archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
coquina queries
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
Table of Contents
unit 1
4-11
unit 2 unit 3
12-16
ingredients of a florida fort 2
17-28
castillo de san marcos
unit 4
unit 5
29-38
39-48
unit 6
49-58
sugarcane and sugar mills in early florida
unit 7
59-67
the turnbull plantation
unit 8
68-74
the ximenez-fatio house
unit 9
75-82
huguenot cemetery
unit 10
83-93
ingredients of a florida fort 1
coquina
quicklime
Mala Compra
life of a florida plantation
Mala Compra
how archaeology works
a british settlement in florida
florida’s coquina hotel
coquina preserving the past
coquina conservation
taking care of our history
Credits
Produced by the Northeast Regional Center of the Florida Public Archaeology Network at Flagler College:
Kelley Weitzel, Author and Educational Consultant
Sarah E. Miller, Project Director
Christy Wood-Pritchard, Assistant Project Director
Hannah Locke and Mathew Armstrong, Project Assistants
Ashley Moen, Graphic Design
Ian Latchmansing, Web Design
Shelley Sass and Antoinette Wallace, Project Consultants
This project has been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic
Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.
Unless otherwise specified, images are original photographs by Kelley Weitzel.
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
fitting coquina
queries
into your curriculum
As educators, we have limited time in which to share important information and skills with our students. Each
Coquina Queries unit combines three content areas: coquina structures, archaeological processes, and events and
persons in Florida history. These units balance reading and writing with hands-on activities to stimulate student
interest while building FCAT skills.
Each unit includes a teacher cover page with the following information. Please use this information
to incorporate Coquina Queries lessons with other class content.
Items on the Teacher Cover Page:
• Academic Outcomes / Lesson Objectives
• Sunshine State Standards Assessed
• Resources List
• Materials List
• Answer Key for Experiment or Activity
• Student Articles & Activities List
• Vocabulary List
• Assessment Options, Including 2 Writing Prompts and 2 Assessment Questions
In addition, each student section begins with a paragraph titled, “Why Are We Studying…?” the Castillo,
Coquina, Sugar Mills, etc. This introduction provides students with a context for future learning and explains
why class time is being spent on this material.
These units were designed for 4th-5th grade classrooms, but have been reviewed by educators in 2nd-8th grades
and found appropriate for each with some modification. Please utilize those articles and activities that are most
appropriate to the needs of your class.
Coquina Queries is a valuable resource for any Florida teacher. Educators residing in NE Florida (between
Jacksonville and New Smyrna) will find the added benefit that many of the coquina sites discussed are within
fieldtrip distance of their classrooms. Please plan to visit these coquina sites as part of your experience of
Coquina Queries.
Teaching Across the Curriculum: Coquina Queries units may be taught in the order listed below; however,
they are designed to stand alone. You may also choose to utilize student articles from varying units to support
your own lesson goals. Please review these definitions of coquina, archaeology, and Florida history, then read on
to see how each unit addresses these important topics in Florida’s past.
What is Coquina? This stone was an important building material in Florida’s past. It influenced the outcome of
wars, colonial efforts, slave plantations, and Florida’s basic economy. It was used to build forts, homes, plantations,
canals, and even tombstones.
What is Archaeology? Archaeology is the study of past humans by analyzing the artifacts and structures they
left behind. Even in the absence of written documents, old buildings and other man-made items like plates,
windowpanes, and trash pits can teach us about the people who lived in our state long ago.
What is History? History is the study of past humans by analyzing the written documents they left behind. Many significant structures in Florida history were built from coquina, including sugar mills, plantation sites,
hotels, cemeteries, and, of course, the Castillo de San Marcos. A variety of old written documents (including
letters, newspapers, and journals) help to clarify the histories of these unique Florida sites.
1
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
how does each unit relate to
coquina, archaeology, and
florida history?
unit 1: ingredients of a florida fort 1 - coquina
coquina – Both the Castillo de San Marcos and Ft. Matanzas were fashioned from coquina stone.
archaeology – These forts are some of the best-preserved coquina features in Florida.
fl history – Coquina’s impervious nature meant that the Castillo never fell in battle, though at times it had
Spanish, English, and Americans flags flying over it.
unit 2: ingredients of a florida fort 2 - quicklime
coquina – Quicklime is the mortar used to bind coquina stones together into walls.
archaeology – Without a limewash coating, coquina features like the Castillo are constantly subject
to erosion.
fort to resist attacks from pirates, English soldiers, and Georgian Patriots.
fl history – Quicklime held the coquina stones together against forces as extreme as cannon fire, helping the unit 3: castillo de san marcos
coquina – The Castillo is the most prominent Florida structure fashioned from coquina stone.
archaeology – This unit reviews archaeology and repairs performed at the Castillo and introduces the use of Munsell Color Charts as an archaeology tool.
fl history – Reviews the history of the building of the fort, its battles, and its many rulers.
unit 4: Mala Compra – life of a florida plantation
coquina – Plantation houses, overseer’s huts, and sugar mills were constructed from coquina stone.
archaeology – Studying artifacts from slave ruins and from plantation houses teaches us about the life
styles of the different groups who lived on plantations.
Seminole through the Second Seminole War, and the European Floridians through the plantation owner’s
activities in the US Congress. This unit serves as an excellent introduction to “Mala Compra – How
Archaeology Works.”
fl history – The plantations affected all of Florida’s population: the Africans through imposed slavery, the unit 5: Mala Compra – how archaeology works
coquina – The foundation of the Mala Compra main house and overseer’s house were built from
coquina stone.
Florida’s plantation owners.
archaeology – This lesson plan models the archaeological process.
fl history – Discussion of the artifacts and features found at Mala Compra give insights into the lives of early unit 6: sugarcane and sugar mills in early florida
coquina – The sugar mills were fashioned from coquina stone.
archaeology – Archaeological investigations proved that the Cruger-DePeyster site was actually a sugar
mill and not an old Spanish Mission.
history. The Seminole destroyed these mills during the Second Seminole War.
fl history – Sugar production was one of the primary drives for the importance of slave labor in Florida
2
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
how does each unit relate to
coquina, archaeology, and
florida history?
unit 7: the turnbull plantation – a british settlement in florida
coquina – A huge coquina feature, located in Old Fort Park in New Smyrna, was a significant building in the Turnbull Plantation. One of their canals was also lined with coquina, and their old coquina wharf is still
visible at low tide.
archaeology – Archaeology work at nearby sites has discovered homes where the colonists / indentured servants lived. Students use dated artifacts to place a colonist’s house in history.
fl history – English plantations were moneymaking ventures rather than homesteads, and Turnbull was one of the few to depend on indentured servants instead of slaves. He introduced a huge Minorcan population to Florida, which still survives in St. Augustine today.
unit 8: the ximenez-fatio house – florida’s coquina hotel
coquina – Ximenez originally built his house and nearby kitchen from coquina stone.
archaeology – Discusses artifacts found at the house as well as conservation archaeology needed to repair fl
water damage to the coquina structure. Discusses interpretation and learning opportunities relating
to archaeology.
history – Over its long life, the Ximenez-Fatio house served as a home, a general store, a billiard room, a boarding house, and a museum. In many of these aspects, it offered resources important to Florida’s
growing tourism economy.
unit 9: huguenot cemetery – coquina preserving the past
coquina – Several of the grave markers at Huguenot were fashioned from coquina stone.
archaeology – Discusses ways that stone markers stand the test of time while less durable documents (like
newspapers or death certificates) often perish.
fl history – Discusses the ways cemeteries preserve information about past events (like epidemics) and past lives (including the manager of the Ximenez-Fatio Hotel).
unit 10: coquina conservation – taking care of our history
coquina – Many of Florida’s coquina structures are under attack from chemical, biological, and human threats. archaeology – An archaeological conservator’s job is to thwart these attacks and work to preserve and restore
the coquina structures for future generations.
Mala Compra, the Ximenez-Fatio House, and the Castillo de San Marcos.
fl history – Describes the history of conservation efforts at several coquina structures in Florida, including
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
ingredients of a florida fort:
part 1 - coquina stone
Students learn how coquina stone is formed
and how it changed Florida history.
academic outcomes/lesson objectives:
• Students read selections introducing them to the science of coquina formation and the ways this stone has
influenced history in Florida.
sunshine state standards assessed:
social studies 4th-5th
• (SS.A.6.2.2) Understands the influence of geography on the history of Florida.
SCIENCE 4TH
• (SC.4.E.6.3) Recognize that humans need resources found on Earth and that these are either renewable
or nonrenewable.
• (SC.4.E.6.4) Describe the basic differences between physical weathering (breaking down of rock by wind, water,
ice, temperature change, and plants) and erosion (movement of rock by gravity, wind, water, and ice). • (SC.4.E.6.6) Identify resources available in Florida (water, phosphate, oil, limestone, silicon, wind, and
solar energy). • (SC.4.N.3.1) Explain that models can be three dimensional, two dimensional, an explanation in your mind, or
a computer model.
SCIENCE 5TH
• (SC.5.N.2.1) Recognize and explain that science is grounded in empirical observations that are testable;
explanation must always be linked with evidence.
• (SC.5.P.8.2) Investigate and identify materials that will dissolve in water and those that will not and identify the
conditions that will speed up or slow down the dissolving process.
• (SC.5.P.9.1) Investigate and describe that many physical and chemical changes are affected by temperature. resources:
Florida Public Archaeology Network. 28 February 2008 <http://www.flpublicarchaeology.org>.
“Quarry Historical Site.” Florida State Parks. 28 February 2008
<http://www.floridastateparks.org/anastasia/Quarry.cfm>.
“Castillo de San Marcos.” National Park Service. 28 February 2008
<http://www.nps.gov/casa/>.
materials list for experiment 1:
Chewy granola bars (1 per student team), table sugar, spoons (one per student team), glasses of water (1 per student
team), limestone (1 small piece per student team), bowls (1 per student team), 2-liter bottle of Sprite
materials list for experiment 11:
Thick slabs of Styrofoam (1 per student team), Hammers (1 per student team)
This project has been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic
Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.
4
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
ingredients of a florida fort:
part 1 - coquina stone
Students learn how coquina stone is formed
and how it changed Florida history.
answer key for experiment 1:
The sugar should dissolve in pure water and become invisible. The warmer the water, the quicker the sugar
will dissolve because heat catalyzes (speeds) the reaction. Limestone (calcium carbonate) will not dissolve in
pure water. However, it will dissolve in acidic liquids, like Sprite. The fizzing chemical reaction occurs when
the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) releases CO2 into the liquid. Note: The chunk of limestone will not dissolve
completely. The chewy granola bar should soften in the sun’s heat. Just as heat makes the sugar in the glass of
water dissolve more quickly, the sun’s heat melts the sugary paste inside the granola bar. This is a model of how
acid rain can speed the breakdown of the natural cement that holds coquina stone together (just as acidic sprite
dissolves the limestone).
answer key for experiment 11:
The Styrofoam is similar to coquina because both have plenty of airspaces inside to absorb shock. The hammer
strike should dent the Styrofoam, but not crack it or break through. Hint: Try different size hammers to mimic
the strikes of different sizes of cannonballs.
author: Kelley Weitzel, http://www.KelleyWeitzel.com
student articles & activities:
1. What is coquina?
2. EXPERIMENT 1: What is the paste inside coquina? 3. What’s a fort really for?
4. EXPERIMENT 2: How do coquina forts stand up to cannon fire?
5. How is coquina being used today?
vocabulary:
Absorb, Acidic, Calcium, Cement, Coast, Coquina Stone, Coquina Shell, Defenses, Dissolve,
Impact, Particles, Process, Sea Level, Structures, Support
assesment options:
writing prompt #1: Many old forts, like the Castillo de San Marcos, are no longer needed to protect our
modern cities. Think about the different ways you might be able to make one of these huge stony buildings useful again. Write to explain what you would do with an old Florida fort if you had plenty of money to work with.
writing prompt #2: Some Floridians believe that coquina stone should only be used to repair important
old buildings while others wish to crush coquina stone for use in road-making. Think about whether the
government should save this natural stone for forts or allow it to be crushed and used to in road construction.
Write to explain how you feel coquina should be used in our state.
assessment #1: Review the article titled, “What is Coquina?” Describe the process of coquina formation.
assessment #2: Review the article titled, “Try this Experiment – Standing Up to Cannon Fire.” Explain
why early Floridians preferred to build some structures with coquina stone and other structures with brick.
assessment #3:
Review the article titled, “Try this Experiment – What is the Paste Inside Coquina?” Explain why a granola bar is a good model for a block of coquina stone
5
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
ingredients of a florida fort:
part 1 - coquina stone
Students learn how coquina stone is formed
and how it changed Florida history.
why are we studying about coquina?
We’re studying coquina because this stone played an important role in Florida history. Some coquina stone
was used to make forts. These powerful buildings prevented battles between European nations. In other cases,
coquina stone was used to build homes, businesses, canals, and even beautiful tombstones. Without our coquina
resources, Florida’s history might have been very different. Our official language might be Spanish or French
instead of English. Florida’s early Indians might have triumphed over the Europeans, so that Florida would be a
native nation today. Because coquina buildings played a huge role in shaping our state’s history, it’s important for
Florida kids to know about this unusual kind of stone.
what is coquina?
People don’t make coquina stone. Nature does, and it takes
thousands of years for coquina to form! Coquina is a mixture of
shell and sand, and this unusual stone is found in only a few places
around the world. The shells come from tiny clams called Donax. (Some people call these tiny clams coquina shells.) The shells
are made from a material called “calcium carbonate” (kal-see-um
car-bun-nut). After the shell animals die, waves crush them up and
wash the tiny shell bits onto sandy beaches. Each day, waves carry
the sand and shell pieces up and down the coast, mixing
them together.
How does this mixture of sand and shell change into stone? The
coquina process depends on two things: changes in sea level and
plenty of rain. At times during our planet’s history, the ocean
level was 400 feet lower than it is now. This means that parts of
the ocean bottom were high and dry. At other times, the ocean’s
surface was 100 feet higher than it is today. This means the entire
state of Florida was under water! When dry land changes into
deep ocean, coquina can start to form.
How? Diagram 1. When the shells and sand are high and dry,
rainwater begins to change them. Rain is naturally a little acidic
(uh-sid-ik). This means it dissolves the tiny bits of shell. Donax Shells
1.
2.
3.
Diagram 2. The dissolved material settles to the bottom. It sticks
to the remaining shells and sand. There, it serves as a natural paste
or cement. Over time, coquina stone is formed! Diagram 3. When sea levels change again, the new coquina stone
will be covered by seawater. Waves will dump more shells and
sand on top of the coquina.
4.
Diagram 4. As sea levels drop again, rainwater dissolves the new
shells. The cementing process starts all over again.
Diagram 5. This means that coquina stone is often found
sandwiched between layers of shelly sand.
6
5.
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
ingredients of a florida fort:
part 1 - coquina stone
Students learn how coquina stone is formed
and how it changed Florida history.
In some places, coquina stone is made of mostly shell with just a
little sand mixed in. This is very common in north Florida, from
St. Augustine all the way down to Cape Canaveral. Other coquina
stone is made of mostly sand with just a little shell mixed in. This
kind of coquina is common in central and southern Florida, from
Cape Canaveral down to West Palm Beach. Coquina Stone
7
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
ingredients of a florida fort:
part 1 - coquina stone
Students learn how coquina stone is formed
and how it changed Florida history.
try this experiment - what is the paste inside coquina?
BACKGROUND: Look at this picture of coquina stone. Did you
ever wonder what sticks all those tiny shells and bits of sand together? The paste is not easy to spot. Even if you examine a chunk of coquina
under a magnifying glass, you mainly see sand and broken shell. But
the paste is there. It’s a natural paste, called calcium carbonate. This
calcium carbonate comes from the ocean and is made up of old,
dissolved seashells.
Coquina Stone
Wait a minute. We just said the natural paste is called Calcium Carbonate. Weren’t oyster shells made of
“Calcium Carbonate” too? Absolutely. The waves and ocean chemicals break down seashells into tiny
microscopic bits. And these bits dissolve in the seawater.
You can try this at home with sugar. If you look closely at a spoonful of sugar, you can see the tiny sugar grains.
(In our comparison, the sugar grains are similar to the seashells in the ocean.) After you’ve examined the sugar,
dump it into a big glass of water and stir. The sugar will dissolve and disappear. But it’s still there! In fact, if
you take a sip of the water, you can taste its sweetness. The sugar is definitely there, but you can’t see it anymore.
(The same thing happens to seashells when they dissolve in seawater. The dissolved shells are still there, even
though we can’t see them! And it’s these dissolved shells that make the paste inside coquina.)
How can we learn more about this natural paste? Try looking at a chewy granola bar. Do you see a
combination of seeds and nuts? Just like in coquina, these materials are cemented together by a natural paste. The natural paste in a granola bar is made of butter and sugar. If you leave a granola bar outside on a hot day,
the sun’s energy will melt this sugary paste. Once melted, the granola bar is easy to squash or break. If you tried
this with a chunk of coquina, you’d see that heat does not damage the “calcium carbonate” paste in coquina. However, other environmental forces, like rainwater, do damage coquina. Naturally acidic rains can dissolve the
calcium carbonate along the edges of coquina stones. That’s why coquina has a rough, bumpy surface. The
smooth natural paste has eroded away.
EXPERIMENT: Place a piece of limestone in a bowl. (Limestone is another form of calcium carbonate). Pour
a weak acid (like Sprite) over it. What happens? Does it fizz? If the answer is “yes,” then your limestone is
giving off carbon dioxide gas. This gassy reaction proves that the acids in Sprite are breaking down the
limestone. But don’t worry. Since Sprite is much more acidic (and much more destructive) than rainwater,
the Castillo isn’t in danger of dissolving any time soon. Still, Florida’s archaeologists are always looking ahead,
studying ways to protect the Fort from future dangers.
Granola Bar
8
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
ingredients of a florida fort:
part 1 - coquina stone
Students learn how coquina stone is formed
and how it changed Florida history.
cool fact:
Modern concrete blocks have pointed corners. So why do the
blocks we see in old coquina forts have rounded corners? They
didn’t start out that way. Look at the photo below. It shows
newly replaced yellow coquina blocks next to the old rounded
gray blocks at the Castillo de San Marcos. In the beginning, the
gray blocks had pointed corners too. So what happened? Over
time, the acidic properties of rain eroded away the edges. This
makes the old blocks look rounded.
Repointed Wall at the Castillo
what’s a fort really for?
A fort is a heavy-duty building with only one job. It keeps the peace. That’s right. Forts are designed to STOP
attacks, never to start them. Over the years, the Spanish built nine wooden forts at St. Augustine. Whenever the
French or the English or marauding pirates burned down one wooden fort, the Spanish built a new one. Finally,
in the 1670s, the Spanish discovered coquina stone. This sturdy natural stone could not be burned down. This
made the new coquina fort a very good peacekeeper.
How? The Spanish soldiers mounted many cannons on the top of the Castillo de San Marcos. They fired these
cannons at enemy ships to stop them from getting too close. Meanwhile, inside the coquina Fort, these Spanish
soldiers were safe from any cannonballs the ships might fire back at them. It worked so well that no enemy ship
ever got close enough to attack the town of St. Augustine. In fact, the Castillo was NEVER captured in battle. When English soldiers attacked from land instead of from sea, the Castillo’s tall coquina walls kept them out. During each of these attacks, the people of St. Augustine hid inside the Fort until the attacking soldiers gave up
and left. That’s how the Castillo kept the peace. But it did have one weakness.
In the year 1740, Spanish leaders noticed that the Castillo’s cannons couldn’t shoot very far to the south. If
English ships sailed up from that direction, the Spanish soldiers would need a backup plan for protecting the city
of St. Augustine. They decided to build another smaller coquina fort (Ft. Matanzas) south of town. When the
English general, Oglethorpe, attacked from the south, the Spanish were ready. The cannons at Ft. Matanzas
drove the English ships away! Both coquina forts, the Castillo and Ft. Matanzas, protected St. Augustine’s people. After all, that’s what forts do. They help to keep the PEACE.
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
ingredients of a florida fort:
part 1 - coquina stone
Students learn how coquina stone is formed
and how it changed Florida history.
try this experiment - standing up to cannon fire
QUESTION: Ever wonder why coquina forts are so strong? Cannonballs fired at the Castillo de San Marcos
NEVER broke through the walls. They never even cracked the coquina stone. Instead, cannonballs hit the fort
walls and rolled down to the ground. If the fort had been made of brick, cannonballs would have torn it apart.
Why? Let’s find out!
BACKGROUND: How are brick and coquina different?
1. Brick is made from a fire-hardened mixture of clay and water. During the brick-making process, all of the air is squeezed out of
the wet clay. (See how close together the clay particles are in the
drawing?) At this point, the clay bricks are very soft. They must
sit and dry for seven weeks, and then be heated in a very hot fire
for six days. The heating process makes these bricks sturdy enough
to support the weight of a whole building.
Brick Wall
2. People make bricks, but only nature can make coquina stone. The actions of wind and water paste together sand and bits of shell
over thousands of years. When it is still wet, coquina stone is soft. Sometimes it is soft enough to crush in your hand. Heating the wet stone doesn’t make it any harder. Instead, the
stones must be allowed to dry for one to three YEARS until they
are sturdy enough to support the weight of a whole building. And
you thought it took a long time to make bricks!
Coquina Wall
3. We know that in bricks, the clay particles are pressed close
together. Coquina stone is very different. Nature has squeezed
the shell bits as close together as possible, but there are still tiny air
spaces between them. These air spaces are the secret to coquina’s
strength. When a cannonball hits a coquina wall, the force presses
the shell bits inward. Since these shells are pressing against air
spaces, the air absorbs (or soaks up) most of the cannonball’s force. In fact, the air stops the dangerous force, so it doesn’t cause further
damage. A cannonball may leave a dent, but it won’t tear through
the coquina wall or even crack it.
Coquina Wall
4. Brick walls are a totally different story. Why? The brick
particles have no air spaces between them for soaking up
destructive forces. When a cannonball hits a brick wall, the clay
particles get crushed against one another. Under that kind of
pressure, the bricks just crack! Bricks are great for building quick
houses, but they’re a poor choice for the walls of a fort!
Brick Wall
10
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
ingredients of a florida fort:
part 1 - coquina stone
Students learn how coquina stone is formed
and how it changed Florida history.
standing up to cannon fire, continued
EXPERIMENT: Set a piece of thick Styrofoam (from a packing box) on the sidewalk. Styrofoam has lots of air
spaces inside it. Does this make it more like a brick or more like a coquina block? In this experiment, we’ll use
the force of a hammer to represent the force of a cannonball. (No, we won’t throw the hammer. We’ll just use it
to hit the Styrofoam.) What do you think will happen when a hammer hits a piece of Styrofoam? Write a hypothesis stating your idea. Next, use the hammer to give the Styrofoam a direct hit. Observe what happens, and record your
observations here.
