Colonial Chesapeake Taverns

Rod Cofield

After a meeting hiatus for the summer CCASM met on September 19 to hear Rod Cofield talk about colonial taverns in the Chesapeake.  Rod shared historic documents that gave us a glimpse into taverns and tavern life in the Cheasapeke during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.  We learned the cost of various beverages and also that sharing a bed or stabling a horse actually cost about the same as a quart of cider, the cheapest drink, at one tavern.  It's always interesting to see actual ledgers associated with actual people.

 

Rod Cofield is the Executive Director of Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum. 

This was our second hybrid Zoom/in-person meeting where the speaker also attended via Zoom.  There were a few hiccups at first, but then everything started working.  Thanks to Jim for using his account to set up the Zoom meeting.

Before the Meeting - Setting up and Catching up

Attendance: 15 (including 3 via Zoom)

 

Archaeological Signature of American Taverns

Laura Masur

At the December 10 CCASM Zoom meeting Laura Masur spoke about Beyond the Urban-Rural Divide: The Archaeological 'Signature' of American Taverns.  We normally expect a tavern site to have remains of drinking vessels – wine bottles, wine glasses, mugs – and loads of tobacco pipes.  But Laura described a project she worked on several years ago that made her rethink what to expect when digging a tavern.  She realized that what is found at a tavern site can depend on 
  - Time: Changes in material culture in material culture from 17th to 19th centuries
  - Location: Urban, rural, stagecoach route, fishing outpost, community center, ...
  - Specialization: Farmstead tavern, hosting guests, serving food, ...

What we normally expect to see at tavern site

Laura Masur is an Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, The Catholic University of America. 
Her current project is Priestly Plantations: An Archaeology of Jesuit Missions in British North America.  In 2021 she will be working at Webster Field (geophysical survey) and in 2022 plans are to work at Newtowne. 

A snapshot of a few of those listening to the talk -

Attendance: 12