This study documents the Kirkpatrick family's vast stoneware output at Vermillionville (ca. 1836-1871) as well as their craftsmanship and creative ceramic artistry. The first third of the report describes the results of Bonnie Gums's IDOT-sponsored controlled-surface-collection and test excavation project at the Vermillionville site. The remainder of the study is devoted primarily to Gums's detailed analysis of over 5,000 diagnostic stoneware sherds and kiln-furniture fragments recovered by Eva Mounce during several years of surface collections at the site. --------- [This volume] offers readers an interesting view into the profound social transformation of industrialization, here seen in the arena of pottery.... This extensive record is a valuable comparative data set for archaeologists working in the region who seek to identify pottery from archaeological contexts, as well as an interesting reflection of the incredible range and diversity of products generated by this traditional pottery firm. Gums et al. have written a lively and cogent exposition. -Patrick E. Martin, Illinois Archaeology 13:160-61, 2001

The Kirkpatrick's Potteries in Illinois: A Family Tradition (Transportation Archaeological Research Reports, 3)

History

United States Federal Highway Administration

Gums, Bonnie L.

Mounce, Eva Dodge

Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program

Mansberger, Floyd R.

Americas

Illinois Transportation

The Whitley site, located near the headwaters of Sugar Creek in the upland "Grand Prairie" area of Edgar County near the east-central border of Illinois, represents the remains of a homestead established by one of the area's earliest European settlers. William Whitley purchased the 80-acre farm in 1829, although evidence suggests the family was living there as early as 1823. They sold the land in 1833, after which the homestead lay abandoned for about 20 years. From the recovered artifacts, the farm was later briefly reoccupied, probably in the 1850s by Silas Elliott and his family. Archaeological investigations at the Whitley site revealed the farmstead plan including remains of the house, two smokehouses, two wells, four cisterns, and other features enclosed by fences. Artifacts were abundant, and the recovered ceramic assemblage-consisting primarily of decorated pearlware and other early nineteenth century wares-is of particular interest. [A]n excellent technical cultural resource management report in that it fully discussed the range of features and the material culture recovered.... Its major strength is that it more than adequately documents the spatial plan of this early nineteenth-century farmstead. It will be an extremely useful work for other researchers interested in farmstead archaeology. -Mary R. McCorvie, Illinois Archaeology 13:163, 2001

Archaeology at the Whitley Site: An Early Historic Farmstead on the Prairies of Eastern Illinois (Transportation Archaeological Research Reports, 5)

Kelly, Lucretia S.

Lopinot, Neal H.

This study of the Upper Mississippian Keeshin Farm site is the second of two ISAS reports of investigations at late prehistoric sites endangered by proposed expansion of the Greater Rockford Airport in Winnebago County (see Research Report Vol. #4). Excavations at Keeshin Farm in the Middle Rock River valley uncovered multiple prehistoric pit features containing ceramic and lithic artifacts and botanical and zoological remains. The excavations revealed a living area clustered around a central communal work space. The site's inhabitants appeared to be dedicated corn agriculturalists who also exploited riverine fauna and elk. This is one of the few modern excavation/analysis projects at a Langford habitation site, and the only such scientific excavation to occur outside northeastern Illinois. The project results suggest that Langford society was more sedentary and more complex than previously thought. "While the Langford occupation of the middle Rock River emphasized floodplain habitats, the focus was on rich habitats [like] the Kiswaukee-Rock River confluence. The settlement-subsistence is characterized by 'long-term villages [and] smaller secondary sites' (p. 188), with maize cultivation becoming an important staple as tribal social-political relationships became more complex." "For researchers concerned with the Langford tradition of northern Illinois, Keeshin Farm is a must read. And for those whose interests extend beyond the Upper Midwest, this volume is a welcome contribution to the archaeology of late prehistoric small-scale societies." [Roland L. Rodell, Illinois Archaeology 13:142-144, 2001]

The Keeshin Farm Site and the Rock River Langford Tradition in Northern Illinois (Transportation Archaeological Research Reports)

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