What have you learned from your experiment? Is Styrofoam more like a brick or more like a coquina block? Write your conclusions here. cool fact:
Cannonballs were made in many different sizes. A small cannonball (the size of a baseball) weighed about 8 pounds. Let’s think
about how heavy that actually is. A gallon of water weighs just
over eight pounds. Imagine somebody firing a gallon jug of water
at you from a cannon! That would HURT! And that’s the weight
of a SMALL cannonball. Some cannonballs weighed 40 pounds!
how is coquina stone used today?
Today, construction companies use coquina to build new roads. They dig up coquina stone, grind it into pieces,
and then spread the coquina crumbles across the ground – right where the new road will go. This crushed
coquina makes the dirt hard and flat, so it’s ready for the new road to be built.
Some citizens are concerned that Florida may be running out of coquina stone. They believe that all of the
remaining coquina should be protected. Other people think it should only be used to fix the old forts when these
important buildings begin to fall apart. Still others believe that anyone should be able to use this beautiful stone
in their homes and yards. What do you think?
11
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
ingredients
ingredients in
of aa florida
florida fort:
fort:
part
part 11
11 -- quicklime
quicklime
Students
Students learn
learn how
how quicklime
quicklime has
has been
been used
found
throughout
throughout history.
history.
academic outcomes/lesson objectives:
• Students read selections introducing them to ways that quicklime (the mortar used to glue coquina blocks together)
has influenced history in Florida and abroad.
sunshine state standards assessed:
social studies 4th-5th
• (SS.A.6.2.2) Understands the influence of geography on the history of Florida. SCIENCE 4TH
• (SC.4.P.9.1) Identify some familiar changes in materials that result in other materials with different characteristics,
such as decaying animal or plant matter, burning, rusting, and cooking.
SCIENCE 5TH
• (SC.5.P.8.2) Investigate and identify materials that will dissolve in water and those that will not and identify the
conditions that will speed up or slow down the dissolving process.
• (SC.5.P.9.1) Investigate and describe that many physical and chemical changes are affected by temperature.
resources:
Florida Public Archaeology Network. 28 February 2008 <http://www.flpublicarchaeology.org>.
“Quarry Historical Site.” Florida State Parks. 28 February 2008
<http://www.floridastateparks.org/anastasia/Quarry.cfm>.
“Castillo de San Marcos.” National Park Service. 28 February 2008
<http://www.nps.gov/casa/>.
materials list:
None
answer key for activity:
1. Carbon Dioxide is written as CO2. So it has 1 Carbon and 2 Oxygens.
2. Water is written as H 2O. So it has 2 Hydrogens and 1 Oxygen.
3. Alcohol is written as C2H6O. So it has 2 Carbons, 6 Hydrogens, and 1 Oxygen.
4. Sugar is written as C6H12O6. So it has 6 Carbons, 12 Hydrogens, and 6 Oxygens.
author: Kelley Weitzel, http://www.KelleyWeitzel.com
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
ingredients of a florida fort:
part 11 - quicklime
Students learn how quicklime has been found
throughout history.
student articles & activities:
1. What is quicklime?
2. What are other uses for quicklime?
3. Why doesn’t the fort explode when it rains?
4. ACTIVITY: Chemistry in Action
vocabulary:
Acidic, Calcium, Carbon, Cement, Coquina, Degree, Dissolve, Erode, Exothermic, Fahrenheit,
Hydrogen, Limestone, Mason, Mortar, Oxygen, Putty, Quicklime, Reaction, Romans, Whitewash
assesment options:
writing prompt #1: Quicklime has been used both as a fertilizer and as a weapon. Think about an
everyday material that can be used in both positive and negative ways. Write to explain at least one positive way
and one negative way your material can be used.
writing prompt #2: Ancient Romans allowed “slaked lime” to age for three years before using it to build
a wall. Think about how life might change if people today had to wait three years before building a new home.
Write to explain how life would be different if people had to wait three years to build any new structure.
assessment #1: Most people don’t realize that chemistry played a big part in Florida’s history. Explain how
quicklime (or some other chemical) has changed the lives of Floridians in the past or present.
assessment #2: Based on your reading of the article titled, “Chemistry in Action,” explain how letters and
numbers are used in a chemical equation.
This project has been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic
Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.
13
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
ingredients of a florida fort:
part 11 - quicklime
Students learn how quicklime has been found
throughout history.
why are we studying about quicklime?
Quicklime is the mortar (glue) that holds coquina blocks together in the walls of old forts, like the Castillo de San
Marcos. We’re studying quicklime because it demonstrates the important role that chemistry played in Florida’s
history. In early Florida, chemistry wasn’t something that happened in science classes or laboratories. It happened
out in the real world. The Spanish used chemistry to make quicklime mortar. Without this important glue, the
Castillo de San Marcos could never have been built. Think about it. Without that fort, the English might have
conquered Florida sooner. Or, if things had gone differently, the native people may have pushed the Spanish
explorers right out of Florida. Without quicklime mortar, many of Florida’s forts, hotels, stores, sugar mills,
homes, and canals would never have existed. The chemistry of quicklime changed our history, just as the
chemistry of plastics and fossil fuels is changing our world today.
what is quicklime?
To build a coquina fort, the Spanish explorers needed a mortar (or glue) that could fasten the large coquina blocks
tightly together. The mortar they used is called “quicklime.” They made it by burning oyster shells for about 12
hours in a fire. This fire was hotter than 2200 degrees Fahrenheit. It made the burned shells so brittle that you
could actually break them with your fingers. Intense heat changes the chemicals found in oyster shells. In the
beginning, oysters are made from calcium carbonate (CaCO3). The heat causes some of the carbon (C) and
oxygen (O) to escape as CO2, carbon dioxide. What’s left behind? Calcium (Ca) and oxygen (O) which makes
CaO. Another name for CaO is “quicklime.” It’s called quicklime because it reacts very “quickly” with water. What kind of chemical reaction occurs? A VIOLENT one!
This violent reaction is called “slaking,” and it requires plenty of safety gear, including goggles, gloves, and a
mask. Masons (professional stone workers) use the slaking process to replace the broken mortar on old forts. To
do it safely, they add a few burned oyster shells to a tiny bit of water. After a minute or so, the water starts to boil
and spit. This slaking reaction creates a lot of heat! Imagine a birthday cake with 420 flaming candles. That’s
enough heat to make you jump back. It might even singe your eyebrows off! And that’s the “safe” way to
slake lime.
What’s the unsafe way? If someone just poured lots of water over the burned oyster shells, they’d get a downright
EXPLOSION. This chemical reaction produces heat SO QUICKLY that the chemicals actually explode. (Remember, it’s called “quicklime” for a reason!) Any reaction that produces heat is called an “exothermic” reaction. The prefix “exo-” means “outside,” and the
root word “thermal” means “heat.” Exothermic reactions put out heat…LOTS of heat. For this reason, burning
oyster shells to create quicklime should never be tried at school or at home. It could have some
messy consequences.
What happens during a safe slaking process? The oyster shells dissolve, turning the bubbling water from clear to
creamy white. In just minutes, a whitish putty will form. This putty is called “slaked lime.” Slaked lime should
be stored in an airtight container for AT LEAST three months. Then it can be spread between two coquina
building blocks as a glue that holds the stones together. The Romans built many structures using slaked lime. They actually had a law that said lime putty had to age for three years before it was used in a building. Three
years! That takes a lot of planning.
14
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
ingredients of a florida fort:
part 11 - quicklime
Students learn how quicklime has been found
throughout history.
Spanish fort builders also allowed their slaked lime to age before using it, often for a whole year. Then they used
this putty as a mortar to hold coquina blocks together. Once the coquina walls were complete, the Spanish also
used slaked lime to give the walls a protective coating. They made a whitewash by adding extra water to the lime
putty and thinning it into a paint-like mixture. Don’t worry; it’s safe to add water now. Next, they took the
whitish liquid and poured it over the coquina walls to form a smooth, white layer. This whitewash helped protect
the coquina stone from the weather and from wildflowers and vines that might grow roots into the stone.
At the Castillo de San Marcos, we don’t see a whitish coating on the coquina walls today. Why not? Sometime
during the last three hundred and thirty years, the Castillo’s protective lime coating probably just washed away in
the rain. This kind of coating needs to be repainted at least once every five years. Otherwise, the rain will wash
it away completely.
what are other uses for quicklime?
For years, farmers have used quicklime as a fertilizer. Quicklime is
made of the mineral calcium, so it actually adds minerals to the soil.
When crops like potatoes, peanuts, and watermelons soak up the
calcium, this natural fertilizer helps them grow.
Quicklime can also be used to kill germs. In old-style bathrooms
(called privies), quicklime was dropped down into the hole where
people went to the bathroom. The quicklime helped destroy any
germs (and grossness) that might be down there. Pretty
useful, right? Oyster Shells
Unfortunately, quicklime had another purpose. Long ago, the
Greeks mixed quicklime with water, and this violent reaction
created a weapon called “Greek Fire.” During battles, they threw
this flaming material at attacking ships. Because ships were made of
wood, Greek Fire was a deadly effective weapon. Today, quicklime
is only used for peaceful purposes, usually as a fertilizer on farms.
Coquina Well with Quicklime Mortar
15
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
ingredients of a florida fort:
part 11 - quicklime
Students learn how quicklime has been found
throughout history.
why doesn’t the fort explode when it rains?
If we look back at the previous passage, we see that only
BURNED oyster shells explode when you add water. Plain oyster
shells are safe. And the slaked lime you get afterwards is safe.
Does this seem strange? It actually makes perfect sense. Each of
these three materials (oyster shells, burned shells, and slaked lime)
has a different chemical equation. That means they are made of
different things.
Castillo de San Marcos
1. Regular oyster shells are made of a chemical called Calcium Carbonate. Its chemical equation is written as CaCO3. This tells us that it has 1 Calcium (Ca), 1 Carbon (C), and 3 Oxygens (O). 2. Burned oyster shells are made of a chemical called Calcite (Quicklime). Its chemical equation is written
as CaO. This tells us that it has 1 Calcium (Ca) and 1 Oxygen (O).
3. When a mason adds a small amount of water to burned oyster shells, the chemical reaction creates Calcium Hydroxide (Slaked Lime). Its chemical equation is Ca(OH)2. This tells us that it has 1 Calcium (Ca),
2 Oxygens (O), and 2 Hydrogens (H).
Each material has different chemical ingredients. So, it makes sense for each material to have a different reaction
to water. Now you know why the Fort’s mortar and whitewash don’t explode in the rain!
try this activity - chemistry in action:
How many Hydrogens, Carbons, and Oxygens are found in each chemical equation? Hint: The number that
describes “how many” can be found AFTER each letter. The first one is completed as an example.
1. Carbon Dioxide is written as CO2. So it has 1 Carbon(s) and 2 Oxygen(s).
2. Water is written as H 2O. So it has _________ Hydrogen(s) and __________ Oxygen(s).
3. Alcohol is written as C2H6O. So it has _________ Carbon(s), ________ Hydrogen(s), and
________ Oxygen(s).
4. Sugar is written as C6H12O6. So it has _________ Carbons, _________ Hydrogens, and
________ Oxygens.
16
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
castillo de san marcos:
Students learn about the history of Florida’s most
famous coquina fort.
academic outcomes/lesson objectives:
• Students read selections introducing them to the ways that the Castillo de San Marcos influenced Florida’s history.
sunshine state standards assessed:
social studies 4th-5th
• (SS.A.4.2.1) Understands the geographic, economic, political, and cultural factors that characterized early
exploration of the Americas.
• (SS.A.6.2.2) Understands the influence of geography on the history of Florida.
• (SS.A.6.2.3) Knows the significant individuals, events, and social, political, and economic characteristics of
different periods in Florida’s history.
• (SS.A.6.2.7) Understands the unique historical conditions that influenced the formation of the state and how
statehood was granted.
resources:
Halbert, Carl. A Cultural Resource Assessment: The Historic Terreplain at Castillo de San Marcos national
Monument, St. Augustine, FL. St. Augustine: Planning and Building Department, 2001.
Arana, Luis Rafael and Albert Manucy. The History of Castillo de San Marcos. St. Augustine, FL: Historic
Printed Map Company, 2005. “Castillo de San Marcos.” National Park Service. 28 February 2008
<http://www.nps.gov/casa/>.
Florida Public Archaeology Network. 28 February 2008 <http://www.flpublicarchaeology.org>.
“Quarry Historical Site.” Florida State Parks. 28 February 2008
<http://www.floridastateparks.org/anastasia/Quarry.cfm>.
Zomlefer, Wendy and David Giannasi. “Floristic Survey of Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, St.
Augustine, Florida.” Castanea. Vol. 70 (2005): 222-236.
materials list:
None
answer key for
activity:
Teachers, be aware that not all students will perceive colors in the same ways.
scientific name
for color
description of layer materials
L
10 YR 8/2
Concrete Slab from the 1960s
K
2.5 YR 7/4
Compacted Coquina Sand
F
2.5 YR 7/2
Coquina Sand
E
10 YR 8/1
Concrete Pavers from 1939
C2
2.5 YR 8/4
Coarse Coquina Sand
C1
2.5 YR 6/2
Tabby Floor
B3
2.5 YR 7/2
Coquina Sand
B2
2.5 YR 6/2
Tabby Floor
A
10 YR 8/1
Concrete Pavers
layer letter
17
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
castillo de san marcos:
Students learn about the history of Florida’s most
famous coquina fort.
author: Kelley Weitzel, http://www.KelleyWeitzel.com
student articles & activities:
1. What is a coquina quarry?
2. How was coquina stone cut?
3. The Long Haul – Building the Castillo
4. Attacks on the Castillo
5. New Rulers
6. What does the Castillo look like?
7. Archaeology at the Castillo
8. ACTIVITY: Matching up Excavation Colors
vocabulary:
Ambush, Archaeology, Coarse, Compacted, Coquina, Erode, Excavate, Foundation, Layer,
Mainland, Mason, Mine, Midden, Moat, Mortar, National Park, Outcropping, Oxen, Pavers,
Quarry, Quarters, Raft, Siege, Slab, State Park, Tabby
assesment options:
writing prompt #1: The Castillo de San Marcos is over 300 years old. Think about how much things can
change over 300 years. Write to explain how life might have been different in the land of Florida 300 years ago.
writing prompt #2: Because the word “brown” can represent many different colors, archaeologists use a
Munsell Color Chart to communicate exact soil colors to other researchers. Think about different ways a person
could describe a specific color, smell, or taste. Write to explain one method you could use to effectively communicate this kind of personal experience.
assessment #1: Review the article, “The Long Haul – Building the Castillo.” Pretend that you are the
Castillo’s commanding officer. Write a letter to the Spanish government explaining why the construction is going
so slowly and why you need more money to finish the job. assessment #2: When the fort was completed in 1695, the workers probably painted its coquina walls with
a protective whitewash. Today, the fort’s coquina walls are bare and exposed to the weather. The fort’s modern
caretakers have considered repainting the walls with the same kind of limewash. This would help to protect the
coquina walls, AND it would make the fort look more like it did in the old Spanish days. On the other hand,
it would be VERY expensive, and the limewash would have to be repainted every five years. Explain why you
believe the Fort’s coquina walls SHOULD or SHOULD NOT be painted with limewash today. This project has been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic
Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.
18
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
castillo de san marcos:
Students learn about the history of Florida’s most
famous coquina fort.
why are we studying the castillo?
St. Augustine is our nation’s oldest city. It survived for so many years because a huge coquina fort, called the
Castillo de San Marcos, protected it from pirates and British soldiers. Later, this fort was used in the Seminole
Wars and in the Civil War. Florida’s history would have been very different without this old coquina fort. what is a coquina quarry?
Coquina is a shelly stone that occurs naturally along
the east coast of Florida. You can see outcroppings of
this stone near Washington Oaks Gardens State Park. Just walk along the beach. You’ll be able to climb on
coquina stones that stick right up out of the sand!
Natural Coquina Outcropping
A quarry is a place where people go to dig up minerals or
stone. The Spanish mined coquina stone from 14 quarries
in the St. Augustine area. You can visit the Old Spanish
Quarry on Anastasia Island. That’s where the Spanish
mined coquina stone to build the fort called Castillo de
San Marcos. There’s a short hiking trail, and you can see
the spots where coquina blocks were cut here long ago.
Coquina Quarry at Anastasia State Park
19
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
castillo de san marcos:
Students learn about the history of Florida’s most
famous coquina fort.
how was coquina stone cut?
Actually, coquina is a fairly soft stone. The Spanish workers had to carefully check each stone before they cut it. Only the hardest stone could be used to build the Fort. Sometimes, fresh coquina is so soft you can crush it in
your hands. You wouldn’t want to build your fort with that! While it’s wet, even the hardest coquina can be cut
with a saw or an axe. The coquina walls you see at the Castillo today are dark and gray, but fresh coquina is
yellow. It changes color as it dries. Look at the image below. It shows old the Castillo’s old gray stones right next
to a few new yellow replacement stones.
How did the original Spanish builders quarry this stone? They began by getting the
Timucua Indians to cut down palmettos and other bushy plants covering the quarry site. Next, a group of
workers (both Timucua and Spanish) dug through the sand until they reached a layer of solid coquina stone. They used axes to cut rectangular grooves into the stone (in the sizes of the blocks they needed). When the
grooves were deep enough, the workers could crack off blocky chunks. Some of the smaller chunks were light
enough for one man to carry. Other chunks were much bigger (four feet long and two feet thick). It took six
men just to budge them. After these heavy, waterlogged stones had been transported to the mainland, skilled
stoneworkers (masons) shaped the rough coquina blocks into perfect rectangles. But how did the workers transport this heavy stone from Anastasia Island back to the mainland? First, they loaded the coquina blocks onto ox-drawn carts. Bit by bit, the oxen
tugged their heavy load toward the coast of Anastasia Island. The Spanish dug several wells along the way to
give the oxen places to rest and drink. Dragging heavy stones is tough work! When the oxen reached the coast,
workers loaded the stone onto sturdy rafts. These wooden rafts floated the heavy coquina blocks to the mainland.
Once the soft, yellow coquina stone had been unloaded, it had to sit and dry for a long time. In fact, it had to dry
for one to three YEARS before it was hard enough to use as a building material.
What did the Spanish do while they waited? First, they kept mining more coquina
stone. Second, they shaped the drying coquina blocks
into rectangles. Third, they worked on making mortar (to use as glue in the Fort’s coquina walls). They
made this mortar by burning oyster shells and then
adding water. The Spanish dug oyster shells out of old
Timucua Indian trash piles (called middens). Many of
the native middens around St. Augustine have disappeared because the Spanish used this shell resource
to make mortar. In a single year, the Spanish could
make enough lime mortar to fill the backs of 145 pickup trucks! They also built up a huge pile of drying
coquina blocks. Finally, they were ready to build.
Quarrying Coquina
(Courtesy of Historic Print & Map Co, St. Augustine)
20
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
castillo de san marcos:
Students learn about the history of Florida’s most
famous coquina fort.
the long haul - building the castillo
Did you know it took 23 YEARS to build the Castillo? That’s a long time to create one building. Why did it
take so long? The Spanish workers suffered from every kind of problem you can imagine. They ran out of
money. Their supply ships were late and sometimes didn’t come at all. Important engineers got sick and died.
Pirates attacked, and then battles with the British caused even more setbacks.
a good start (in 1671)
The bad luck didn’t start right away. During the first
three years, the Spanish managed to build three
coquina walls. The east wall was 15 feet high, the
north wall 20 feet high, and the south wall 12 feet
high. Not bad. But there still wasn’t a west wall. And
the Spanish were worried about British attacks from
Charleston (South Carolina). The Fort needed a
western wall! To solve this problem, the Castillo’s
commander decided to tear down the old wooden fort
and use that wood to build a western wall.
Pretty smart.
money and food problems (1677)
The real problems started about six years into the
project. By then, the government had run out of
money to pay workers and buy supplies. For two
whole years, no work was done on the Fort. When
they finally did get some money, they made good
progress on construction. Then, a couple of years later,
the government ran out of food. They knew they
couldn’t expect people to work without food, so
construction had to stop. The government got so
desperate that they bought food from a passing Dutch
ship, even though it was against the law. Four years
later, in 1687, the government ran out of money again. In 1689, they ran out of food again. Can you see a
pattern here? As you might imagine, these problems
really slowed down the building process.
The Timucua and Spanish work together to build the Castillo.
(Courtesy of Historic Print & Map Co, St. Augustine)
21
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
castillo de san marcos:
Students learn about the history of Florida’s most
famous coquina fort.
battle problems (1683)
Money and food weren’t the only problems the Spanish faced. In 1683, the British tried to attack. They landed
their ships about 14 miles south of St. Augustine. Luckily, the Spanish soldiers were able to ambush the British
and drive them away. But the enemy had gotten so close!
Now the Spanish government worked even harder to finish the Fort. They built its first permanent rooms,
including a bathroom called a latrine. Let’s think about this. The Spanish had been building this fort for 12
years, and they waited this long to install a permanent bathroom? Actually, the latrines were pretty ingenious. Twice a day, when the tide came in, all the waste was washed away. These latrines (Florida’s first flush toilets)
really improved the worker’s lives – unless they happened to be swimming on the beach when the tide went back
out…yuck.
They also built rooms to store food, quarters for soldiers to sleep in, and a prison. During this time, they also dug
the moat – the wide ditch surrounding the Fort. Attacking British soldiers would now have to climb down into
that moat to reach the Fort’s walls. They would be easy to shoot while crossing this dry, open ditch.
finishing the fort (1695)
By 1695, the Spanish and Timucua workers FINALLY finished building the Fort. The last coquina blocks they
added looked yellow alongside the old gray stones from 23 years ago, but it was finally done!
Castillo de San Marcos
22
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
castillo de san marcos:
Students learn about the history of Florida’s most
famous coquina fort.
attacks on the castillo
Even with the Fort completed, the Spanish worried about British attacks. They knew an attacking army might be
able to trap Spanish soldiers inside the Fort. If this happened, the soldiers would eventually run out of food and
water. The government tried to plan ahead by building five storerooms for food. They also dug three wells to
make sure water would be plentiful.
When the British finally did attack, many of St. Augustine’s townspeople raced to the Fort to hide. The attack
lasted for two whole months! During all that time, the soldiers had to share their stored food with the hiding
townspeople. It wasn’t long before food was running out. Luckily, the British soldiers gave up and left before
anyone starved. While leaving, they burned the town of St. Augustine and destroyed many people’s homes.
The Spanish government learned from this attack. They needed to build more defenses around the town,
not just around the Fort. They spent a lot of time
building earthworks - thick walls of dirt that protected
most of St. Augustine. They also planted spiny yucca
plants on top of the earthworks. This plant’s leaves are
so sharp that it became known as “Spanish Bayonet.” A
bayonet is the knife that Spanish soldiers attached to the
end of their long guns. Using Florida’s plants to protect
the city was a great idea. But was it enough?
In 1740, the British attacked with over 1,400 soldiers. 2,000 townspeople from St. Augustine fled into the
fort. They hid inside for 38 days. They had nearly run
out of food by the time the British gave up and left.
What happened next? The everyday people of St.
Augustine banded together to build more protections
for the city of St. Augustine. They volunteered their
own time to construct earthwork walls, working long
hours, even though they weren’t getting paid. They
were proud of their city.
