthen-ware,
creamware, pearlware and porcelain in the early years of this country as
it replaced pewter on the majority of dining tables.
Further research is under way,
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The
weekend of the 29th and the 30th of September, 2001 will see this year’s
“Daniel Smith Days.” Six years ago the first event was held to be the main
fund raiser of the year. Since then it has grown but there is much room
for improvement and expansion. Last years’ went well despite the intense
rains which lasted the entire weekend. This year we hope for better weather
and even more support from the community at large.
If you are an historical re-enactor, demonstrator, craftsman, trader, vendor or interpreter, or you know someone who is, please contact the site for more information at 615-824-0502.
There will be two areas of set-ups at the fair: the historical, which will be located near Rock Castle, and an area near the Visitor’s Center for Vendor’s, Organizational Booths, Food Sales, etc. There will be a small set-up fee charged to all for-profit sales.