In fact, they were completely surprised when their
government decided to give Florida to the British.
Without government protection, most Spanish citizens
had to leave Florida forever.
Spanish Bayonet
(Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey, SOFIA)
23
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
castillo de san marcos:
Students learn about the history of Florida’s most
famous coquina fort.
new rulers
In 1763, the new British rulers of Florida renamed the Castillo, calling it Fort St. Mark. They only controlled
Florida for 20 years. Why such a short time? As it turns out, the British had other problems to worry about. The
American colonies up north were threatening to revolt. (The American Revolution took place in 1776, remember?) By 1784, Britain agreed to give Florida back to Spain. Of course, Spain had its own worries too. For one
thing, France had just invaded the Spanish homeland. For another, the U.S. government really wanted to own
Florida. In 1821, Spain agreed to give up their rights to Florida. When Florida became part of the U.S., the
Castillo was renamed again. This time the old coquina fort was named Fort Marion, and a 23-star American flag
flew overhead. Florida became a state in 1845. What happened to the Fort under American rule? Here’s a short list. • In 1837, the government captured the Seminole Chief, Osceola. They imprisoned him
at Ft. Marion for a short time. • In 1862, during the Civil War, Union soldiers captured Ft. Marion from Confederate
forces without firing a shot.
• In 1875, the fort was used to imprison Native Americans once again. This time, the
native people were from the Great Plains region out west. These Cheyenne, Arapaho,
Comanche, and Kiona men had refused to settle on reservations. The Fort’s roof was covered with the tents of these captured native people.
• In 1933, Ft. Marion stopped being a military installation and became a National Park.
• In 1942, the U.S. government changed the fort’s name back to Castillo de San Marcos. They did this to honor the Spanish workers who had spent so many years building it. 24
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
castillo de san marcos:
Students learn about the history of Florida’s most
famous coquina fort.
what does the castillo de san marcos look like?
Aerial View of Castillo, Note Dry Moat
(Courtesy of Old City Helicopters, LLC)
Aerial View of Castillo, Note Wet Moat
(Courtesy of St. Johns County VCB)
Can you see the moat (ditch) that goes around the fort? It’s a dry moat – just like it was back in the Spanish days. So why do we sometimes see pictures of the Castillo that show a moat filled with water? (Look at the photo to
the right.) From 1938 to 1996, the moat was filled with water. Why? The Fort’s caretakers believed that the
Spanish had also filled the moat with water, so they allowed seawater to flow in. They hoped this would make the
Fort more realistic. (Today we know that the moat was only flooded when the Fort was under attack.)
Once the moat was full of seawater, the Fort’s coquina walls started soaking up all that moisture. Old cracks in
the coquina stone got longer and wider! (See pictures below.) Once the Park Service discovered the problem,
they drained the water away and repaired the cracks.
Width of Repaired Crack
Crack in Castillo Wall
25
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
castillo de san marcos:
Students learn about the history of Florida’s most
famous coquina fort.
archaeology at the castillo
These wall cracks weren’t the Castillo’s only problems. Its roof – also called the gun deck – had plenty of cracks
and leaks as well. Why? Long ago, the Spanish mounted heavy cannons on the Fort’s roof. This weight put a lot
of stress on the roof surface, creating cracks. In 1993, the National Park Service decided to look for a solution. First, they researched other solutions that had been tried in the past.
1. In 1707, Spanish records showed that the gun deck had already started to leak.
2. In 1890, a 2-inch layer of concrete was added to the gun deck to stop leaks.
3. In 1928, a layer of asphalt was added. But by 1930, the roof was already leaking again.
4. In 1939, the concrete and asphalt were removed along with some of the original tabby surface of the gun deck. Six inches of new concrete were put down.
5. In 1960, 3 more inches of concrete was added.
6. In 1964, the concrete was covered with asphalt and waterproof burlap.
7. In 1977, the entire gun deck was resurfaced with a material that was partly waterproof.
8. In 1993, the gun deck had lots of cracks. Rain was dripping into the rooms below allowing plants and algae to grow. Some cracks were 1 1/2 wide.
The National Park Service decided that past efforts had not been working. They needed to excavate down
through all of these layers to find out exactly where the repair material ended, where the cracks were located, and
where the Castillo’s original materials began.
After carefully excavating small areas and studying
what they found, the archaeologists decided to remove
all of the concrete layers. They would also remove
any original materials that were no longer strong
enough to support the gun deck. Afterwards, they
would lay down a plastic sheet that would prevent
rain from dripping into the rooms below. This sheet
would channel rainwater off the edge of the roof
through concrete gutters called “scuppers.” Finally,
the repair specialists would install a thick layer of
concrete so that visitors would have a safe surface to
walk on. This is how the gun deck looks today,
AFTER the repair work.
Castillo Gun Deck
26
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
castillo de san marcos:
Students learn about the history of Florida’s most
famous coquina fort.
Before archaeologists could begin repairs, they had to carefully
excavate (dig) down to the original tabby roof made by the Spanish. They took careful notes about each layer they dug through. Their
notes described what each layer was made of (for example: concrete,
coquina sand, or tabby). They also noted the Munsell Color of each
layer. What is a “Munsell Color”? Scientists all over the world use
the Munsell Color Chart. It allows them to be clear about exactly
what color soil they’re observing. After all, the term “light brown”
can mean different things to different people. These are some of the
different colors discovered during the Castillo’s gun deck excavation. Sample Munsell Color:
Munsell
Color:
Scientific
Name for
this Color:
10 YR 8/2
2.5 YR 8/4
2.5 YR 7/2
10 YR 8/1
2.5 YR 7/4
2.5 YR 6/2
Description
of Material:
Concrete Slab
(1960s)
Coarse
Coquina Sand
Coquina Sand
Concrete Pavers
(1939)
Compacted
Coquina Sand
Tabby Floor
27
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
castillo de san marcos:
Students learn about the history of Florida’s most
famous coquina fort.
activity - matching up excavation colors
BACKGROUND: When archaeologists excavated
the Castillo’s roof (gun deck), they made this drawing
to show each layer they discovered. Since they could
not record all of their notes on the actual drawing,
they named each layer with a letter (A, B, C). Their
report listed the Munsell Color and Description for
Layers A, B, C, and so on. Color differences often
give archaeologists important clues. For example,
does the new color suggest that a different building
material is being used? Was that layer of floor built
at a different time? Or was that material stained by
water leaking through the roof? The point is…it’s
important for archaeologists to take careful notes
about color. By the way, in this drawing, the letters,
“TS,” stand for pieces of tabby stone.
This is the surface of the Castillo Gun Deck.
The digging started here.
They dug down this far.
DIRECTIONS: You are in charge of recording information about the Castillo gun deck excavation. To
complete your field notes, you’ll need to compare the Munsell colors listed below and match them with the
Munsell Color Chart on the previous page. Refer to the excavation drawing on the previous page to see each
layer. On the lines below, record the scientific name for each Munsell color AND the description of what
material it’s made from. Hint: The archaeologists identified some colors in more than one layer, so you can use
each color more than once.
Archaeologist’s Field Notes:
Layer
Name:
Scientific Name
for this Color:
Munsell
Color:
L
L.
K
K.
F
F.
E
E.
C2
C2.
C1
C1.
B3
B3.
B2
B2.
A
A.
Description of the
Material Found in this Layer:
10 YR 8/2 Concrete Slab from the 1960s
28
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
- life on a
florida plantation
mala compra
Students learn about life on a Florida
Plantation in the early 1800s.
academic outcomes/lesson objectives:
• Students read selections introducing them to Florida’s plantation system and Mala Compra’s owner: General
Joseph Hernandez, Florida’s first Hispanic Congressman. This lesson plan serves as a historical introduction to
the lesson plans: “Mala Compra – How Archaeology Works” and “Sugar Cane and Sugar Mills in Early Florida.”
sunshine state standards assessed:
social studies 4th-5th
• (SS.A.2.2.1) Knows the significant scientific and technological achievements of various societies.
• (SS.A.6.2.1) Understands reasons that immigrants came to Florida and the contributions of immigrants to the
state’s history.
• (SS.A.6.2.3) Knows the significant individuals, events, and social, political, and economic characteristics of
different periods in Florida’s history.
• (SS.A.6.2.6) Understands the cultural, social, and political features of Native American tribes in Florida’s history.
• (SS.A.6.2.7) Understands the unique historical conditions that influenced the formation of the state and how
statehood was granted.
SCIENCE 4TH
• (SC.4.N.1.5) Compare the methods and results of investigations done by other classmates. • (SC.4.N.1.8) Recognize that science involves creativity in designing experiments. SCIENCE 5TH
• (SC.5.N.2.1) Recognize and explain that science is grounded in empirical observations that are testable;
explanation must always be linked with evidence.
resources:
Florida Public Archaeology Network. 28 February 2008 <http://www.flpublicarchaeology.org>.
“Seminole War: Capture of Osceola And Coachoochee.” Floripedia. 21 January 2008. <http://fcit.usf.edu/Florida/docs/s/semwar04.htm>.
Smith, Greg, Shelly Sass, Susan R. Parker, Deborah Mullins. Archaeology, History, and Recommendations for
Architectural Conservation: Mala Compra Plantation (8FL26) Flagler County. St. Augustine: Environmental
Services, Inc., 2002.
Smith, Greg. “RE: Archaeology at Mala Compra.” E-mails to the author. 15 February – 1 March 2008.
West, Jean. “King Cotton – The Fiber of Slavery.” Slavery in America. 21 January 2008.
<http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_cotton.htm>.
materials list:
Natural cotton bolls (1 per group of 4 students), OR commercial cotton balls rolled in crushed spice seeds. Spice
options include rosemary, red pepper flakes, or even sesame seeds. Potential ginning tools include combs,
sharpened pencils, scotch tape, etc.
answer key for experiment (cotton ginning):
There is no best method for ginning cotton by hand. Generally, a combination of two or more methods gets the
best results. Preparation: If you get permission, you can collect real cotton from a roadside or cotton field. If
you can’t find actual cotton plants, try using store-bought cotton balls that you’ve pinched loose. Mix them with
spice seeds. You can use crushed rosemary or red pepper flakes. Even sesame seeds will work, but fennel seeds
are too large to stick to the cotton fibers.
29
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
- life on a
florida plantation
mala compra
Students learn about life on a Florida
Plantation in the early 1800s.
answer key for activity (archaeology & history):
artifacts & features
from mala compra’s
plantation owners
artifacts & features
from Kingley
Plantation’s slave workers
what conclusion can you draw?
Pieces of fine china plates
Pieces of coarse
earthenware bowls
Example: The plantation owners used fancier dishes than
the slaves. The slaves might have eaten more soups, since
they used bowls instead of plates.
Broken window panes
No broken glass
The slaves did not have glass to cover their windows to keep
the bugs out. The plantation owners did.
Bones from food trash: 3/4
of the bones came from farm
animals. 1/4 of the bones
came from wild animals.
The house’s large
foundation was made from
coquina stone. Its walls
were made of wood.
Bones from food trash: 1/2
of the bones came from farm
animals. 1/2 of the bones
came from wild animals.
The slaves had to get more of their food from the woods,
while the plantation owners ate more farm animals.
The small cabin walls were
The slaves had to make the tabby stone to build their own
built of tabby – a concrete
small, basic homes. The richer plantation owners chose difmade when slaves mixed
burned oyster shells with sand. ferent, more expensive materials to make their homes fancier.
author: Kelley Weitzel, http://www.KelleyWeitzel.com
student articles & activities:
1. Why was Mala Compra a bad purchase?
2. What is Sea Island Cotton?
3. EXPERIMENT: Can you invent a cotton gin?
4. Slave Life on Cotton and Sugar Plantations
5. Why didn’t Joseph Hernandez get rich?
6. Who was General Joseph Hernandez?
7. The Second Seminole War and Osceola’s Capture
8. A Famous Visitor to Mala Compra
9. How does this history tie in with coquina?
10. ACTIVITY: Archaeology in Action
vocabulary:
Acre, China (ceramics), Coarse, Coastal, Colony, Coquina, Cotton Gin, Debt, Delegate, Fibers,
Flag of Truce, Hispanic, Justice of the Peace, Land Grant, Malaria, Plantation, U.S. Territory, Treaty
30
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
- life on a
florida plantation
mala compra
Students learn about life on a Florida
Plantation in the early 1800s.
assesment options:
writing prompt #1: During the Second Seminole War, Osceola believed his people should not be forced
to leave Florida. Think about how you would feel if everyone in your neighborhood was being forced to move to
Oklahoma. Write a story about your journey out west OR about your fight to stay in Florida.
writing prompt #2: Modern workers have rights that are protected by law, but the slaves on early sugar
plantations had no legal rights. Think about how you would feel if you had to work long hours with no pay,
AND you weren’t allowed to quit. Write to explain how life would be different for modern Florida workers if
laws did not protect their rights to good working conditions and fair pay.
assessment #1: During his life, Joseph Hernandez changed the lives of many Floridians. Choose two
groups of people that Joseph Hernandez affected. Write to explain how his actions affected each of these groups
of early Floridians.
assessment #2: Using the information in these articles, create a timeline of Florida history, starting in 1792
and ending in 1920. This project has been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic
Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.
31
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
- life on a
florida plantation
mala compra
Students learn about life on a Florida
Plantation in the early 1800s.
why are we studying joseph hernandez and the mala compra plantation?
Joseph Hernandez changed the lives of many Floridians. He owned several plantations, including Mala Compra
(a cotton plantation) and St. Josephs (a sugarcane plantation.) Through these plantations, Hernandez affected the
lives of Florida’s African population. How? He made them work on the plantations as slaves. Hernandez also changed the lives of Florida’s Seminole people. How? He captured Osceola. By imprisoning this
important native leader, he changed the course of the Second Seminole War. Hernandez also affected the rest of Florida’s people. How? His work in government helped Florida become a state,
which meant Florida citizens received support from the United States government. Hernandez is also important because he was the first Hispanic person elected to the United States Congress. why was mala compra a “bad purchase”?
In Spanish, the name Mala Compra means “bad purchase.” General Joseph Hernandez was the first person to call
his plantation “Mala Compra,” but he wasn’t the first person to have bad luck there. The bad luck began long
before Hernandez bought the property in 1816.
The first Spanish person to live at Mala Compra was Josiah DuPont. He moved there because he got a LAND
GRANT from the Spanish government. What’s a land grant? It’s an agreement that said if Dupont would live
on the land for ten years and grow crops, he would own the whole property. But that’s not as easy as it sounds.
Trying to survive in wild Florida was tough and risky. The Spanish government had to offer a LOT of land to
convince people to try: 100 acres for the leader of the family, plus 50 more acres for each family member and each
slave. Josiah Dupont and his wife had seven kids and lots of slaves, so the grant included 800 acres. How big is
that? A professional football field is only 1 and 1/3 acres. That means that Mala Compra included enough land for
more than 600 football fields! And Josiah Dupont got it for free! That seems like a GREAT purchase, right?
Josiah DuPont thought so too. In 1792, he moved down from South Carolina to grow cotton, corn, and other
food crops. Just before his ten-year grant was complete, the Seminole people attacked and wrecked his home. Luckily, DuPont and his family had already escaped to St. Augustine, 20 miles to the north. They survived, but
their home was a disaster. They decided to move to Georgia and never returned to Mala Compra.
Next, the bad luck fell on a Spanish priest named Father Crosby. He ran the plantation property for twelve years,
long enough to become the legal owner. This sounds like good luck, unless you count the Patriot War. What was
the Patriot War? In 1812, soldiers from the state of Georgia tried to conquer Florida. These soldiers had decided
that Florida should belong to the U.S. (instead of Spain). During the two-year Patriot War, Father Crosby’s
workers had to hide out in St. Augustine. By the time the war ended, Father Crosby was sick of bad luck. In
1816, he sold the plantation to Joseph Hernandez.
32
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
- life on a
florida plantation
mala compra
Students learn about life on a Florida
Plantation in the early 1800s.
By 1818, General Hernandez was growing lots of
cotton at Mala Compra. He was growing sugar cane
too, at another nearby plantation. Things seemed to
be going well, but his luck didn’t last. In 1835, the
Seminole people attacked many sugar plantations. They also attacked Mala Compra because Florida
soldiers were using it as a headquarters. That winter,
a hard freeze killed many of Hernandez’ crops. He
couldn’t make enough money to keep his plantations
running. General Hernandez and his family left Mala
Compra in 1836. It looks like Mala Compra was a bad
purchase after all.
The Mala Compra Main House
and Kitchen Building
what is sea island cotton?
(Courtesy of Hughes Bowman Design Group)
“Sea Island Cotton” was the kind of cotton grown at Mala Compra. It is different from the “Upland Cotton”
planted in other parts of the United States. How? The fluffy white fibers in Sea Island Cotton are longer, about 1
1/2 inches in length. Upland Cotton fibers are shorter, less than 1 inch long. Why is this so important? Longer
fibers could be spun into fancier cloth and lace, so people would pay more money for Sea Island Cotton.
How was Sea Island Cotton processed for sale? First, slaves picked the cotton. Then they removed the seeds with
a tool called a Spinning Ginny. How did a Spinning Ginny work? Slaves fed cotton fluff between the ginny’s
two rollers. These rollers let the fluffs squeeze through to the other side, while holding the seeds back. This
process worked well for Sea Island Cotton. The Upland Cotton grown further north had much stickier seeds,
which the Spinning Ginny could not remove. The northern slaves had to pick out seeds by hand, and that was
much more work.
In 1793, Eli Whitney invented a machine called a
Cotton Gin. His invention could easily remove the
sticky seeds from Upland Cotton. Unfortunately,
Florida planters could not use the Cotton Gin. Why? The Cotton Gin damaged Sea Island Cotton’s long
delicate fibers, destroying its value.
Eli Whitney’s invention made it much cheaper to
grow Upland Cotton, because the Cotton Gin
removed seeds faster than the Spinning Ginny. You
may be wondering why planters in Florida, Georgia,
and South Carolina didn’t switch to growing Upland
Cotton. 1. Sea Island Cotton grew better in our
coastal environments. 2. The planters already owned
the equipment they needed for growing Sea
Island Cotton.
They continued to grow Sea Island Cotton until the
1920s when Boll Weevil insects destroyed Florida’s
cotton crop. Today, Sea Island Cotton is
rarely grown.
Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin
(Source: www-tc.pbs.org)
33
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
- life on a
florida plantation
mala compra
Students learn about life on a Florida
Plantation in the early 1800s.
try this experiment - can you invent a cotton gin?
BACKGROUND: Eli Whitney’s invention helped plantation owners across the southeastern United States. How? The Cotton Gin made growing cotton much cheaper because workers could remove the sticky cotton
seeds more quickly. Tools like the Cotton Gin and the earlier Spinning Ginny are “artifacts” – things made
by man. When archaeologists discover artifacts like Cotton Gins and Spinning Ginnies, we get a glimpse into
Florida life long ago.
A. These artifacts tell us 1. that cotton was an important Florida crop, 2. that its seeds had to be removed before the cotton fibers could be spun into cloth, and 3. that seed removal had to be done carefully so the cotton
fibers would not be torn into tiny bits.
B. Long ago, in India, a machine called a Spinning Ginny was invented to help remove cotton seeds. The
words “gin” and “ginny” are short for the word “engine.” This engine did not run on gas. It took human
muscles to turn a Spinning Ginny.
EXPERIMENT: Can students invent a method for getting the seeds out of cotton?
What is the best way to get the seeds out of the cotton? By using your fingers? By rubbing the cotton between
your palms? By shaking the cotton? By raking the
seeds out with a comb? By poking the seeds with the
point of a pencil? By collecting the seeds with rolled
tape? Or by some other method that you discover
yourself? Each important invention in history began
with simple experiments like these. Once you’ve
chosen your favorite method (or combination of
methods) for removing cottonseeds, share your ideas
with the other students in your class.
Raw Cotton Boll
slave life on cotton and sugar plantations
General Hernandez owned more than one plantation. At Mala Compra, he grew Sea Island Cotton, and at St.
Josephs, he grew sugarcane. Sometimes, his cotton plantation needed more workers. At other times, his sugar
plantation needed more help. General Hernandez could move his slaves from one location to another as needed. A slave’s life could change suddenly with each move because different kinds of plantations had very different
work requirements.
what was life like on a cotton plantation?
Each March, the slaves who lived on a plantation began to plant cotton for the plantation owner. Sometimes, they
were given one day to plant a little cotton for themselves. As the cotton plants grew, the slaves took care of them.
Four times a year, they hoed around the plants and pulled weeds. Between these hoeing times, the slaves had
plenty of other tasks to keep them busy. (See the section below on sugar plantations to learn more about the other
jobs they did.) 34
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
- life on a
florida plantation
mala compra
Students learn about life on a Florida
Plantation in the early 1800s.
By August or September, the cotton plants needed more attention. That’s when slaves began the difficult jobs of
picking cotton and spreading the cottony fluffs in the sun to dry. In the next step, they used machines called
spinning ginnies to pull seeds out of the cotton fluffs. Finally, they packed clean, unbroken cotton fibers into
large, round bags. Each bag (or bale) could hold up to 400 pounds of cotton.
The slaves on some cotton plantations worked under the “Task System.” In the Task System, each slave had to
complete one task each day. For example, he or she might have to plant, hoe, or pick the cotton in a one-quarter
(1/4) acre section of field. When the slave finished this task, he was sometimes allowed to work in his own cotton
field or to hunt animals for his family’s dinner. (If you visit Kingsley Plantation in Jacksonville, Florida, you can
see exactly how big a 1/4 acre section of field is. You can also see a garden with many of the crops grown at
Florida plantations.)
how was life different on a sugar plantation?
The sugarcane season at St. Josephs started in January, much earlier than the cotton season at Mala Compra. Each
January, the slaves began plowing, planting the woody stems of sugarcane, chopping wood, and cleaning out
ditches. Sugarcane fields needed to be drained so the dirt did not become wet and swampy. As a result, sugar
plantations had miles of drainage ditches. Frequent rainstorms caused mud, dead limbs, and leaves to block these
ditches. The slaves spent a lot of time cleaning out the mud and leaves. This allowed rainwater to flow away from
the fields so the newly planted cane stems could grow.
By February, planting time was complete. Now the slaves worked at hoeing, chopping firewood, and cleaning
ditches. In March and April, they planted corn at the plantation. They also hoed between the sugarcane stalks. Why? The hoeing killed grass and weeds that might block out sunlight needed by the young sugarcane plants. And if all the other work was done, remember, the ditches always needed cleaning. In May and June, the slaves
plowed, hoed, and planted peas and potatoes. In July, August, and September, the slaves cut firewood and carried
it to the sugarhouse. They built barrels that would later hold sugar. They repaired buildings, cleaned ditches, and
hoed in the sugarcane fields. They also harvested the corn they’d planted back in March. They even gathered
hay and grass to feed the farm animals in winter.
Finally, in October, it was time to start harvesting the sugarcane. The slaves used large knives to cut the eightfoot-tall cane. Then they hauled bundles of sugarcane stems back to the sugar house. When they crushed the
cane stems, sweet cane juice dripped down into a container. Over the next several hours, this cane juice was
boiled in large kettles. The slaves burned a lot of wood to make enough heat to keep this juice boiling. (That’s
why the slaves spent so much time chopping firewood. Sometimes, whole forests were chopped down!) As the boiling juice thickened into syrup, the slaves had to move it from kettle to kettle and keep it hot. They
also had to stir the thickening syrup as it dried into sugar. Sometimes this process wasn’t finished until early
January. There was no time for the slaves to rest before the next planting began.
When plantations required such a huge amount of work, it was common for large groups of slaves to work
together - instead of having individual assignments. This kind of work schedule was called the “Gang System.” Because General Hernadez owned a Sea Island Cotton plantation AND a sugar plantation, his slaves may have
spent some time working under the Task System and some time working under the Gang System. Each plantation
owner chose the system he felt would work best for his crops. The slaves were not given a choice about the kind
of work they did or how long they labored.
35
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
- life on a
florida plantation
mala compra
Students learn about life on a Florida
Plantation in the early 1800s.
why didn’t joseph hernandez get rich ?
Joseph Hernandez had lots of slaves doing work for him. So, why wasn’t he getting rich? For one thing, a sugar
plantation needed lots of expensive equipment to turn sugarcane into sugar. This equipment included engines,
huge metal kettles, coquina chimneys, grinding machines, giant barrels, and more. Many plantation owners had
to borrow money to buy this equipment. If something bad happened, (like the Seminole people burning down
your sugar mill) most plantation owners (including Hernandez) could not raise enough money to rebuild. Cotton plantations did not need as much specialized equipment, but it was hard for Hernandez to run his
plantation AND find buyers for his cotton. He depended on a person called a “Factor” to do this job for him. Each time the Factor sold a bale of cotton, he got to keep part of the money it earned. This means that
Hernandez wasn’t getting paid the full amount for his cotton. In fact, Hernandez didn’t earn any money at all until his cotton was sold. Since his family still needed food and
tools all year long, he had to borrow money. No problem, right? After his cotton sold, he would be able to pay
back any money he’d borrowed. But what if something bad happened? Freezing weather could kill the cotton
plants before the cotton was picked. When that happened, Hernandez couldn’t pay off his debts. By 1836, he
owed so much money, he had to abandon his home at the Mala Compra cotton plantation. After the Seminole
Wars, Hernandez and his son returned and tried to rebuild, but they were never able to make the plantations
successful again.
who was general joseph hernandez?
Joseph Hernandez was born in the colony of East Florida. A
colony is made up of people who have left their home country
and moved to a new land. Spain ruled this colony, so
Hernandez was a Spanish citizen. He married a woman
named Anna. In 1816, the Hernandez family moved to
Mala Compra.
In 1821, Florida became a territory of the United States. Florida did not become a state for a long time (not until 1845). To become a state, a territory had to have at least 60,000
people. Florida had less than 35,000 people. It was only a
territory, but Hernandez was proud to be a new U.S. citizen. In 1823, Hernandez became Florida’s first delegate to
Congress. What does a delegate do? He tells the U.S.
government what his territory needs. He also tries to make
laws that will help the citizens of his territory. Hernandez was
one of the only delegates who actually grew up in his territory.
He was also the first Hispanic person in the U.S. Congress.
Portrait of Joseph Hernandez
(Source: Library of Congress)
After that, Hernandez became a Justice of the Peace. Another time, he was the Mayor of St. Augustine. Hernandez was also a General in the Florida Militia. (A militia is a kind of army.) He fought against the
Seminoles in the Second Seminole War and captured Chief Osceola. After the war, Hernandez tried to get the
Mala Compra plantation running again. Finally, in 1850, he gave up on that Bad Purchase and moved to Cuba.
36
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
- life on a
florida plantation
mala compra
Students learn about life on a Florida
Plantation in the early 1800s.
the second seminole war and osceola’s capture
In 1821, Florida became a U.S. territory, and many new
settlers moved into the state. They wanted to develop the
land in a large Seminole town called Tallahassee. When the
Seminole refused to leave their homes, Florida’s governor tried
to find a solution. He made an agreement called the Treaty
of Moultrie Creek. It gave the Seminole four million acres
of land near Ocala. But they had to leave Tallahassee forever. The Seminole agreed and moved away. Tallahassee became
the new capitol of Florida.
In 1829, Andrew Jackson became president of the United
States. He helped to pass the Indian Removal Act. This law
said that all native people would have to leave their homes
and travel far away, west of the Mississippi River. Most of the
Seminole refused to go, but a few chiefs signed a treaty saying
they would.
Portrait of Osceola
(Source: Library of Congress)
Osceola, a young Seminole chief, refused to sign. He began
to attack U.S. soldiers, so the U.S. government sent General
Thomas Jesup to Florida. Jesup’s 8,000 soldiers forced the
Seminole people down into south Florida. Under the stress
of so much fighting, many Seminole people were getting sick. Even Osceola caught malaria. A few chiefs signed new treaties. They were hoping to end the fighting and sickness. Osceola did not believe the
U.S. would honor these treaties. He continued to fight. He also rescued many captured Seminoles. In 1837, General Jesup asked Osceola for peace. He even showed the white flag of truce. This flag promised that
he would not capture Osceola. It was a trap. When Osceola arrived, Jesup ordered Joseph Hernandez to attack
and capture Osceola. (Remember Hernandez? He owned the Mala Compra plantation.) General Jesup
imprisoned Osceola in the Castillo de San Marcos. Then he moved Osceola up to South Carolina. The Seminole
chief was still weak from having malaria. He died in prison in 1838. After Osceola died, some Seminole people continued to fight. Many were killed. Others were forced to move
out West. The Second Seminole War ended in 1842, but some Seminole continued to fight. These few survivors
melted into the Florida Everglades and still survive there today.
a famous visitor to mala compra
In 1831, John James Audubon visited Mala Compra for ten days.
He was traveling through North America drawing pictures of
every bird he found. He put these pictures into a book called, The
Birds of America. What bird did he draw while visiting Mala
Compra? He drew a medium-sized wetland bird called an
American Coot. That same year, Audubon visited other Florida
plantations, including the Bulow Sugar Plantation a few miles
south of Mala Compra. Do you recognize the name, “Audubon”? Today, the Audubon Society is our nation’s biggest group
of birdwatchers!
Audubon’s American Coots
(Source: www.audubon.org)
37
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
- life on a
florida plantation
mala compra
Students learn about life on a Florida
Plantation in the early 1800s.
how does this history tie in with coquina?
We’ve barely mentioned coquina in these articles, but coquina played a huge part in the lives of Florida’s people. Let’s see how.
1. General Hernandez’ house at Mala Compra was built on a coquina foundation.
2. The slave overseer at Mala Compra lived in a home built of coquina stone.
3. The buildings at Hernandez’ sugar plantation, St. Josephs, were also made of this Florida stone. Many other
Florida sugar plantations, including Bulowville, Cruger-DePeyster, and Dunlawton, were made of coquina,
as well.
4. John James Audubon stayed in at least two coquina buildings while he was drawing Florida’s birds in 1831: the plantation houses at Mala Compra (a cotton plantation) and at Bulowville (a sugar plantation).
5. After his capture, Osceola was imprisoned in the coquina fort, Castillo de San Marcos, in St. Augustine.
how can archaeology fill holes in our state’s history?
Why are there holes in Florida’s history? Historians study documents from long ago, including letters, maps, sales
receipts, newspapers, and more. But what if no one wrote about the slaves at Florida’s cotton plantations? How
would we learn about these important people in Florida’s history?
Few documents tell us about the slaves at Mala Compra, so archaeologists try to learn more by excavating
(digging) in areas where the slaves once lived. The artifacts they find can tell us about the lives of these long-ago
Floridians. Unfortunately, archaeologists haven’t found the location of Mala Compra’s slave cabins yet. Most of
the excavations have studied the main house where the Hernandez family lived. So how can we learn more? try this activity - archaeology in action
Artifacts made by slaves HAVE been found at other Florida cotton plantations. Archaeologists can use this
information to learn about slave life at Mala Compra. The table below compares artifacts from the Hernandez’
family at Mala Compra and artifacts from slave families at Kingsley Plantation. Use this information to compare
the lives of plantation owners and slaves in early Florida. Write one conclusion in each empty box in this table.
artifacts & features
from mala compra’s
plantation owners
artifacts & features
from Kingley
Plantation’s slave workers
Pieces of fine china plates
Pieces of coarse
earthenware bowls
Broken window panes
No broken glass
what conclusion can you draw?
Example: The plantation owners used fancier dishes than
the slaves. The slaves might have eaten more soups, since
they used bowls instead of plates.
Bones from food trash: 3/4
of the bones came from farm
animals. 1/4 of the bones
came from wild animals.
Bones from food trash: 1/2
of the bones came from farm
animals. 1/2 of the bones
came from wild animals.
The house’s large
foundation was made from
coquina stone. Its walls
were made of wood.
The cabin walls were built of
tabby – a concrete made when
slaves mixed burned oyster
shells with sand.
38
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
how archaeology works
mala compra
Students learn about archaeology by studying
the Mala Compa Site.
academic outcomes/lesson objectives:
• Students read selections introducing them to the archaeological process and to Florida’s Mala Compra
archaeology site.
sunshine state standards assessed:
SCIENCE 4TH
• (SC.4.N.1.3) Explain that science does not always follow a rigidly defined method (“the scientific method”) but
that science does involve the use of observations and empirical evidence.
• (SC.4.N.1.7) Recognize and explain that scientists base their explanations on evidence.
SCIENCE 5TH
• (SC.5.N.1.5) Recognize and explain that authentic scientific investigation frequently does not parallel the steps
of “the scientific method.” • (SC.5.N.1.6) Recognize and explain the difference between personal opinion/interpretation and verified observation. • (SC.5.N.2.1) Recognize and explain that science is grounded in empirical observations that are testable; explanation
must always be linked with evidence.
resources:
A Plantation in Early Florida: The Ruins of Mala Compra (1816-1836). [Proposed interpretative signage for the
Mala Compra Site.] St. Augustine: Mala Compra Plantation Archaeological Preservation Project, 2008.
Florida Public Archaeology Network. 28 February 2008 <http://www.flpublicarchaeology.org>.
Sass, Shelly. Personal Interview. 6 February 2008.
Smith, Greg, Shelly Sass, Susan R. Parker, Deborah Mullins. Archaeology, History, and Recommendations for
Architectural Conservation: Mala Compra Plantation (8FL26) Flagler County. St. Augustine: Environmental
Services, Inc., 2002.
Smith, Greg. “RE: Archaeology at Mala Compra.” E-mails to the author. 15 February – 1 March 2008.
Wallace, Tony. Personal Interview. 6 February 2008.
materials list:
None
answer key for activity:
Food-Related: Alligator Bone, Domestic Pig Bone, Lead Shot from a Gun, Porcelain Dish
Clothing: Button, Shoe Buckle
Building Materials: Clay Brick, Iron Nail, Window Glass
Personal Items: Gaming Pieces, Medicine Bottle, Pipe Stem
NOTE: Often, artifacts fit into more than one category, so the answers above are not hard and fast. Archaeologists must be consistent in their categorization and stick with whatever categories they decide upon.
author: Kelley Weitzel, http://www.KelleyWeitzel.com
39
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
how archaeology works
mala compra
Students learn about archaeology by studying
the Mala Compa Site.
student articles & activities:
1. What will you find at the Mala Compra site?
2. Visit the Mala Compra Main House
3. Mala Compra’s Other Buildings
4. Studying the Artifacts at Mala Compra
5. ACTIVITY: Categorizing Artifacts
vocabulary:
Analyze, Archaeologist, Artifact, Base, Categorize, Centimeter, Clay, Context, Coquina, Cotton,
Domestic, Excavate, Feature, Historian, Install, Meter, Plantation, Preserve, Quarry, Sift, Site, Slave, Tabby, Tarp, Well assesment options:
writing prompt #1:
Archaeologists learn about the lives of ancient people by studying the items these
people left behind. Think about the kinds of artifacts an archaeologist might find if she studied your home one
hundred years from now. Write to explain what these artifacts might tell her about your everyday life.
writing prompt #2:
Imagine that your City Planners want to put a new soccer field on the site of an old
Florida plantation home. Think about the reasons that people in your city might want to save this old plantation.
Write to persuade your City Planners to preserve the old plantation as a fieldtrip for students - instead of turning
it into a soccer field.
assessment #1: Refer to the article titled, “Studying the Artifacts at Mala Compra” and read the steps in the
scientific method below. Using details from the article, describe how the archaeological process follows the scientific method.
1. Define a Question
2. Research to Learn More about your Question 3. Form a Hypothesis
4. Plan Your Research Method
5. Collect Data
6. Analyze the Data
7. Draw Conclusions
8. Communicate Your Results
assessment #2: A local archaeologist has excavated the site of an old playground. He’s provided your class
with a list of the artifacts he found. Decide on four categories that seem to describe these artifacts. Make a table
that lists each artifact under the correct category.
list of artifacts:
broken cell phone, button, CD, coke can, drink straw, Gameboy cartridge, gum wrapper, key, Lego block, matchbox car, medicine bottle, melted crayon, nametag, sandwich baggy, shoelace, zipper pull
This project has been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic
Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.
40
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
how archaeology works
mala compra
Students learn about archaeology by studying
the Mala Compa Site.
why are we studying archaeology?
Archaeology is like a Time Machine. Through it, we travel deep into the past, exploring places that existed long
ago. Sounds imaginary, right? It’s not! Archaeology is based on the scientific method. When we study a site
like Mala Compra, we’re stepping 180-years back into Florida history. During this fantastic journey, we get to use
many scientific skills. We observe; we collect data; we analyze results; we draw conclusions; and we communicate
with others. This communication is EXTREMELY important in archaeology. Why? Every time an
archaeologist excavates (digs) a site, he destroys it. That’s right; he DESTROYS it. Think about it. Even if the
archaeologist tried, he couldn’t put all of the artifacts back in exactly the same spots. Instead, the archaeologist
takes careful notes, so he’ll be able to communicate his findings to future researchers.
what will you find at the mala compra site?
Mala Compra is the name of an old Florida plantation. These plantations were large farms that grew one main
crop. While many Florida plantations grew sugarcane, Mala Compra grew fields and fields of cotton. It took a
LOT of work to plant and harvest all of that cotton. Many plantation owners purchased other human beings,
usually Africans, to handle the workload. The law required these slaves to live on the plantation and to work
there for no pay.
What was the Mala Compra property like in the 1800s? It was a busy farm. It had a main
family house, a kitchen and laundry building, a freshwater well, a cotton storage building, slave cabins, and
hundreds of acres of cotton fields. Many people lived and worked at Mala Compra, including General and Mrs.
Hernandez, their fourteen children, paid workers, slaves, and lots of farm animals. Mala Compra was a place full of
life and activity.
So what does Mala Compra look like in the 2000s? Today, you’ll just see some old tabby
floors, several clay-tile fireplaces, and a big coquina well. What happened to the rest of the plantation? In the
1830s, many of Florida’s plantations were destroyed. Freezing weather killed the crops. Seminole Indians burned
the buildings. To make matters worse, the price of cotton dropped, so the plantation owners lost a lot of money.
Many, like General Hernandez, were forced to abandon their plantations. Over time, the buildings fell apart. This makes it tough for archaeologists to learn about Florida’s cotton-growing history.
But don’t worry. The archaeologists haven’t given up. They’ve discovered lots of important clues called
“artifacts.” These artifacts are the leftover bits of tools and materials used by the people living at Mala Compra.
What kinds of artifacts have they found? Buttons, food trash (like pig bones), broken glass, pieces of cracked
dishes, pipe stems, and more. Studying these artifacts teaches us about the kinds of clothes people wore, the tools
they used, and the foods they ate.
Archaeologists also search for clues called “features.” A feature can be part of a building, like a floor, a foundation,
or a fireplace. It can also be a trash pit, a well, or even a dog burial. Studying these features helps archaeologists
learn about the kinds of homes people once built, the materials they used, and the communities they lived in.
When you visit Mala Compra today, you won’t see any buttons or dishes lying around. The archaeologists have
carefully collected these artifacts for study. You WILL see lots of features, like fireplaces and old coquina
foundations. These show us the location of the house where the Hernandez family lived, the kitchen where their
slaves cooked meals, and the well that gave everyone fresh water.
In 2007, the government built a sturdy roof to protect these features from Florida’s heavy rains. They also
installed walkways, pictures, and signs to help people learn about life on the old plantation. By protecting these
old tabby floors, clay fireplaces, and the coquina well, our government is protecting a piece of American history.
41
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
how archaeology works
mala compra
Students learn about archaeology by studying
the Mala Compa Site.
visit the mala compra main house
General Joseph Hernandez bought the Mala Compra plantation in 1816, but he wasn’t the first person to live there. In fact, he built his home on the foundation of an older house. What’s a foundation? It’s a hard, flat surface that
builders install over the natural ground. This hard surface is much sturdier than Florida’s sandy soils. It makes
the house stable and strong. The Mala Compra foundation was made of coquina stone. Most of the old house has
crumbled away, but its sturdy coquina foundation is still standing strong.
A man named Josiah Dupont built the original foundation. When Hernandez moved to Mala Compra, most of
Mr. Dupont’s old house had broken down and disappeared. Only the solid coquina foundation remained. General Hernandez made a good choice when he built on this coquina base. Coquina is a natural stone made
from shells and sand. You couldn’t ask for a better start for a new home.
Here’s what surprised archaeologists. Hernandez did NOT use coquina stone to build the walls of his house. He
used wood instead. But why? Coquina stone is easy to find near St. Augustine. It also makes strong foundations
and walls. So why didn’t Hernandez build his walls with coquina? Historians might have an answer for us. A historian learns about people of the past by studying old documents,
including letters, books, and maps. Florida historians have two ideas about Hernandez’ unusual building decision. HISTORY IDEA #1: Maybe Hernandez wanted to build his home right away, and coquina stone took too long
to harden. HISTORY EVIDENCE #1: Documents tell us that newly cut coquina stone is wet from being in the
ocean. This makes the stone a bit soft – too soft to build with. The weight of the stones at the top of a coquina
wall would crush the stones at the bottom. The same documents tell us that newly cut coquina stones have to dry
for three years before they can be used. THREE YEARS! That’s a long wait. HISTORY IDEA #2: Building styles were changing. Coquina was the old style of building. A big cotton and
sugar planter like Hernandez might have wanted a newer, more fashionable home. HISTORY EVIDENCE #2: Look at stores and strip malls as you drive around town. The shapes and colors on the newer buildings are
different from the older ones. Building styles change, even today.
Can archaeologists provide some evidence for either of these ideas? YES. They can study the features of the
main house to look for clues that Hernandez liked style and fashion. Here’s the ARCHAEOLOGICAL
EVIDENCE they found. To start with, his house was big. There were about six rooms plus a loft upstairs. That’s a lot of space!
The flooring gives us another clue. In modern homes, we build foundations out of concrete block. Then we
place carpet, tile, wood, or linoleum on top of it to make a comfortable walking surface. In Mala Compra, the
foundation was built of coquina. The oldest part of the floor was made with a kind of concrete called tabby.
While coquina is made by nature, tabby is made when people mix burnt oyster shells with sand. Tabby floors
were pretty common back then. But Hernandez added some STYLE by building a big, ten-foot porch to one side
of his house. A roof covered this porch to keep off the rain and the harsh Florida sunlight. Pretty fancy! Another
part of the floor was carefully crafted from wooden planks. Wood flooring was very stylish – something only a
wealthy planter could afford. His home also had a double fireplace. The front of the fireplace faced one room. The back (which was also open) faced another room. This kept both rooms warm and comfortable. Why do YOU think Hernandez decided not to build coquina walls? Was he worried about taking too long to
build his house? Or did he just want to build in the newest style? Imagine that you were Hernandez. Which
reason would have affected your choice? Historians try to answer these questions by studying old documents. Archaeologists try to answer the same questions by looking at the actual things people left behind. By working
together, historians and archaeologists can finds solutions they would have missed if working alone.
42
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
how archaeology works
mala compra
Students learn about archaeology by studying
the Mala Compa Site.
mala compra’s
other buildings
Mala Compra’s main house didn’t have a kitchen. All of the cooking was done in a separate building about 90 feet
from the house. The kitchen building had a coquina foundation, a tabby floor, and a big double fireplace. Does
that sound like the main house? It should!
The double fireplace was right in the middle of the kitchen building, and a wall separated the building into two
rooms. One room was the kitchen, and the other was a washroom (laundry). The fireplace made heat for
cooking in one room, and heat for washing clothes in the other. There was an upstairs loft in this building too.
Historians think it was used for drying crops, because the Mala Compra overseer wrote this in an old document.
Why would they use the loft for drying crops? Well, the heat from the big fireplace would rise to the top floor
and dry any crops stored up there. It was important to dry crops because it stopped them from spoiling. After all,
refrigerators hadn’t been invented yet.
The base of this fireplace (and the base of the fireplace in the main house) was made of coquina. This provided a
sturdy surface for building a fire. In most fireplaces, a layer of brick or clay tiles covered the coquina blocks. Why
was this protective layer important? Hot cooking fires can damage coquina stone. Since clay tiles and bricks are
made to stand up to a fire’s heat, they were usually installed as a protective layer over the coquina.
Archaeologists have discovered that one of the Main House fireplaces had NO CLAY TILES. They also noticed
that the coquina was never damaged by fire. Now that’s odd. Why would Hernandez have built a fireplace
without any protective clay tiles? Archaeologists have an idea about this. They think this fireplace was used only
for warming food – not for cooking it with high heat. This makes sense if you think about it. Back then,
kitchens were built in separate buildings so a cooking fire wouldn’t be able to burn down the whole house.
Maybe Hernandez didn’t want to risk burning up his stylish new home. Historians have a different idea. They
tell us that Hernandez was usually running low on money. Maybe he just ran out of cash before he finished
building that fireplace.
Why do YOU think Hernandez decided not to use clay
tiles in this fireplace? Was he worried about setting
his house on fire? Or was he just short on cash? If you
were Hernandez, which reason would have affected
your choice? If you think Hernandez was concerned about fire
danger, you’ll be happy to know there was a well close
by. In fact, there was a well right between his house
and the kitchen building. People needed water at both
places, so this made perfect sense. The well’s circular
coquina walls are still standing today. It even has water
in it, almost two hundred years later!
Coquina Well
43
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
how archaeology works
mala compra
Students learn about archaeology by studying
the Mala Compa Site.
What other structures were built at Mala Compra? Near the main house, a dirt road
stretched from the ocean on the east all the way to the Intracoastal Waterway on the west. This waterway was
only about 300 feet from the main house. Most plantation owners built their homes close to the water. When it
was time to sell their crops, they could transport the crops by boat. This was quicker and safer than traveling
by land.
Beyond the little road, there were six slave houses. Only one of these houses was made from coquina stone. The
coquina house belonged to a slave called the “Driver.” A Driver helped to run the plantation, making sure that all
the other slaves were completing their work. Most Drivers were given extra privileges. For example, the Driver
at Mala Compra lived in a solid coquina house, while the other slaves lived in houses made from palm leaves. Have
you ever heard someone called a “slave-driver”? This name describes anyone who makes others work
terribly hard. It was first used to describe the Driver on a plantation. Drivers were also called “overseers”
because they watched over the other slaves and make sure they were working hard.
This is a sketch of what Mala Compra might have looked like in
the 1820s. Can you see the small WELL halfway between the
Main House on the left and the Kitchen Building on the right?
(Courtesy of Hughs Bowman Design Group)
44
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
how archaeology works
mala compra
Students learn about archaeology by studying
the Mala Compa Site.
studying the artifacts at mala compra
Archaeologists do a lot of work BEFORE they ever start to dig. They begin by deciding what BIG QUESTION
they want to answer. For example: “Why didn’t Hernandez use coquina to build the walls of his house at Mala
Compra?” Once archaeologists have a question, the research begins. They might start by trying to learn about the
plusses and minuses of using coquina stone. For example, how far away was the closest coquina quarry? How
expensive was it was to mine the coquina? And were other planters using coquina to build their homes during
that time period? Finding answers to these questions helps archaeologists form their own opinions about the
BIG QUESTION. The research performed by one archaeologist might show that coquina stone wasn’t a popular building material in
the early 1800s. Did this affect Hernandez’ decision to use wood instead of coquina? The archaeologist may
decide to check this out. He may look for evidence of other, more popular building styles at Mala Compra.
Finding evidence of other stylish building methods might tell us that Hernandez cared about style. Perhaps that’s
why he used wood instead of coquina to build his home.
Once the archaeologist has formed his or her own opinion, he can write a hypothesis. HYPOTHESIS: Hernandez used wood instead of coquina for his walls because coquina stone was out of style. Now, the archaeologist can look for evidence that proves (or disproves) this hypothesis. But where will the archaeologist dig to find this evidence? The Mala Compra site is huge. If the archaeologist is
looking for other stylish parts of the main house, he’ll need to see the foundation, the floors, the fireplaces, the
wells, everything. Excavation is a slow, expensive process. Since the archaeologist has a limited amount of time
and money, he won’t be able to excavate the entire site. He must carefully map out the locations of each spot he
wants to dig. This way, every minute of digging provides data that will help him answer the BIG QUESTION. The dig location is also important because once an area is excavated, no other scientist will be able to study it
firsthand. After all, the artifacts have been removed and stored away. There won’t be much left behind to study.
That’s why archaeologists take plenty of detailed notes while they work. This provides information for other
archaeologists who want to learn about the same excavation site. While working in the field, the archaeologist works slowly and
carefully. Why? He or she must dig units with perfectly straight
edges. What is a “unit”? A unit can be a square that is one meter
wide and one meter across. Or it can be a long, narrow rectangle
that is one-meter-wide and five-meters-long. In fact, a unit can
be many different sizes, but before the archaeologist starts digging,
he or she must decide exactly what size the units will be…and
then stick to the plan! Once he’s set the unit size, the archaeologist
decides how deep he will dig for each level of the excavation. He
may decide to stop digging at five centimeters (cm), 15 cm, or 20
cm. But whatever he decides, he has to stick to the plan. He can’t
just keep digging if he finds something cool. Instead, he must stop
to take careful notes and measurements. Each pile of dirt must be
carefully searched, so that even the tiniest artifacts aren’t missed.
Another archaeologist may help to sift through the newly
excavated dirt by pushing it down through the screen of a sifting
box. The dirt falls through, while the artifacts stay on top of the
screen. Each of these artifacts will go in a bag titled “Level 1.” Another level can be excavated while the first material is
being sifted. As each excavation level is completed, archaeologists
take measurements, record notes, sift through dirt, and store the
artifacts in a fresh bag (Level 2, Level 3, etc.). Archaeology takes a
lot of time and patience.
45
Sifting Box
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
how archaeology works
mala compra
Students learn about archaeology by studying
the Mala Compa Site.
Why is it important to dig so carefully? It’s all about “context.” You’ve heard of “context clues,” right? These
are hints in a sentence that help you figure out the meaning of a nearby word. “Context” in archaeology works
the same way. Let’s say you find a piece of fine china next to the wood plank floor of the main house. This tells
you that someone in the Mala Compra main house was eating off some pretty fancy plates. Since we know that
Hernandez installed the wood plank floor sometime after 1818, we can give the china a rough date of “AFTER
1818.” This date context is based on its location inside the main house AND its position next to the wood
plank floor.
Knowing where an artifact was found preserves its context, and that’s why archaeologists dig in such careful,
thin levels. Next, they bag and label every single artifact, so that a piece of fine china from the main house won’t
get confused with an earthenware bowl excavated from the slave cabins. What would happen if archaeologists
ignored the careful-digging procedure? What if they dug up deep, messy shovelfuls? They’d mix up the newer
artifacts at the top with the older artifacts buried underneath. This would wreck the context completely. Careful excavation and good record keeping are the best ways to preserve the context (and all the cool
information) for each artifact.
After an archaeologist has finished excavating, sifting, and note taking, the REAL work starts. Back in the lab, he
must try to identify each artifact and feature he’s discovered. He does this by comparing his finds to artifacts and
features that earlier archaeologists have already identified. If he finds a piece of china, he compares it to a
museum collection of dishes from the 1800s. If this china is expensive, it might tell him that the family spent
money on fancier things. If he finds a piece of china he just can’t identify, he NEVER ever makes a guess about
what it is. Instead, he records the following note: “1 unidentified ceramic.” He also works to identify the
features he found. If he discovers a piece of wood planking, he can research how wood planks were used in
Florida’s 1800s houses. Were they usually parts of floors? Parts of ceilings? Parts of walls? Each piece of
information will help the archaeologist answer the project’s BIG QUESTION.
Next, the archaeologist must analyze the meaning of each artifact and feature. What clues can these artifacts give
him about the reasons Hernandez didn’t use much coquina? Pieces of broken window glass tell him that the main
house had glass windowpanes to keep insects out. (Now, that’s nice living!) The wooden planks were a popular
and expensive style of flooring. And the broken wine glass provides even more evidence that the Hernandez
family was willing to spend money on things they didn’t really need.
Once the archaeologist’s analysis is complete, he or she will go out to the site and cover each feature with a tarp to
protect it from the weather. Then he’ll store the artifacts at a museum or university in carefully labeled
containers. Careful storage allows future archaeologists to study these features and artifacts. It might even help
them to answer their own big questions.
After everything is safely labeled and stored, the archaeologist will write his report. First, he’ll describe the
artifacts and the features he found. Then he’ll share his conclusions and explain how the artifacts and features he
discovered support this conclusion.
His report will also include other useful details he’s observed during the excavation. Why? These unrelated facts
might generate new questions for study. Archaeologists, like all scientists, are always looking for the next
question, the next mystery, and of course, the next clue.
46
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
how archaeology works
mala compra
Students learn about archaeology by studying
the Mala Compa Site.
artifacts from mala compra excavation
(Courtesy of Environmental Services, Inc.)
Image 2: Ceramic Dishes
Image 1: Lead Shot and Gunflints
Image 4: Kitchen Artifacts
(Including Tea Cup Handle and Goblet Base)
Image 3: Ceramic Dishes
Image 6: Personal Items
(Pharmaceutical Bottle, Drug Jar,
Spanish Coin,Pipe Stems and Bone Fan)
Image 5: Brass Buttons
47
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
how archaeology works
mala compra
Students learn about archaeology by studying
the Mala Compa Site.
try this activity - categorizing artifacts
BACKGROUND: Archaeologists sometimes find thousands of artifacts at each excavation site. How do they
organize all of this material? They put the items into groups with other similar artifacts. These groupings help
archaeologists understand more about the people who made the artifacts. Here are a few of the categories
(groupings) that archaeologists used to describe the Mala Compra artifacts.
CATEGORIES:
1. Food Leftovers and Tools Used to Serve or Hunt Food
2. Clothing
3. Building Materials
4. Personal Items
ACTIVITY: Look at the list of Mala Compra artifacts below. Decide which of the four categories best describes
each artifact. Then write each artifact beside the CATEGORY it matches.
Sample List of Mala Compra Artifacts:
Alligator Bone, Button, Clay Brick, Domestic Pig Bone, Gaming Pieces, Iron Nail, Lead Shot from a Gun,
Medicine Bottle, Pipe Stem, Porcelain Dish, Shoe Buckle, Window Glass
Category 1, Food - Related Items:
Category 2, Clothing: Category 3, Building Materials:
Category 4, Personal Items:
48
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
sugarcane and sugar
mills in early florida
Students learn about coquina sugar mills
and sugar growing in early Florida.
academic outcomes/lesson objectives:
• Students read selections introducing them to coquina sugar mills and the process of making sugarcane.
sunshine state standards assessed:
social studies 4th-5th
• (SS.A.2.2.1) Knows the significant scientific and technological achievements of various societies (e.g., the
invention of paper in China, Mayan calendars, mummification and the use of cotton in Egypt,
astronomical discoveries in the Moslem world, and the Arabic number system).
• (SS.A.6.2.3) Knows the significant individuals, events, and social, political, and economic characteristics of
different periods in Florida’s history.
• (SS.A.6.2.6) Understands the cultural, social, and political features of Native American tribes in Florida’s history.
SCIENCE 4TH
• (SC.4.E.6.3) Recognize that humans need resources found on Earth and that these are either renewable
or nonrenewable.
• (SC.4.P.11.1) Recognize that heat flows from a hot object to a cold object and that heat flow may cause materials
to change temperature.
• (SC.4.L.17.4) Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the environment.
SCIENCE 5TH
• (SC.5.P.9.1) Investigate and describe that many physical and chemical changes are affected by temperature. resources:
Baker, Henry. “Fifteen Years on Bulow Creek: Glimpses of Bulowville.” The Florida Anthropologist, Vol 52,
No.1-2, (March-June 1999).
“Bongoland / Dunlawton Plantation Ruins.” 18 February 2008. <http://www.geocities.com/floridaeveryoneforgot/bongoland.htm>.
Florida Public Archaeology Network. 28 February 2008 <http://www.flpublicarchaeology.org>.
Macinnis, Peter. Bittersweet: The Story of Sugar. Australia: Allen & Unwin, 2002.
Rivers, Larry Eugene. Slavery in Florida: Territorial Days to Emancipation. Gainesville: University Press of
Florida, 2000.
Sitterson, Carlyle. Sugar Country: The Cane Sugar Industry in the South 1753-1958. Lexington: University of
Kentucky Press, 1953.
“The Plantation Ruins of Northeast Florida.” Daytona Beach: Museum of Arts and Sciences, Daytona Beach,
Florida, 2005.
materials list:
None
answer key for activity:
1 – Mala Compra, 2 – Bulowville, 3 – Dunlawton, 4 – Cruger-DePeyster
author: Kelley Weitzel, http://www.KelleyWeitzel.com
49
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
sugarcane and sugar
mills in early florida
Students learn about coquina sugar mills
and sugar growing in early Florida.
student articles & activities:
1. A Quick History of Sugar
2. How is sugarcane made into sugar?
3. How does a sugar mill work?
4. ACTIVITY: Where can you find plantations with coquina buildings?
5. The Cruger-DePeyster Sugar Mill and Plantation
6. The Dunlawton Sugar Mill and Plantation
7. The Bulow Sugar Mill and Plantation
vocabulary:
Bamboo, Clarify, Coquina, Crystals, Fibers, Hogshead, Impurities, Ladle, Militia, Mill, Molasses,
Ruins, Scum, Slaked Lime, Steam, Sugarcane, Syrup
assesment options:
writing prompt #1:
Florida sugar plantations destroyed huge areas of forest to get the firewood they
needed to keep their sugar kettles hot. Think about how these practices affected Florida’s habitats. Write to
persuade the owner of Bulowville Plantation to stop cutting so many trees on his property.
writing prompt #2: Many of Florida’s old coquina houses, forts, and sugar mills are still standing today. Think about what a future archaeologist could discover about you and your family if the walls of your home were
sturdy enough to last 200 years. Write to explain what the archaeologist might learn about you by studying the
walls of your home 200 years in the future. assessment #1: Review the article titled, “How is Sugarcane Made into Sugar?” and the drawing titled,
“How Does a Sugar Mill Work?” Based on your understanding of each, write a step-by-step description of the
sugar-making process.
assessment #2: John Bulow did not like the way the Florida militia was treating the Seminole people. In
1835, he decided to protest the actions of the Florida militia by firing a cannon at them. There wasn’t a
cannonball in the cannon, but the militia didn’t know that. They arrested Bulow and captured his plantation.
When the Seminole saw the militia living there, they thought Bulow had betrayed them. In response, they
burned Bulowville to the ground.
All of this happened because of misunderstandings between Bulow, the Seminole, and the militia. Think about
how each of these misunderstandings might have been avoided. Imagine a different version of Florida history,
in which Bulow came up with better way to communicate with the militia and the Seminole. Describe how he
could have handled these problems differently, and how your new version of history turns out.
This project has been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic
Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.
50
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
sugarcane and sugar
mills in early florida
Students learn about coquina sugar mills
and sugar growing in early Florida.
why are we studying about sugar mills?
Growing sugar takes an incredible amount of human labor. Someone has to plant the sugarcane, hoe the fields,
harvest the stalks, grind them up, boil the sugary liquid into syrup, pack it into barrels, and cut enough wood to
keep hot fires going all the while. To make a profit, sugar planters needed a cheap source of labor. As a result,
sugarcane is one of the main reasons slavery became important in Florida.
a quick history of sugar
Did you ever wonder where sugar actually came from? We use it
as a grainy sweetener, but it doesn’t start out that way. Sugar is
actually in the grass family. It grows up to 18-feet-tall and is
called sugarcane. It looks a little like bamboo, but its long woody
tubes are not hollow on the inside like many grasses. When it is
cut down and crushed, the sweet insides of the stem can be
manufactured into molasses or sugar.
But where did sugarcane come from? Historians think that wild
sugarcane first grew on an island called New Guinea. That’s all
the way on the other side of the world, near the coast of Australia.
Thousands of years ago, someone living in New Guinea must have
figured out that if you cut a long section of sugarcane and plant it
in the dirt, a new sugarcane plant will start growing. In this way,
the first sugarcane farms were born!
Sugar Cane
Back then, sugarcane was probably just chewed, not processed into sugar. While you were chewing, the sweet
syrupy stuff from inside the cane dripped down your throat, and you spit out the tough fibers from the stem.
People loved the taste of sugarcane and traded it for new products in new places. Eventually, sugarcane was traded
all the way to India. Historians think it was the people in India who figured out how to make actual sugar. They
crushed the cane, and then boiled it with a little bit of ashes. The ashes forced any impurities or pollutants to rise
to the top. Then people scooped this scummy layer off and boiled the juice until all the water evaporated out. What remained was crystals of pure sugar. When did this happen? Historians think it occurred more than 1,500
years ago! People really loved the sweet taste of sugar and traded it all over Europe. How did sugarcane get to the
New World? Columbus brought it, of course. On his second trip across the Atlantic, he introduced sugarcane to
Hispaniola, an island just south of Florida. Shortly after that, sugarcane was shipped over to Florida. Growing and making sugar takes a LOT of work and a LOT of resources. First, you’ve got to clear the land
and plant the stems. Then you have to pull weeds for months until the sugarcane grasses are tall enough that
the weeds won’t shade them out. Then you’ve got to cut the sugarcane, grind it by running it through a rolling
machine, and start boiling it. Sugarcane is nearly 90% water, and you have to boil the sugary liquid a long time
to evaporate this water away. To keep the liquid boiling, wood had to be burned constantly. Whole forests were
sometimes cut down to get enough firewood. A plantation had to grow and crush 7 tons of sugar cane to get just
1 ton of sugar. As you might guess, all of this labor required lots of workers. The need for sugarcane labor is one
of the main reasons slavery became important on northeast Florida plantations.
51
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
sugarcane and sugar
mills in early florida
Students learn about coquina sugar mills
and sugar growing in early Florida.
how is sugarcane made into sugar?
Each October, the plantation slaves began cutting sugarcane in the fields. They trimmed off the leaves and roots
and hauled the 8-foot-long cane plants to the storage shed. The cane-grinding machine was in the same building. This machine was driven by steam. Where did the steam come from? Slaves had to keep a fire burning
constantly. They sometimes burned 1,800 cubic feet of wood each day. That’s enough to fill half a semi truck
trailer! The heat from this burning wood boiled water, and that made steam. The steam powered an engine.
This engine turned three large rollers. Slaves would push the long canes between these rollers, crushing the stalks
and releasing the sugary juice. This juice dripped down into a container below, while the bits of crushed wood
were pushed out the other side. It took 100 pounds of sugarcane to get 55 pounds of juice. So, what happened next? This sweet juice went into
to a container called a Clarifier, where dirt and bits of
wood settled to the bottom. The clearer juice on the
top was ladled into a six-foot-wide kettle called the
Grande kettle. Next, slaked lime was added to the
sugary juice. A chemical reaction caused
greenish scum to rise to the top. The slaves scooped
off this scummy layer and ladled the cleaner juice into
the next kettle (#2). A nearby fire heated the kettles,
helping to evaporate water out of the juice. This made
it thicker. The thickening juice was ladled into kettle
#3. Each ladle (or giant spoon) held 8 gallons of juice. When full, each of these ladles weighed nearly 65
pounds. That’s heavy! The ladles had handles about
ten feet long. Their long handles balanced on the kettle
edges like see-saws, helping the slaves to balance and
lift the heavy load.
Dunlawton Sugar Boiling Kettle
So, what happened after the juice was ladled into kettle #3? More evaporation, of course! Then the thicker juice
was ladled into kettle #4. When the sugary juice was a light yellow color, it was ladled into kettle #5, called the
Tache. The Tache was the smallest kettle, only three feet wide. It was also the hottest kettle because the fire was
directly under it. There was a tunnel that carried the fire’s heat beneath all of the kettles. This kept them warm
all the time. Eventually, the hot smoky air went up a chimney. That’s why sugar mills all have those big coquina
chimneys!
Okay, back to sugar making. What happened in the Tache kettle? The liquid got as thick as syrup. To test if
the syrupy sugar was ready, someone dipped his fingers in. If a strand of sugar stretched between his thumb and
finger, the syrup had boiled long enough.
Where did the syrup go next? A trough carried the syrup into the drying room. In shallow pans, the syrup
began to dry, and sugar crystals formed. The sugar was stirred and allowed to dry for up to 14 hours. Once it
was fairly dry, it was packed into huge barrels called hogsheads. The sugar still had some liquid in it, so the slaves
drilled drainage holes in the bottom of each barrel. For sixty days, juice drained out of these holes and fell into
containers below. This juice was called molasses. It could be sold for use in cooking or as an ingredient to make
rum. Each full hogshead of dry sugar weighed 1,800 pounds. That’s almost a ton! These huge barrels were
rolled down to a nearby river and loaded onto a boat to be sold. The whole process lasted from October to early
January. Since new sugarcane was planted in January, the work never stopped on a sugar plantation. 52
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
sugarcane and sugar
mills in early florida
Students learn about coquina sugar mills
and sugar growing in early Florida.
how does a sugar mill work?
53
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
sugarcane and sugar
mills in early florida
Students learn about coquina sugar mills
and sugar growing in early Florida.
activity - where can you find plantations with coquina buildings
DIRECTIONS: The statements below describe the locations of four Florida plantations. Each of these
plantations had buildings made of coquina. Coquina stone is found along the east coast of Florida, so this gives
you a starting idea of their location. Use the statements below to decide where each plantation belongs on
the map.
Bulow Plantation is located 30 miles south of St. Augustine.
Cruger-DePeyster Plantation is located 70 miles south of St. Augustine.
Dunlawton Plantation is located 60 miles south of St. Augustine.
Mala Compra Plantation is located 15 miles south of St. Augustine.
#1 is:
#2 is:
#3 is:
#4 is:
54
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
sugarcane and sugar
mills in early florida
Students learn about coquina sugar mills
and sugar growing in early Florida.
the cruger-depeyster sugar mill and plantation
The sugar-making diagram on page 7 is based on the ruins at the Cruger-DePeyster sugar mill. Henry Cruger
and William DePeyster built this sugar plantation in the early 1830s. You can visit these coquina ruins today in
the city of New Smyrna. The coquina stonework at this sugar mill is both beautiful and artistic. In the 1920s, people thought CrugerDePeyster’s beautiful coquina buildings were part of an old Spanish mission church. It’s easy to understand their
mistake. The fields of sugarcane that had surrounded Cruger-DePeyster back in 1834 had disappeared. Also, after the Seminole burned this plantation, much of the sugar-making equipment (giant kettles, grinding rollers, and
steam engines) was moved to nearby Dunlawton plantation. Any remaining equipment was probably overgrown
by plants. People saw the beautiful stone arches and thought it must have been a church.
How did archaeologists prove that Cruger-DePeyster was actually a sugar mill? In 1950, archaeologist Dr. John
Griffin began to study the old ruins. He carefully measured the rooms in the Cruger-DePeyster coquina building. The rooms were arranged in EXACTLY the same layout as the rooms at the Bulowville sugar mill. That’s
good evidence that Cruger-DePeyster was built to be a sugar mill, not a church.
Dr. Griffin also discovered that the rooms were built using English Standard measurements. Early Floridians
learned to use English measurements during the time that England ruled Florida (from 1763-1784). That means
the coquina building at Cruger-Depeyster must have been built after 1763. Since the Spanish mission churches
were built long before that (in the 1500s and 1600s), Cruger-DePeyster couldn’t have been a Spanish mission. It
was a sugar mill after all.
Image 1: Cruger-DePeyster Archway
Image 2: Cruger-DePeyster Chimney
55
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
sugarcane and sugar
mills in early florida
Students learn about coquina sugar mills
and sugar growing in early Florida.
the dunlawton sugar mill and plantation
In 1832, the Anderson family bought 995 acres of land. They developed it into a sugar plantation and named it
Dunlawton. The Andersons grew fields of sugarcane and owned many slaves who worked in the fields and the
sugar mill. The mill buildings were constructed from blocks of coquina stone.
Some of the coquina buildings are still here, but the plantation itself didn’t last very long. Only a few years after
the Andersons built Dunlawton, the Second Seminole War began. In 1835, the Seminole started burning sugar
mills. Most of the buildings at Dunlawton were destroyed. In fact, these attacks destroyed almost every sugar
mill in Florida.
Surprisingly, that wasn’t the end of Dunlawton. In 1846, John Marshall bought the plantation. He also purchased
some of the sugar-making machinery and kettles from the Cruger-Deypester mill. He and his 25 slaves used these
parts to rebuild Dunlawton. In 1850, his mill processed 200 hogsheads of sugar. That’s 360,000 pounds of sugar
in one year! He kept making sugar until the Civil War began in 1861. During the Civil War, the Confederate army used his mill to make sugar and salt for the soldiers. (They made salt by boiling ocean water in the big
kettles. The water evaporated out and left the salt behind.) After the Civil War, Dunlawton Mill closed forever. By 1875, the buildings were starting to fall apart, and the cane fields had been replaced by a thick forest. If you
visit Dunlawton today, you can see the tall coquina chimneys, the engine that ran the cane crusher, and the huge
metal kettles.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU SEE AT THE DUNLAWTON SITE?
Have you ever heard of “Bongoland”? In the 1950s, a man named Dr. Perry Sperber built a small amusement park
and zoo near the Dunlawton ruins. The park was named after one of the zoo animals, a baboon called Bongo.
Today, most of Bongoland has disappeared. The only parts you can still see are a bunch of cement dinosaurs.
Did you know that real dinosaurs never lived in Florida? 65 million years ago, our state was actually underwater! (That’s not a great environment for a T-Rex.) Maybe Dr. Sperber wanted Floridians to have cement dinosaurs to
look at, since we don’t have any real dinosaur skeletons of our own!
cool fact:
Archaeologists do NOT study dinosaurs. They study PEOPLE of
the past by investigating ARTIFACTS – the tools and materials
these people left behind. What kind of scientist does study
dinosaurs? Paleontologists (pay-lee-un-tah-low-gists) study
dinosaur bones. As you might guess, there’s not much work for
paleontologists in the state of Florida!
56
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
sugarcane and sugar
mills in early florida
Students learn about coquina sugar mills
and sugar growing in early Florida.
Image 1: Ruins at the Dunlawton Sugar Mill
Image 2: Ruins at the Bulow Sugar Mill
57
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
sugarcane and sugar
mills in early florida
Students learn about coquina sugar mills
and sugar growing in early Florida.
the bulow sugar mill and plantation
In 1821, the Bulow family purchased a big piece of land about 30 miles south of St. Augustine. They started
out with 4,600 acres and bought 2,000 more the next year. That makes Bulow one of the largest plantations in
Florida. 300 slaves were brought in to start up the plantation. In 1831, they built a big steam-powered sugar mill
and planted 1,000 acres of sugarcane. Another 1,200 acres of cotton was planted, along with fields of corn, rice,
and other food plants.
This wealthy plantation was called Bulowville. In 1831, John James Audubon visited the plantation. Audubon
is famous for studying American birds. He wrote that the people of Bulowville had a fine library and took very
good care of him during his visit. Bulowville has the same beautiful arches that we see at Cruger-DePeyster. In
fact, the walls of the main house were made from coquina blocks 18 inches thick! So why didn’t anyone confuse
these coquina buildings with an old Spanish church? It’s because Audubon’s writings clearly identified Bulowville
as a sugar plantation. This document allowed historians to prove that Bulowville was a plantation, not a church.
So what happened to this thriving plantation? Like most of Florida’s sugar plantations, it was destroyed in the
Second Seminole War. This is a little strange because John Bulow had a good relationship with the Seminole. He
often traded with them, giving them lead, blankets, and beads in exchange for deer meat, turkey, and wild honey. In 1835, when the Seminole burned several houses in New Smyrna, the Florida militia was called in to protect
white settlers against the Indians. Bulow didn’t agree with the Florida government. He wanted the Seminole to
know he was still their friend. When the militia marched up to the plantation, Bulow fired a cannon at them. He
wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. In fact, he didn’t even put a cannonball in the cannon. He just wanted to show that
he disagreed with the militia.
As it turns out, the militia was pretty angry. They took Bulow prisoner and locked him up on his own property
for a month. While the army was there, they built protective fences around the buildings using big cotton bales.
They also built a small fort out of palm tree trunks. When the Seminole saw the army setting up a permanent
camp, they decided to attack. They burned every major building to the ground, including 46 slave cabins. The
flames were so bright, they could be seen 30 miles away in St. Augustine. Is there anything left to look at today? YES. If you visit Bulowville, you can see the house foundation along with
ruins of the coquina sugar mill, a well, and a springhouse. It’s one of the best places to see a Florida sugar mill!
58
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
the turnbull plantation a british settlement in florida
Students learn about Florida’s British period, its
indigo plantations, and its coquina archaeology.
academic outcomes/lesson objectives:
• Students read selections introducing them to the ways that Dr. Turnbull’s indigo colony utilized coquina
structures, introduced Minorcans to Florida, and founded the city of New Smyrna.
sunshine state standards assessed:
social studies 4th-5th
• (SS.A.4.2.1) Understands the geographic, economic, political, and cultural factors that characterized early
exploration of the Americas.
• (SS.A.6.2.1) Understands reasons that immigrants came to Florida and the contributions of immigrants to the
state’s history.
• (SS.A.6.2.3) Knows the significant individuals, events, and social, political, and economic characteristics of
different periods in Florida’s history.
• (SS.A.6.2.5) Knows how various cultures contributed to the unique social, cultural, economic, and political
features of Florida.
• (SS.B.2.2.2) Understands how the physical environment supports and constrains human activities.
• (SS.D.1.2.1) Understands that all decisions involve opportunity costs and that making effective decisions involves
considering the costs and the benefits associated with alternative choices.
• (SS.D.1.2.2) Understands that scarcity of resources requires choices on many levels, from the individual to societal.
resources:
Austin, Robert and Dorothy Moore. Archaeology of the New Smyrna Colony. New Smyrna Beach, FL: Southeastern Archaeological Research, Inc, 1999.
Beeson, Kenneth Jr. Fromajadas and Indigo – The Minorcan Colony in Florida. Charleston, SC: The History
Press, 2006.
Florida Public Archaeology Network. 28 February 2008 <http://www.flpublicarchaeology.org>.
Grange, Roger Jr. “The Turnbull Colonist’s House at New Smyrna Beach: A Preliminary Report on 8VO7051,”
The Florida Anthropologist, Vol. 52. (Mar-Jun 1999).
Grange, Roger and Dorothy Moore. “Search and Rescue Archaeology at the Smyrnea Settlement: A Preliminary
Description of Structure Types.” The Florida Anthropologist, Vol. 56 (Sep 2003)
Griffin, Patricia. “Life on the Plantations of East Florida: 1763-1848,” The Florida Anthropologist, Vol. 56,
(Sep 2003). “Indigo Cultivation in British East Florida.” Florida History Online. 24 February 2008. <http://www.unf.edu/floridahistoryonline//Plantations/plantations/Indigo_Cultivation_and_Processing.htm>.
Luther, Gary. History of New Smyrna East Florida with Illustrations. New Smyrna Beach, FL: Luthers
Publishing, 2001.
Moore, Dorothy and Dana St. Claire. “Dreams and Promises Unfulfilled: Andrew Turnbull and the New Smyrna
Colony.” The Florida Anthropologist, Vol. 52, (Mar-Jun 1999)
“Smyrnea: Dr. Andrew Turnbull and the Mediterranean Settlement at New Smyrna and Edgewater, Florida,
1766-1777.” Florida History Online. 24 February 2008. <http://www.unf.edu/floridahistoryonline//Turnbull/index.htm>.
“Three New Smyrna Maps Dated 1767-1700 Discovered in Dundee, Scotland.” Musqueto Newsletter. New
Smyrna, FL: Southeast Volusia Historical Society, Inc. 2003.
materials list:
None
This project has been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic
Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.
59
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
the turnbull plantation a british settlement in florida
Students learn about Florida’s British period, its
indigo plantations, and its coquina archaeology.
answer key for activity:
B. BRITISH PERIOD (1763-1783):
1700
1800
1900
author: Kelley Weitzel, http://www.KelleyWeitzel.com
student articles & activities:
1. Who came to Florida with Dr. Turnbull?
2. The New Smyrna Settlement – Troubles from the Start 3. The New Smyrna Settlement – Problems to the End
4. Why was indigo an important crop?
5. Is there really a Fort in Old Fort Park?
6. Who else built on this coquina foundation?
7. What other coquina structures did Turnbull build?
8. ACTIVITY: Using Archaeology & History to Date the “Settlers’ House” Site
vocabulary:
Artifact, Canal, Colony, Colonist, Coquina, Descendents, Drought, Dye, Excavate, Fort,
Foundation, Indentured Servant, Indigo, Irrigate, Malaria, Minorca, Settlers, Structure, Synthetic,
Thatch, Wharf
assesment options:
writing prompt #1: People once thought that the huge coquina foundation in New Smyrna was part of
an old Spanish fort. Think about a time you confused one thing with something else. Write to explain how you
finally figured out the truth.
writing prompt #2: Dr. Turnbull’s indentured servants agreed to work for him for 6-10 years in order to
pay for their ship ride to America. Think about whether you would agree to be an indentured servant on Mars
if someone was willing to pay for your spaceship travel. Write a story about your journey to Mars or about your
decision to stay here on Earth.
assessment #1: The signs at Old Fort Park still describe this coquina foundation as “Turnbull’s Mansion.” Based on your reading of the article titled, “Is there Really a Fort in Old Fort Park?” design a new sign that gives
a more factual history of this coquina structure. Use details and information from the article to support your
answer.
assessment #2: Read the activity titled, “Using Archaeology & History to Date the ‘Settlers’ House Site.” Based on your reading, explain how archaeologists can use dates collected from artifacts and historical documents
to pinpoint the date in history when a building was being used. Use details and information from the activity to
support your answer.
60
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
the turnbull plantation a british settlement in florida
Students learn about Florida’s British period, its
indigo plantations, and its coquina archaeology.
why are we studying the turnbull colony?
The Turnbull Colony brought thousands of Minorcan people to live in Florida as plantation workers. These
people brought their own cultures and ways of life, making Florida history richer and more diverse. They also
grew indigo, an important crop in Florida’s early economy. While working at the plantation, these Minorcans
built several coquina structures that still survive today. These structures include a huge coquina wharf (dock), a
drainage canal lined with coquina stone, a big storehouse, and the chimneys and fireplaces of many small houses.
You can still visit these structures in the city of New Smyrna today. They help us learn more about Florida’s
distant past.
who came to florida with dr. turnbull?
Florida’s British Period lasted from 1763-1783. During this time, the British government wanted people to move
in and become farmers in Florida. They agreed to give 20,000 acres of land to anyone who could bring in settlers
and grow the crops that the British Empire needed. These crops included oil made from olive trees, wine made
from grapevines, colored dye made from indigo plants, fibers made from hemp plants, and silk made by
silkworms. Dr. Andrew Turnbull decided he wanted to give it a try.
At first, most of the workers that Dr. Turnbull spoke with didn’t want to go. Why should they leave their
comfortable homes and move to hot, buggy Florida? Other British investors solved this problem by forcing slaves
to do the farming on their 20,000 acres. Dr. Turnbull thought differently. He felt it was important to get free
European workers to join his project. He’d hoped to convince 500 workers to come with him, but eventually,
more than 1,400 people volunteered. Why? On the island of Minorca (which is right near Spain), the farmers’
crops had failed for three years in a row. Whole families were starving. They decided to take the risk and travel
with Dr. Turnbull to Florida.
These Minorcans (along with a few Greek and Italian people) didn’t have any money to pay for their ship ride
across the Atlantic Ocean. Dr. Turnbull agreed to pay for their journey if they would become “indentured
servants.” What is an indentured servant? This is someone who agrees to work for several years to pay off a debt
they owe. Each adult would work for Dr. Turnbull for 6-8 years. Then they would receive their own piece of
farmland. It seemed like the answer to everyone’s problems.
cool fact:
When Dr. Turnbull visited Minorca, he landed at the capital city of
Mahón. This city’s people are called Mahónese. They are famous
for inventing a popular sandwich spread. Can you guess which
one? It’s mayonnaise, of course!
61
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
the turnbull plantation a british settlement in florida
Students learn about Florida’s British period, its
indigo plantations, and its coquina archaeology.
the new smyrna settlement - troubles from the start (1768)
Dr. Turnbull had only planned to bring 500 people to Florida. He needed A LOT more money to transport 1,400
people across the Atlantic Ocean. His two business partners had each agreed to provide 9,000 pounds to help pay
for food, tools, and ships. What’s a “pound”? It’s like a dollar. (The symbol for pounds is £, just like the symbol
for dollars is $.) 18,000£ wasn’t going to be nearly enough money. Dr. Turnbull had to buy lots of extra food and arrange for
extra ships to carry the huge number of colonists. To make matters worse, when his ships crossed the Atlantic
Ocean, the weather was awful. The six-week trip ended up lasting three whole months! 148 Minorcans died
during this rough trip. When the ships finally reached Florida in June of 1768, the people discovered that Dr.
Turnbull hadn’t built enough houses or stored enough food for so many people. They all worked hard to build
houses thatched with palm leaves, but the winter was cold and miserable. Some of the Minorcans stole a ship,
hoping to escape to Cuba, but the British caught them and brought them back. Life was very difficult. The long
days they worked in the fields and the poor living conditions caused more than 300 Minorcans to sicken and die. Dr. Turnbull was very upset, but he didn’t have any more money to buy food, medicines, or warm clothing.
He wrote many letters to his partners back in London, begging them for help. Finally, they agreed to give him
24,000 £ to help with the costs. Over the years, this money ran out quickly. Dr. Turnbull used it to pay for food,
tools, seeds, clothing, building materials, and anything else the colonists needed to survive in wild Florida.
Eventually, Turnbull’s partners got tired of his letters asking for extra money. They refused to send any more.
the new smyrna settlement - problems to the end (1777)
Dr. Turnbull decided to ask for help from Florida’s governor, James Grant. For years, Governor Grant did his best
to provide emergency food and clothes for the Minorcans when they ran out of supplies. The colony had some
good years and some bad years. During good years, they produced enough indigo dye to make some money.
They also grew enough corn to give the people something to eat. Of course, people need to eat more than just
corn. So, even on a good year, Dr. Turnbull had to beg grocery money from his partners and the governor. On
a bad year, things were really bad. The indigo crop was frequently damaged by drought or eaten by caterpillars.
Droughts also killed the corn crop. During these years, the Minorcan workers had little food. They grew weak,
and many died from diseases like malaria.
Dr. Turnbull did try to solve these problems. DROUGHT SOLUTION: He had the Minorcans dig miles of
irrigation ditches lined with coquina stone. These coquina canals carried water right to the corn and indigo fields.
CATERPILLAR SOLUTION: Dr. Turnbull asked his workers to dig trenches around any indigo plants infested
with caterpillars. The trenches helped the Minorcans to see and capture the caterpillars before they crawled to
another indigo plant. FOOD SOLUTION: Dr. Turnbull tried raising cows for beef, but the Creek Indians stole
them. (The Creek Indians would later become the Seminole.) He even tried buying and storing extra corn for
emergencies, but weevil insects got into the corn and ruined it. Dr. Turnbull’s plantation was hit by disaster after
disaster.
When Governor Grant decided to leave Florida, the situation got worse. The new governor believed the New
Smyrna Settlement would never succeed. He didn’t want to put any more government money into a failing
project. Dr. Turnbull’s partners in London didn’t want to spend any more money either. The Minorcans
continued to work hard, building a coquina wharf (dock) so that ships could easily drop off food for the colony. They dug more canals to improve their crops. They planted more fields and went a whole year without new
clothes to save money. In spite of this hard work, the plantation suffered another drought year, and they had no
money to pay the plantation’s bills. Dr. Turnbull decided to sail back to London for help.
62
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
the turnbull plantation a british settlement in florida
Students learn about Florida’s British period, its
indigo plantations, and its coquina archaeology.
While he was gone, several Minorcan people deserted the plantation and walked to St. Augustine to speak with
the new governor. They told him that Dr. Turnbull was forcing them to work as indentured servants longer than
they had agreed. They said he had not given them the land or the pay he had promised. They also stated that
Dr. Turnbull and his overseers treated the people terribly, beating them, and in some cases, killing workers who
stood up for their rights. Based on this information, the governor decided to free the Minorcan people from their
contacts. When Dr. Turnbull returned from London in November 1777, all of his workers had disappeared. WAIT A MINUTE. Did Dr. Turnbull really treat his workers that badly? Historians have lots of Turnbull’s
letters, and almost every one is begging for money to buy food, medicine, and clothes for his Minorcan workers. So, what was really going on? We know that some of the plantation’s overseers had once worked on slave
plantations. They were probably treating the Minorcans as badly as they had always treated slaves. But what
about Dr. Turnbull? Did he treat them horribly too? It’s a mystery. And we may never know the answer – unless
historians find more old documents to tell us.
We do know what happened to the Minorcans. Only 419 of the original 1,403 settlers had survived. They
walked the 75 miles to St. Augustine, where the governor provided each family with a small piece of land and
some food. Descendents of these Minorcan families are still an important part of St. Augustine today. What happened to Dr. Turnbull? He and his wife decided to move to Charleston, South Carolina. He worked
there as a medical doctor for the rest of his life.
why was indigo an important crop?
Indigo is a deep blue dye made from the leaves of an indigo plant. While many kinds of
wild plants can be made into red, yellow, and brown dyes, only one or two plants make
blue. That’s why indigo was so important. Anyone who wanted blue cloth needed indigo
plants. Unfortunately, indigo doesn’t grow well in Europe’s cool climates. The Europeans
tried to solve this problem by growing indigo in their North and South America colonies. The 1768 Turnbull Colony was one of many indigo plantations in the New World. Indigo Plant
cool fact
1:
Before European colonies started growing indigo plants, most of
Europe’s blue dye came from India. That’s how the plant got its
name. In-di-a…In-di-go.
cool fact
2:
In 1887, scientists discovered a method for making indigo dye in
a laboratory. This meant that people no longer needed to grow
indigo plants to get blue cloth. This synthetic (man-made) blue
dye is used to color blue jeans today.
Indigo Sketch
(Courtesy of www.plantcultures.org)
Indigo plantations in South Carolina were very successful, but the Minorcans had a difficult time growing indigo
in Florida. They started planting indigo seeds in March. In about ten weeks, the plants bloomed, and it was time
to cut the stalks. Workers bundled the stalks and carried them to the processing vats. These square vats could be
made of brick or wood. They were big - about 16 feet wide and three feet deep. Workers loaded indigo leaves
and stalks into the first vat, filled it with water, and pounded up the leaves. After about 12 hours, the plants
would start to rot. This bubbling mess turned the water a yellowish-green color. The smell was so bad that the
indigo vats had to be located far from the workers’ houses. What was the next step? The colored water was
63
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
the turnbull plantation a british settlement in florida
Students learn about Florida’s British period, its
indigo plantations, and its coquina archaeology.
transferred to another vat. Here, the workers added lime (made from oyster shells), and stirred the water until a
blue-colored mud sank to the bottom. This muddy dye was allowed to dry in the shade until it could be cut into
small squares for shipment. The dye could be purple, blue, or copper-colored. If the weather was perfect, the
indigo plants grew quickly and could be harvested five times each year. Unfortunately, extreme heat and drought
could kill the indigo plants. When this happened, the entire crop was lost and the whole field had to
be replanted.
is there really a fort in old fort park?
If you visit Old Fort Park in New Smyrna Beach, you can see (and even climb on) a HUGE coquina foundation. A foundation is a hard surface that builders install over the natural ground. Houses built on strong foundations
last a long time, and the low walls of this coquina foundation are five feet thick! That’s a sturdy foundation. But
what kind of building did it support? Over the years, people have had a number of different ideas. For a while,
they thought it was an old Spanish Fort. In 1937, when many people were out of work, the U.S. government
started a job program called the WPA (Work Projects Administration). In New Smyrna, they paid 21 workers
to excavate the Old Fort foundation, fix cracks in the coquina, and repair the northeast wall. WPA projects like
this helped many people earn money during difficult times. However, the changes they made to the old coquina
foundation destroyed many important archaeological clues.
The archaeologists haven’t given up though. By paying
close attention to detail, they’ve managed to date this
coquina foundation to Florida’s British period. (So it
couldn’t have been a Spanish fort.) Some archaeologists
think it was the foundation for Dr. Turnbull’s mansion.
However, the foundation isn’t located on Turnbull’s
property. Why would he have built his mansion on
someone else’s land? A different archaeologist thought
the foundation might be part of the Turnbull colony’s
church, but no religious artifacts turned up. Another
archaeologist thought the thick coquina foundation
looked like the base of a heavy-duty work building.
Maybe it was the storage building for food, supplies,
crops, and tools for the New Smyrna colony. The
foundation was located right next to the wharf where
ships docked to unload supplies. This supports the
storage-building hypothesis. Archaeologists really
aren’t sure what the building was. But they ARE sure
of one thing - it wasn’t an old Spanish fort.
Old Fort Park
who else built on this coquina foundation?
Historians tell us that three different structures may have been built on this old coquina foundation after the
Turnbull Colony failed. When the British gave Florida back to Spain, the Spanish government gave Mr.
Ambrose Hull 2,600 acres of land. He decided to farm the land as a cotton and sugar plantation. In 1805, he may
have built his 2-story home on top of the old coquina foundation. His house was destroyed during the Patriot’s
War of 1812. Later, in 1830, Thomas Stamps built his home on the same foundation. Only five years later, it was
destroyed in the Second Seminole War. Finally, from 1854 to 1859, John Sheldon built a 50-room hotel on the
old foundation. This was the largest hotel south of St. Augustine! Can you guess what happened? If you said
it was burned down in another war, you’re right. This time, it was the Civil War. After the war, Mr. Sheldon’s
wife rebuilt the hotel. It wasn’t as fancy as before, but it housed many important businesses: a general store, hotel
rooms, a shoe shop, a post office, and a print shop where New Smyrna’s first newspaper was printed. After Mrs.
Sheldon died in 1903, the hotel was torn down. Several different people owned the property after that. They
excavated parts of the coquina foundation, added steps so people could climb up, and built a protective wall
around this important historical structure.
64
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
the turnbull plantation a british settlement
colony in florida
in florida
Students learn about Florida’s British period, its
indigo plantations, and its coquina archaeology.
Image 1: Drawing of Ambrose Hull’s House
(Courtesy of Rick Dryer)
Image 2: John Sheldon’s Hotel
(Courtesy of Southeast Volusia Historical Society)
65
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
the turnbull plantation a british settlement in florida
Students learn about Florida’s British period, its
indigo plantations, and its coquina archaeology.
what other coquina structures did turnbull build?
Dr. Turnbull and the Minorcan workers built a long coquina wharf so that supply ships could dock nearby. You
can still see this wharf at low tide. They also dug several canals to help drain swamplands and irrigate crops.
They lined the main canal with coquina blocks to make it sturdier. Today, most of this canal is covered by
sidewalks. However, you can get a peek at the old canal if you drive west on Canal Street and look down into the
roadside ditch. Underneath the dark layer of leaves and dirt, you’ll find coquina stone! The New Smyrna
settlement had plenty of buildings too, ranging from houses and blacksmith shops to churches and hospitals.
Many of these buildings had coquina floors and chimneys. It’s hard to see these coquina features today because
many have been covered by parking lots and other structures built by Florida’s modern people.
activity - using archaeology and history to date the “settlers’ house” site
BACKGROUND: A car dealership in New Smyrna Beach decided to expand its business. The property they
bought had been identified as an important historical site. Archaeologists Roger Grange and Dorothy Moore
asked for permission to excavate the area. Her team found five separate archaeology sites. They combined
evidence from archaeology and history to figure out the age of these sites.
site name: Settlers’ House
site number: 8VO7051
archaeology: artifacts
dates
Broken Wine Bottles
1760-1780
Earthenware Pottery Pieces
1700-1799
Slipware Mug
1750-1775
Wrought Iron Nails
Before 1790
historical evidence
dates
A Historical Document Describing Standing
Coquina Chimneys at this Location
John Funk’s Map of the Area,
Showing 2 Houses at this Location
Some Time
Before 1887
1767
DIRECTIONS: Use the information collected by Dorothy Moore’s archaeology team to decide which time
period the Colonist’s House belongs to. Mark each date range on the timeline at the bottom of the page. (The
date range for Broken Wine Bottles has been marked as an example.) Where do these dates overlap the most? On the list of A to E, circle the time period that best matches the Colonist’s House Site.
A. First Spanish Period (1565-1763)
B. British Period (1763-1783)
C. Second Spanish Period (1783-1821)
D. U.S. Territorial Period (1821-1845)
E. Florida Statehood Period (1845-present day)
1700
1900
66
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
the turnbull plantation a british settlement in florida
Students learn about Florida’s British period, its
indigo plantations, and its coquina archaeology.
cool fact:
What is a Site Number? Each archaeology site gets its own
identification number. These numbers, along with good descriptions of each site, are recorded in a Master Site File. By using this
filing system, an archaeologist can find any site he or she wants to
study. But how do archaeologists decide what each site number
should be?
Each site number follows a pattern. For example, the site number for the Colonist’s House described above is
8VO7051. 8 stands for the state of Florida. Every archaeological site in Florida has a site number starting with 8. VO stands for Volusia County. This tells the archaeologist which Florida county the site is located in. And 7051
tells us that the Colonist’s Site was the seven thousand fifty-first site found in Volusia County. Wow! That’s a lot
of archaeology in just one county!
67
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
florida’s coquina hotel the ximenez-fatio house
Students learn how coquina stone supported
Florida’s early economy.
academic outcomes/lesson objectives:
• Students read selections introducing them to the way old coquina homes changed over time: in this case from a
general store in 1798 to a fancy hotel for Florida tourists in 1823.
sunshine state standards assessed:
social studies 4th-5th
• (SS.A.6.2.1) Understands reasons that immigrants came to Florida and the contributions of immigrants to the
state’s history.
SCIENCE 4TH
• (SC.4.N.1.3) Explain that science does not always follow a rigidly defined method (“the scientific method”) but
that science does involve the use of observations and empirical evidence.
SCIENCE 5TH
• (SC.5.N.2.1) Recognize and explain that science is grounded in empirical observations that are testable;
explanation must always be linked with evidence.
resources:
Florida Public Archaeology Network. 28 February 2008 <http://www.flpublicarchaeology.org>.
Ximenez-Fatio House Museum. National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. 14 February 2008. <http://www.ximenezfatiohouse.org/>.
The National Register of Historic Places. 14 February 2008. <http://www.nps.gov/nr/about.htm>.
The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Florida, 15 May 2008
<http://www.nscda.org/museums/florida.htm>.
materials list:
None
answer key for activity:
There are a variety of answers for this activity. Here’s a short sample. I would choose bacon because it shows
that not every family had its own pig to kill for food. I would also choose potatoes to show that people could get
vegetables even if they didn’t grow them in their own gardens. I would choose butter and cheese because it shows
there were cows in the New World, and that people didn’t have to own their own cow to get butter and cheese. And I would also include salt. People probably used it as a spice or to preserve meat. I would put firewood in
my display to show that if you had enough money, you could get someone else to chop your fuel for you. Also,
it shows what kind of fuel they used. I would put in thread to show that people needed to be able to repair old
clothes or sew new clothing. I’d include a hoe to prove that some people grew gardens, and I’d include a broom
to show that they were clean people. I’d put in schoolbooks to show the town had families with kids, not just
workers. And I’d also put in paper, to show that many of the townspeople could read and write. I’d put in indigo
dye, silver spoons, and wine to show that some townspeople were rich and could afford these fancy items. And
I’d also include tobacco to show that people smoked back then too.
68
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
florida’s coquina hotel the ximenez-fatio house
Students learn how coquina stone supported
Florida’s early economy.
author: Kelley Weitzel, http://www.KelleyWeitzel.com
student articles & activities:
1. Why is it called the Ximenez-Fatio House?
2. Who lived in the Ximenez-Fatio House? 3. What can you see when you visit the Ximenez-Fatio House?
4. Archaeology turns lemons into lemonade.
5. A famous artifact found at the Ximenez-Fatio House
6. ACTIVITY: Creating a Museum Display
vocabulary:
Archaeological, Architecture, Boarding House, Budget, Cement, Dame, Economy, Erosion, Exposed, Frame, Funding, General Store, Historic Registry, Naturalist, Plaster, Properties, Requirements, Restore, Structures, Tourism, Will
assesment options:
writing prompt #1: The Ximenez-Fatio House was a popular boarding house (hotel) in early Florida. Think about the many different kinds of people that might have visited: rich vacationers with their families,
soldiers fighting in the Second Seminole War, naturalists studying Florida wildlife, and sick people who hoped
that Florida’s warm climate would make them feel better. Write a story about a conversation that might have
taken place at the hotel’s dining room table during dinner.
writing prompt #2: Archaeologists at the Ximenez-Fatio (X-F) House managed to turn bad luck into
very good luck. Think of a time you were faced with a bad situation and managed to make it better. Write a
story about how you handled this bad luck situation.
assessment #1: The Ximenez-Fatio House has been used for many different purposes since it was built in
1798. Describe three of these uses and how each one has supported Florida’s economy.
assessment #2: Archaeologists are learning important information from the exposed walls at the XimenezFatio House. For example, they’ve found holes in the walls that show where Ximenez’ old general store shelves
were located.
The caretakers at the X-F House could use this information to recreate the 1700s general store. However, this
would not match with the rest of the displays, which are set up to look like an 1800s boarding house.
What would YOU decide to do if you were the caretaker of the X-F house? A. Cover the wall holes and make these rooms match the rest of the boarding house?
B. Rebuild the shelves to look like the general store?
C. Or just let the holes show and put up a sign that tells about the old general store?
Explain why you would make this choice and how it might affect the rest of the Ximenez-Fatio House museum.
This project has been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic
Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.
69
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
florida’s coquina hotel the ximenez-fatio house
Students learn how coquina stone supported
Florida’s early economy.
why are we studying the ximenez-fatio house?
The people of early Florida had very little stone to build with. Because wooden buildings eventually burn or
rot away, most of Florida’s early structures have disappeared. The ones built of coquina, however, have lasted
hundreds of years. The Ximenez-Fatio house (X-F House for short) is one example of an early coquina building. When it was built, the X-F House was a general store (and a home for Andres Ximenez and his family). Later,
when Florida became a territory, more visitors started traveling to our state. They needed a place to stay, so the
X-F House became a hotel. By studying changes in the ways people used coquina buildings, we can learn about
the changing needs of Florida’s early people.
why is it called the ximenez-fatio house?
In 1973, the X-F house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. When a building is listed in this
Register, it must be named a certain way. This name must include the FIRST person who owned the house and
the LAST person who owned the house before it was registered.
In this case, Andres Ximenez (On-dre He-men-ez) was the first owner in 1798. Louisa Fatio (Lou-ee-sa Fay-she-o)
was the last owner in 1875. The Register combined these two names, and the building became the “XimenezFatio House.” what is the national Register of Historic Places? It is a list of buildings and other sites that
should be preserved because they are important to U.S. history. Why is it important to list historic buildings on the National Register? It’s
important because it allows the people taking care of these buildings apply for government funding. They can
use this money to make repairs on the buildings. They can also use the money to convert these old buildings into
museums. Each museum is designed to have fun, interesting activities for class fieldtrips and other visitors.
How does a house get listed on the National Register? The house must be more than
50-years-old. It must also meet one of the following three requirements.
1. The building must be linked with an important historical person or event.
For example, the Mala Compra house was owned by Joseph Hernandez, Florida’s first delegate to Congress. His home was listed in 2004 because Hernandez was an important historical person.
2. The building must provide archaeological information about our nation’s history. For example, Spanish explorers built the fort at Castillo de San Marcos. Later,
British and American soldiers also occupied this important site. Archaeologists have discovered many artifacts
at the Castillo. Artifacts like cannonballs, tools, and dishes help us learn about the people that shaped
Florida’s history. The Castillo was listed in the National Register in 1966.
3. The building must have an important kind of architecture (building style or material). For example, the Ximenez-Fatio House is built of coquina stone. This stone played an important role in Florida’s history. It was used to build forts, sugar mills, stores, and homes. Because coquina
is an important architectural material, the X-F house was listed in the Register in 1973.
Who takes care of the Ximenez-Fatio house? The X-F house is maintained by a group of
women called “The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Florida.” These Colonial
Dames buy and restore (repair) important old buildings. They convert these old buildings into museums where
people can learn about our nation’s past. The Colonial Dames take care of more than 50 different properties
across the United States.
70
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
florida’s coquina hotel the ximenez-fatio house
Students learn how coquina stone supported
Florida’s early economy.
who lived in the ximenez-fatio house?
Andres Ximenez started building his home in 1798 and got a license to run a general store on his property. His
family (including his wife and five children) lived on the top floor of the house, and the general store took up the
entire bottom floor. A general store sells the everyday items that people need, including foods, candles, schoolbooks, and tools. Ximenez also had a pool table, so that people could visit and have fun. His store supported the
economy because it provided goods and services that Florida’s people needed.
Eventually, the Ximenez family moved away. Since coquina stone is a very sturdy building material, their house
was in great shape. A man named Vicente Llerena rented the home in 1806 and even ran the general store. In
1823, a woman named Margaret Cook rented the house and turned it into a boarding house (an old-time hotel). In 1830, after she bought the house, she installed hardwood floors. She liked these floors better than the old tabby
floors from Ximenez’ time. Mrs. Cook’s friend, Eliza Whitehurst, managed this popular boarding house. During the winter months, the guest rooms at the X-F House were always full. Mrs. Whitehurst ran the
boarding house until she passed away in 1838. She was buried nearby in the Huguenot Cemetery. (Many
gravestones in this cemetery are made from coquina just like the X-F House.) After Mrs. Whitehurst’s death,
Mrs. Cook decided to sell the house.
Who bought it next? Sarah Anderson purchased the house in 1838. She needed a new place to live because the
Seminole had burned her old home at the Dunlawton Sugar Plantation. (The Dunlawton Sugar Mill was made
from coquina just like the X-F House!) In 1855, Mrs. Anderson decided to move to Tallahassee, so she sold the
house.
Miss Louisa Fatio bought it next. She had plenty of experience running a boarding house, so she opened the
building to guests again. Her hotel was busiest from October through April, sometimes hosting as many as 30
visitors. During the winter months, these people traveled to Florida to experience its warm winters. The
boarding house was important to Florida’s economy because it provided a service to the tourists traveling into
Florida. Miss Fatio continued to run the boarding house until her death in 1875. In 1939, the Colonial Dames bought the Ximenez-Fatio property. They wanted to preserve this important coquina building. Today, the X-F house isn’t a home, a general store, or a boarding house. It’s a museum that helps
us protect and learn about Florida’s coquina past. The museum also builds Florida’s tourist economy by attracting
visitors who want to learn about the past. While these visitors are in our state, they spend money at restaurants
and hotels. This improves our economy!
what can you see when you visit the house?
Today, the Ximenez-Fatio House is set up to look like an old-style boarding house. Since a boarding house is like
a hotel, you should expect to see plenty of rooms. Most of these rooms are filled with old-time beds, desks, and
other furniture that show visitors what the hotel looked like back in the 1830s. Mosquito netting covers each bed
since the building’s windows had no screens to keep the bugs out.
When Miss Fatio bought the boarding house, she added some extra rooms and cut some new windows. Archaeologists can tell which windows she added by looking at the shape of the windows’ wooden frames.
Back in 1798, Ximenez built windows in the Spanish style. Spanish window frames were angled to let in the
maximum amount of light. About 60 years had passed when Miss Fatio cut additional windows into the coquina
walls, and styles had changed. She installed the style of window that was popular in her time. These newer
window frames were flat instead of angled. We use a similar style in our houses today. 71
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
florida’s coquina hotel the ximenez-fatio house
Students learn how coquina stone supported
Florida’s early economy.
Mosquito Netting and Peeling Walls
Why are the walls peeling? Read the next article.
Angled Window Frames and Exposed Coquina Stone
Why is the coquina exposed? Read the next article.
This shows a room at the X-F House. It is set up as a hotel room
for vacationing families. This photo also shows what the walls
looked like before the plaster and paint started peeling.
Why did the walls peel? Read the next article.
72
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
florida’s coquina hotel the ximenez-fatio house
Students learn how coquina stone supported
Florida’s early economy.
archaeology turns lemons into lemonade
Have you ever heard the expression, “turning lemons into lemonade”? It means turning something sour into
something sweet OR turning bad luck into good luck. A few years ago, the caretakers at the Ximenez-Fatio
house ran into some seriously bad luck. The plaster and paint inside this important coquina building was
beginning to peel and crack. They hired some coquina experts to check out the problem. It turns out that someone had plastered the outside of the coquina walls with Portland cement in the early 1900s. These people probably thought it would look nicer and protect the coquina from erosion. Unfortunately, they
didn’t realize that coquina stone needs to be exposed to the open air. Unlike bricks and concrete, coquina stone
naturally soaks up water: from rain, from moisture in the air, and from the muddy earth. Normally, this isn’t a
problem. The extra water just evaporates away. However, when you cover coquina with a thick coating of
Portland cement, you block the evaporation process. The coquina stone continues to soak up water from the
ground, but this water can’t escape.
At the X-F house, water wasn’t able to escape through the outside of the coquina wall, so it started to escape
through the inside. That’s what made the plaster and paint peel away. Eventually, this moisture would have
damaged the entire coquina building. Something had to be done. Once again, the caretakers turned to coquina
experts. They learned that they would have to remove every bit of Portland cement from the walls of the X-F house. It
would be expensive, but it was the only way to save this important coquina building. After the work was finished, they put a white limewash on the outside of the coquina walls. It was very similar to the whitewash used
on the old Castillo. The experts chose limewash because it protects the coquina, while still allowing water to
evaporate away.
The repair work is going well, but when the paint first started to
peel, it seemed like terrible luck. The whole building was a mess.
Outside, workers were chipping away Portland cement. Inside, they
were stripping away layers of peeling plaster and paint. That’s when
the archaeologists got excited! Why? They’d discovered a pattern
of softball-sized holes in the walls of two rooms. Someone in the
past had covered up these holes, so until the plaster and paint came
off, no one even knew they were there. What were they from? Shelving Holes in Coquina Wall
Archaeologists believe that heavy wooden shelves were once attached to those holes. But why would guest rooms
have walls full of shelves? It’s simple. They didn’t. Those shelves were left over from Andres Ximenez’ general
store back in 1798. All of his store’s products were displayed on those shelves. We knew from old documents that
the bottom level of the house had been a general store, but now archaeologists were finding evidence to prove it!
What had started as awful luck was providing important clues about Florida’s coquina past. Workmen continued to remove the plaster and paint from other rooms. This work uncovered the wooden boards
that framed each doorway and window. Now that the wood was exposed, the X-F caretakers decided to study it. They hired a dendrochronolologist (den-dro-kru-na-low-jist) to do this work. [HINT: Dendro means tree. Chrono
means time. And Ologist means scientist. A dendrochronolologist is a scientist who figures out the date that trees
were cut down.] This scientist collected samples of wood from all over the X-F House. Of course, each of these wood samples
originally came from a tree. So, the dendrochronolologist will use the samples to determine WHEN each tree
was cut down. Why is this important? It gives us a good idea of when the boards were made. AND it tells us
when each window and door was installed in the house.
73
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
florida’s coquina hotel the ximenez-fatio house
Students learn how coquina stone supported
Florida’s early economy.
Archaeologists will use this information to figure out which rooms Ximenez built in the 1700s and which rooms
Miss Fatio added in the 1800s. Old documents don’t tell us which rooms Miss Fatio built. Studying the building
itself is the only way to learn the answer. If the paint hadn’t peeled away, archaeologists couldn’t have collected
samples from the wooden door and window frames. By paying close attention to detail, these archaeologists really
did turn lemons into lemonade!
a famous artifact found at the ximenez-fatio house
The most famous artifact discovered at the X-F House is a Caravaca Cross. During a 2002
archaeological dig, this tiny bronze cross was found in an old trash pit! Because it was piled
in with thousands of artifacts dating to the 1650s, archaeologists believe that the cross was
also from the 1650s. That’s long before Ximenez built the X-F House. In fact, it’s even
before the Spanish built the Castillo de San Marcos! Future archaeological digs may help
us understand why this beautiful artifact was thrown away so long ago.
Caravaca Cross
(Courtesy of Ximenez-Fatio House)
activity - creating a museum display
BACKGROUND: The list below shows some of the items found in the original Ximenez general store. How
do we know what was in his store? We learned this information from Ximenez’ will. A will is a document that
describes everything a person owns. It also explains who should get these items after the person dies.
DIRECTIONS: Imagine that you are in charge of the X-F House. You’ve decided to set up one room to look
like Ximenez’ general store. First, you’ll rebuild the heavy wooden shelves. Then you’ll need to decide what
displays to put on the shelves. You have enough money in your budget to purchase 15 items from the list below
to put in your Store Display. Be sure to choose a variety of items. This will give visitors a clear idea of what the
general store looked like back in 1798. Circle the items you want to include. On another sheet, write to explain
why each item will help to create a well-rounded General Store Display.
Axes Cups
Pepper
BaconDishes Beans
Firewood
Potatoes
Rice
BroomsHammers
Salt
Butter
Hatchets
Schoolbooks
Calfskin Shoes
Hoes
Shovels
Candles
Indigo Dye
Silver Spoons
Chairs
Ladders
Thread
Cheese
Matches
Tobacco
Coffee Pot
Candlesticks
Vases
Corn
Paper
Wine
74
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
huguenot cemetery coquina preserving the past
Students learn how coquina stone has helped to
preserve the history of early Floridians.
academic outcomes/lesson objectives:
• Students read selections introducing them to the information that coquina grave markers give us about Florida’s past.
sunshine state standards assessed:
• (SS.A.6.2.1) Understands reasons that immigrants came to Florida and the contributions of immigrants to the
state’s history.
• (SS.A.6.2.2) Understands the influence of geography on the history of Florida.
• (SS.B.1.2.1) Uses maps, globes, charts, graphs, and other geographic tools including map keys and symbols to
gather and interpret data and to draw conclusions about physical patterns.
resources:
Florida Public Archaeology Network. 28 February 2008 <http://www.flpublicarchaeology.org>.
Harvey, Karen. Personal Interview. 6 February 2008.
Mitchell, Florence. A History of the Huguenot Cemetery 1821-1884, St. Augustine, Florida. St. Augustine, FL: The Friends of the Huguenot Cemetery, 1998.
Waters, Henry Fritz-Gilbert. “Genealogical Gleanings in England.” The New England Historical and
Genealogical Register. Vols. 37-52 (1896).
materials list:
None
answer key for activity:
#56 stands for both coquina
crosses. Each cross has a coquina
footer to the right of the actual
cross. So #56 has 4 tiny red
marks, one header and footer
to the east, and one header and
footer to the west.
author: Kelley Weitzel, http://www.KelleyWeitzel.com
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
huguenot cemetery coquina preserving the past
Students learn how coquina stone has helped to
preserve the history of early Floridians.
student articles & activities:
1. History of the Huguenot Cemetery 2. Who is Buried at the Huguenot Cemetery?
3. How is Coquina Used at the Huguenot Cemetery?
4. Examples of Coquina Grave Markers
5. A Map of the Huguenot Cemetery
6. ACTIVITY: Find the Coquina Graves
vocabulary:
Biodegrade, Border, Catholic, Cemetery, Consumption, Coquina, Epidemic, Footstone, Grave,
Grave Rubbing, Headstone, Huguenot, Life Span, Protestant, Tourism, Vandalism, Yellow Fever
how can you visit the huguenot cemetery?
To set up a group tour of the Huguenot Cemetery, send an email to Karen Harvey at [email protected].
assesment options:
writing prompt #1: The Huguenot Cemetery gates are now locked due to problems with vandalism. Think about some other resource (natural or manmade) that has been damaged by vandalism. Write to explain
how vandalism can affect you and other modern Floridians.
writing prompt #2: Many graves in the Huguenot Cemetery have no markers, so it can be difficult to
discover a buried person’s name, information about his life, or even the exact location of his grave. Think about
how you would feel if no one in the future could learn about your life. Write to explain three things about your
life that you would want people to remember.
assessment #1: Based on the information in the article titled, “Who Was Buried at the Huguenot
Cemetery?” what is the most common age at which these people died? For example, did they usually die in their
30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, or 90s? How does this lifespan compare to the average 78-year lifespan of Floridians
today? Describe possible reasons for this difference in life spans.
assessment #2: The article titled, “Who Was Buried at the Huguenot Cemetery?” provides eight different
kinds of information about the people buried there. For example, we know something about the RELIGION of
these people because only Protestants were buried in the Huguenot Cemetery. Review the article and create a list
of at least five (5) other kinds of information this article gives us about the people buried there. This project has been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic
Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
huguenot cemetery coquina preserving the past
Students learn how coquina stone has helped to
preserve the history of early Floridians.
why are we studying the huguenot cemetery?
By studying cemeteries, we can learn about important people, places, and events in Florida’s history. For example,
William Whilden was buried in the Huguenot Cemetery. He was one of the first people to die in a huge yellow
fever epidemic that struck St. Augustine in the 1820s. Charles Bulow is buried there too. He owned Bulowville,
one of the largest sugar plantations in Florida. You can also find a gravestone there for Eliza Whitehurst. She ran
one of Florida’s first hotels for tourists. While old newspapers are often lost or destroyed over time, stone grave
markers last a very long time. As a result, they can teach us about important events in our state’s history,
including epidemics, slavery, and tourism.
history of the huguenot cemetery
The Huguenot Cemetery was created in 1821, when an epidemic of yellow fever struck the city of St. Augustine. Back then, people of different religions were buried in different graveyards. That meant people that belonged
to Protestant religions could not be buried in the Catholic cemetery. Sometimes, people were buried on their
family’s land, in a private graveyard. But what about people who were just visiting? Many people who came to
Florida were already sick with illnesses like consumption. They were hoping that Florida’s warmer climate would
cure them. But what if it didn’t? If a Catholic stranger died, he could be buried in the Catholic cemetery. But
what happened when a Protestant visitor died? He’d need a place to be buried too. AND QUICK. Visitors
and residents were dying from yellow fever every day. In 1821, a minister named Andrew Fowler conducted 95
funerals in only two months.
So the city provided a half-acre of land to be used as a Protestant graveyard. The word “Huguenot” is a name
that was used for French Protestants back in the 1500s. Even though there are no Huguenots buried in this
cemetery, it probably got that name because only Protestants were buried here.
The cemetery was used from 1821 until 1884. It was finally closed because the people of St. Augustine were
worried that disease would spread from the cemetery – which is located right in the middle of the city. After they
closed the cemetery, they began to bury people farther away from St. Augustine’s homes and businesses.
For many years, there were disagreements over who would take care of the old cemetery. Trees and plants needed
to be trimmed, gravestones repaired, and security provided. Over the years, weather, plants, and vandalism
damaged many of the grave markers. Today, the cemetery gate is locked to provide security for the old
gravestones. A volunteer group, called “The Friends of the Huguenot Cemetery,” works to protect and repair
these important historical graves. They also provide guided tours for groups of all ages.
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
huguenot cemetery coquina preserving the past
Students learn how coquina stone has helped to
preserve the history of early Floridians.
who is buried at the huguenot cemetery?
According to city records, approximately 436 people are buried at the Protestant Huguenot Cemetery. Only a
few grave markers are made from coquina. This list provides information about some of the people buried there.
Most of them have coquina grave markers.
William Whilden – He was 5-years-old when he died in an epidemic of yellow fever in 1823.
Captain Robert Mickler – He was from St. Mary’s, Georgia and was 48-years-old when he died in 1848. Charles Bulow – He owned Bulowville Plantation and was 44-years-old when he died in 1823. His son built a coquina sugar mill on the Bulow property. This was one of the largest sugar plantations
in Florida.
Thomas Drysdale – He was 17-years-old when he died in October 1841.
Ann Drysdale – She was 21-years-old when she died in January 1844.
Elizabeth Mary Hanson – She was 82-years-old when she died in 1838.
Eliza Whitehurst – She was 59-years-old when she died in 1838. She ran a boarding house (hotel) for visitors who were traveling through Florida. This boarding house was made from coquina!
Henry Thomas Dummet – He owned the Dummet sugar plantation. Henry grew up in the West Indies. He was 64-years-old when he died in 1839.
Alfred Arnold – He was born in Ironstone, Massachusetts and was 60-years-old when he died
in 1880.
Dr. Robertson – He died in 1823. We don’t know how old he was.
Ann Robertson – Ann was Dr. Robertson’s wife. She was from Inverness, Scotland and was
65-years-old when she died in 1850.
Biddlecoome Sweeney – There are no records to tell us about his life.
Ellen Hasseltine – She was 46-years-old when she died in 1881.
Otis Hinckley – He was 45-years-old when he died in 1877.
Mary Page Hinckley - Mary was Otis Hinckley’s wife. She died one month after him during the same year, in 1877. She was 47-years-old.
Only wealthy people could afford stone markers. Many others could only afford wooden markers, which
biodegrade (or rot away) over time. Most of the everyday workers couldn’t afford any kind of grave marker, so we
have no idea where their graves are located. A few free black people and slaves were also buried in this cemetery.
Without markers, the locations of their graves are still a mystery.
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
huguenot cemetery coquina preserving the past
Students learn how coquina stone has helped to
preserve the history of early Floridians.
how is coquina used at the huguenot cemetery?
Coquina is used in several ways at the Huguenot Cemetery. There is a stone wall that stretches around part of the
cemetery. Some of this wall was built with coquina blocks. In the photo, the section of wall on the left (leading
off into the distance) was made from coquina. Other wall sections were built from concrete or metal, like the
wall that stretches toward the right side of the photo.
Coquina was also used inside the cemetery to mark the
locations of actual graves. These coquina markers often
had marble signs. Why? The marble signs were
important because it’s nearly impossible to carve names
and dates into a shelly, bumpy stone like
coquina. Some of the coquina markers don’t have
marble plaques. In these cases, we don’t know who’s
buried there. So, why did people use coquina for
gravestones? Why didn’t they just stick with granite or
marble? Well, granite and marble had to be
ordered from far away. Coquina was available right in
St. Augustine. So, the coquina gravestones are a good
example of people using their natural resources!
What did these grave markers look like? Two of the
markers are large coquina crosses. People didn’t carve
coquina into shapes very often (because it’s so shelly
Roadside View of Mala Compra
and jagged). As far as historians can tell, these are the
Site During Conervation Efforts
only two coquina crosses in the entire world.
There are no marble markers on the crosses, but each grave does have a footstone. And the small coquina
footstones do have marble name markers. (See the photos on the next page for each kind of coquina grave marker.)
Another kind of carved marker is the obelisk. There are two coquina obelisks in this cemetery. An obelisk looks
like a tall, narrow pyramid. A marble sign is posted on each one, giving the names of the buried people.
The most popular kind of coquina marker was the raised tomb. These large stone rectangles don’t have people
inside. The stones just sit on top of the grave, protecting it from animals, tree roots, and weather. Slabs of marble
topped many of these raised tombs, providing plenty of space to tell about the person’s life.
Coquina blocks were also used to create fences of stone and metal. These fences enclosed the graves of whole families who were buried close together. Sometimes, a marble sign was added to the fence to explain who was buried
there. In other cases, a coquina fence survived even when the old wooden grave markers inside had disappeared.
Low coquina borders (shorter than fences) surround many of the Huguenot graves. These borders may enclose a
single grave or a group of graves. They range from a few inches high to almost two feet high. The borders don’t
have marble markers, but the graves they surround usually do.
Because coquina is a very sturdy stone, these grave markers have lasted for 180 years, giving us clues about Florida’s
distant past. With the help of “The Friends of the Huguenot Cemetery,” these grand old gravestones should last
well into Florida’s future.
Many people enjoy visiting old cemeteries and learning about history. In the past, making “grave rubbings” was
a popular activity. What is a grave rubbing? It’s when someone lays a piece of paper on top of a stone marker and
uses a crayon or chalk to rub the surface of the paper. The gravestone’s carved lettering is a little lower than the
rest of the stone surface, so the rubbing action creates a kind of photocopy. It may sound fun, but today we know
that grave-rubbings damage old gravestones. When YOU visit a cemetery, be sure to take photographs instead of
making a grave rubbing. Anytime we touch or rub these old stones, we risk destroying a part of Florida’s history.
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
huguenot cemetery coquina preserving the past
Students learn how coquina stone has helped to
preserve the history of early Floridians.
examples of coquina grave markers
Captain Robert Mickler’s Raised Tomb Marker (#5)
Otis Hinckley’s Coquina Cross (#56)
Biddlecome Sweeney’s Coquina Obelisk Fence (#53)
Alfred Arnold’s Obelisk (#45)
Elizabeth Mary Hanson’s Coquina Border (#22
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
huguenot cemetery coquina preserving the past
Students learn how coquina stone has helped to
preserve the history of early Floridians.
a map of the huguenot cemetery
cool fact:
Do you see all of the empty space on the Huguenot Cemetery
map? It’s not really empty. Historians have discovered the names
of 436 people that are buried in this cemetery, but many of them
had wooden grave markers (or no markers at all). Over the past
180 years, all of the wooden markers have disappeared. This
makes it difficult to find out where the graves are actually located.
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
huguenot cemetery coquina preserving the past
Students learn how coquina stone has helped to
preserve the history of early Floridians.
activity - find the coquina graves
DIRECTIONS: This list describes several grave markers found at the Huguenot Cemetery. Match each grave’s
number to its location on the map. Mark each COQUINA gravesite you find with a colored pencil.
#3 William Whilden – He has a raised coquina tomb marker. #5 Captain Robert Mickler – He has a raised coquina tomb marker.
#15 Charles Bulow – His raised tomb marker is NOT coquina. It’s made of granite and marble. His grave is included on this list because he owned Bulowville Plantation. His son built a coquina sugar mill on the Bulow property.
#20 Thomas Drysdale – They have granite and marble raised tomb markers. There is a short coquina
Ann Drysdale border (about a foot high) marking a square around their grave markers.
#22 Elizabeth Mary Hanson – She has a raised brick tomb marker. There is a short coquina border (about 8 inches high) marking a square around it.
#25 Eliza Whitehurst – She has a raised tomb marker. It is NOT made from coquina. Her grave is included on this list because she managed a coquina hotel in St. Augustine.
#41 Henry Thomas Dummet – He has a raised coquina tomb marker.
#45 Alfred Arnold – His marker is a coquina obelisk. This looks a bit like a tall narrow pyramid.
#47 Dr. Robertson –
His Wife Ann Robertson
They have raised coquina tomb markers and a beautifully curved metal
gate around both graves.
#53 Biddlecoome Sweeney – He has eight small obelisks around his grave that are connected by metal rods. This creates a unique fence.
#54 Ellen Hasseltine – Her marker is a coquina obelisk. This looks a bit like a tall narrow pyramid.
#56 Otis Hinckley – His wife Mary Page Hinckley
They each have a large coquina cross to mark the head of their graves
and a coquina footstone to mark the other end. These are the only
coquina crosses in the world!
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
coquina conservation taking care of our history
Students learn how archaeologists study and
care for Florida’s coquina ruins.
academic outcomes/lesson objectives:
• Students read selections introducing them to the ways that archaeologists preserve and protect historical
coquina ruins.
sunshine state standards assessed:
social studies 4th-5th
• (SS.D.1.2.1) Understands that all decisions involve opportunity costs and that making effective decisions involves
considering the costs and the benefits associated with alternative choices.
SCIENCE 4TH
• (SC.4.E.6.4) Describe the basic differences between physical weathering (breaking down of rock by wind, water,
ice, temperature change, and plants) and erosion (movement of rock by gravity, wind, water, and ice). • (SC.4.L.17.4) Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the environment.
• (SC.4.N.1.3) Explain that science does not always follow a rigidly defined method (“the scientific method”) but
that science does involve the use of observations and empirical evidence.
• (SC.4.N.3.1) Explain that models can be three dimensional, two dimensional, an explanation in your mind, or
a computer model.
• (SC.4.P.9.1) Identify some familiar changes in materials that result in other materials with different characteristics,
such as decaying animal or plant matter, burning, rusting, and cooking.
SCIENCE 5TH
• (SC.5.N.2.1) Recognize and explain that science is grounded in empirical observations that are testable;
explanation must always be linked with evidence.
• (SC.5.P.8.2) Investigate and identify materials that will dissolve in water and those that will not and identify the
conditions that will speed up or slow down the dissolving process.
resources:
Zomlefer, Wendy and David Giannasi. “Floristic Survey of Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, St.
Augustine, Florida.” Castanea. Vol. 70 (2005): 222-236.
Florida Public Archaeology Network. 28 February 2008 <http://www.flpublicarchaeology.org>.
Lawson, Charles and John Cornelison. Archaeological Investigations of the San Pablo and San Pedro Bastions at
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, St. Augustine, FL. Tallahassee, FL: Southeast Archaeological
Center, 2002.
The Conservation and Preservation of Coquina – A Symposium on Historical Building Material in the Coastal
Southeast. 28 February 2008 <http://www.flheritage.com/preservation/architecture/coquina/coquina_
document.pdf>.
materials list:
Popsicle sticks (16 per student team), jelly, plastic spoons or knives (1 per student team), glue sticks (1 per
student team), Elmer’s glue (1 per student team)
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
coquina conservation taking care of our history
Students learn how archaeologists study and
care for Florida’s coquina ruins.
answer key for experiment:
As with all experiments, the teacher should try this in the classroom environment before having the
class attempt it. Variables like humidity and heat can affect the outcome. It doesn’t really matter which
mortar turns out to be best. The benefits of this activity are in the students’ use of the scientific process
and in their understanding of how mortars are used in conservation. Here is one possible outcome. The popsicle sticks attached with jelly mortar separate under light stress, making jelly too weak to use
as a mortar. The sticks attached with Elmer’s Glue mortar crack under extreme stress (because Elmer’s
Glue soaks into the wood and bonds with multiple layers). This makes Elmer’s too strong to use as a
mortar, since it causes damage to the historical resource (in this case, the popsicle sticks). The wooden
frame affixed using glue stick mortar holds fast under light stress, but separates under extreme stress. This makes glue sticks an appropriate mortar for a structure made from popsicle sticks.
author: Kelley Weitzel, http://www.KelleyWeitzel.com
student articles & activities:
1. What does a coquina conservator do? 2. Fighting Chemical Attacks 3. Fighting Biological Attacks
4. Fighting Human Attacks
5. EXPERIMENT: Choosing the Right Mortar
vocabulary:
Absorb, Archaeology, Biological, Conservation, Conservator, Contract, Coquina, Erode, Excavate, Expand, Fern, Flex, Foundation, Herbicide, Lichen, Limewash, Mortar, Moss, Repointing, Resource, Species, Structure, Tabby, Vandalism, Vine
assesment options:
writing prompt #1: Scientists must determine the true cause of a problem before they try to fix it. Think
of a time you needed to solve a problem. Write to explain your problem and the process you used to discover the
best solution.
writing prompt #2: Sometimes, natural parts of the environment, like weather and plants, can damage
old coquina buildings. Think about the reasons it is important to protect old forts and buildings from this kind of
damage. Write to persuade your city planners to hire a conservator who will find ways to protect local
coquina buildings.
assessment #1: Based on your reading of the conservation articles, define three different things that damage
old coquina structures. Use details and information from the articles to support your answer.
assessment #2: Plants often cause damage to old coquina buildings. Explain why coquina stone is so easily
damaged by tiny plants like mosses, ferns, and weeds.
This project has been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic
Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.
84
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
coquina conservation taking care of our history
Students learn how archaeologists study and
care for Florida’s coquina ruins.
why are we studying about coquina conservation?
Coquina is a very sturdy stone, but after hundreds of years, even the strongest materials need some protection.
Conservators must find ways to repair problems caused by acid rain, plant roots, and human actions - before our
state’s historical buildings disappear forever.
what does a coquina conservator do?
When people hear the word “conservation,” they usually think about natural resources, like water, trees, or clean
air. But conservation is important in archaeology too. Some archaeologists work to protect things like old coquina
buildings. These men and women are called “Conservators.” Their goal is to keep these important coquina
buildings in good shape - so that people can visit them well into the future.
In archaeology, there are many different kinds of conservators. Some focus on caring for coquina or brick
structures. Others are more interested in creating educational displays for cool archaeology sites. Still others spend
their time working with artifacts like arrow points or pottery pieces.
We’ll focus on the conservators who work with coquina. What exactly do they do? First, they deal with the
problem of chemical attacks. For example, acid rains cause damage to old coquina buildings. So, some conservators work to protect coquina buildings from acid rain.
Next, these conservators deal with biological attacks. A biological attack is an attack by a plant or animal. When
plants grow on coquina buildings, their roots damage the coquina shell stone. The mortar that holds the old
coquina blocks together also begins to crumble and fall apart. Conservators look for ways to prevent and repair
this damage.
Coquina conservators also deal with human attacks. Some human attacks are intentional, like graffiti and vandalism. Other human attacks are accidental. People like to touch old stone objects, like tombstones or forts, because
it helps them feel like they are really back in the past. While one or two touches doesn’t do much damage, several
million touches can start to wear away the coquina surface. Accidental attacks also occur when people try to fix
old coquina structures. Sometimes they use the wrong materials (like Portland cement). This can end up causing
more problems than it fixes. Conservators search for ways to protect coquina buildings from 1. people who are actually trying to cause damage, 2. people who just want to touch the past, and 3. people who really just want to help.
fighting chemical attacks
What is a chemical attack? A chemical attack occurs when a chemical (like acid) dissolves coquina stone. This
breaks the coquina down into other natural materials. Rain is normally a little bit acidic, so the chemical “acids”
in rain actually break down coquina stone.
Why does this happen? Coquina is made up of a chemical called Calcium Carbonate. Problems arise because
acid rain can rip calcium carbonate apart. In fact, it rips the coquina into three parts:
Part 1: Calcium. This chemical dissolves in the rainwater and washes away.
Part 2: Water. This just runs off the coquina stone, mixed with bits of calcium. Part 3: Carbon dioxide. This gas just floats off into the surrounding air. What started out as a piece of coquina stone ends up as a mixture of gas and mineral water. This kind of chemical
attack wears the edges off large coquina blocks. It can also eat away the mortar (or paste) between the blocks.
Calcium Carbonate + Acid Rain Calcium + Water + Carbon Dioxide
85
archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
coquina conservation taking care of our history
Students learn how archaeologists study and
care for Florida’s coquina ruins.
Look at the photo below. During recent repairs at the Castillo de San Marcos, some new yellow coquina blocks
were added to the fort. See how they’re cut in perfect rectangles? Now look at the older, gray coquina blocks
nearby. Their edges are rounded, but they didn’t always look like that. Naturally acidic rains have been falling
on the Castillo for 300 years. The acids in these rains have broken down the edges of the stone blocks,
destroying the crisp rectangular corners they once had. Why did the National Park Service replace some of the
old gray coquina blocks? They didn’t do it to make the Castillo look nicer. They did it because these blocks were
crumbling badly. The National Park Service only does repairs to make sure that the Castillo’s structure will be
strong and secure.
Conservation Work Showing New Coquina Blocks Added at the Castillo
Now, check out this photo. The mortar between
these coquina blocks has been eroded away.
Without mortar to hold the stones in place, the weight
of these huge stones will force the walls of the Castillo
to crack and lean.
How do conservators fix this problem? It’s called
“repointing.” They must find exactly the right lime
mortar to replace the missing paste between the
blocks. This mortar must be the right color, matching
the mortar that the original builders used.
Conservators at the Mala Compra site mixed up 21
different mortars to find just the right one. They
mixed their mortars with local sands – just like the
original Spanish builders did. This helped them find
the perfect match.
Repointed Coquina Wall
Replacement mortars must always be made of materials that will expand and flex. What does that mean? Well,
as the weather changes, coquina stone will expand (get bigger) and contract (get smaller). These tiny changes pull
on the mortar (paste) holding the blocks together. If the mortar will not stretch and bend a little, it will
eventually crack due to the changes brought on by harsh weather.
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
coquina conservation taking care of our history
Students learn how archaeologists study and
care for Florida’s coquina ruins.
In addition to the color and flexibility of new mortars, conservators must also think about the mortar’s strength. Anytime they are working on repointing a structure, the mortar they choose must be WEAKER than the
coquina stones. That’s right; it has to be weaker. Doesn’t make sense, does it? If you’re trying to fix a wall, you
want the wall to be as strong as possible, right? The answer is…sort of. You want the wall to last, but if the
mortar is stronger than the coquina, when this natural stone expands and contracts, it’s not the mortar that will
crack. It’s the coquina stones! Now you’ve really got a problem! That’s why conservators work so hard to find
just the right mortar, including color, flexibility, and strength. How can conservators PREVENT chemical attacks on coquina structures? One way is to protect the coquina
with a limewash, just like the original builders did. Since this white limewash will wear away, it must be
reapplied every five years. That gets expensive, so it is NOT often chosen as a solution. Another way to protect
the coquina is to build a roof over the entire archaeological site, so rain can’t fall on it. At Mala Compra,
conservators have done just that. Check out this roof that protects the newly repointed sections of floor and wall.
View of Mala Compra Site During Conservation Efforts
This photo shows some repointing work done at the Mala Compra site. When this photo was taken in late 2007,
conservators were in the process of building a sturdy roof to protect this cotton plantation’s coquina foundations.
Since then, they have installed wooden walkways and educational signs. The walkways allow people to get up
close to the coquina foundations without actually stomping on them. The educational signs help people learn
about our coquina history. Helping people visit and learn about these old structures is a big part of a
conservator’s job.
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
coquina conservation taking care of our history
Students learn how archaeologists study and
care for Florida’s coquina ruins.
fighting biological attacks
“Biological attacks” are attacks by living things. In the case of old coquina buildings, most biological attacks are
caused by plants and lichens (pronounced lie-kens). However, animals like pigeons that build nests in old forts
and poop all over the place also cause problems.
Why are plants usually the biggest issue? Coquina walls absorb (soak up) huge amounts of water. This makes
the walls constantly damp, so plants grow there easily. Flat, crusty lichens and squishy, green mosses are the first
things that grow on a coquina surface. Some lichens put out acids that react with the coquina stone. They cause
the same problems as acid rains. The green mosses absorb extra rainwater and also trap windblown dirt against
the coquina stone. This creates an excellent habitat where larger plants can grow.
This coquina block is part of the border around the
Robertson graves in the Huguenot Cemetery. The light green, crusty material on the left is lichen.
The spongy, dark green material on the right is a kind
of moss.
Both lichens and mosses are forms of biological attack
on this coquina grave marker.
Example of Biological Attack
Cemeteries aren’t the only spots that suffer from biological attacks. The coquina foundation in New Smyrna’s
Old Fort Park is covered with weeds, ferns, vines, and even larger plants like palm trees. Here’s a list of the most
common plants growing on the coquina stone.
10 kinds of weeds and wildflowers:
3 kinds of mosses, ferns, and vines:
Artillery Plant, Eyebane, Miterwort, Ragweed, Shepherd’s
Needle, Virginia Ground Cherry, Wild Geranium, Wood
Sorrel, Yellow Aster, Yellow Clover
Twisted Moss, Ladder Brake Fern, and Virginia Creeper
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
coquina conservation taking care of our history
Students learn how archaeologists study and
care for Florida’s coquina ruins.
Many other plants are growing on the old tabby floors underneath this foundation, including sabal palm trees,
matrimony vine, peppergrass, nightshade, and spiny sow thistle. The roots of these plants burrow into the tabby
floors, the coquina stone, and the mortar that holds coquina stones together. This root action weakens coquina
and tabby, which may cause the walls and floors to shift, crack, or fall in the future.
This is a photo of the New Smyrna coquina
foundation, left over from the Turnbull Colony.
Can you see all of the plants growing in it?
This is a close-up of a coquina well at
the Turnbull foundation. Many plants
are growing right on the coquina blocks.
The Castillo de San Marcos has even more plants growing on its coquina walls, 56 different species! In 2005,
the National Park Service hired conservators to study this problem. The conservators identified all of the different plant species. Then they worked together to come up with ways to remove the plants. In some cases, the
plants were carefully removed by hand. That took a LOT of work! Unfortunately, most of the plants grew back
right away. In other areas of the Castillo walls, conservators carefully applied herbicide (weed killer). One kind
of herbicide killed the leaves and stems, but the plants grew right back from the roots. Other kinds of herbicides
worked better. However, using those herbicides for long periods of time could damage the coquina just like acid
rain. The conservators came to one conclusion. Fighting biological attacks at the Castillo would take a lot of
time, money, and effort.
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Students learn how archaeologists study and
care for Florida’s coquina ruins.
Image 2: View of Castillo Scupper
The photo on the left shows plants growing all the way down the
Castillo wall beneath a scupper (drainage pipe). The photo above shows
a close-up of a drainage scupper.
Many plants grow under the Castillo’s scuppers. When rainwater falls on
the top gun deck, it drains off through these pipes, then drips down the
outside of the fort. The coquina stones absorb these drips, creating an
excellent habitat for weeds and ferns. Image 1: Plants on Castillo Wall
Why don’t conservators just remove the scuppers? If they did, rainwater would form pools up on the gun deck. These pools would create slip-dangers for visitors and cause cracks in the floor of the gun deck. The cracks would
allow rainwater to leak down into the rooms below. That’s an even worse problem! Conservators will have to
find another way to stop plants from damaging the coquina underneath the scuppers.
The scuppers aren’t the only places where weeds and
ferns grow on the Castillo’s coquina walls. Many
plants grow near the bottom of each wall. Why? The
coquina stones closest to the ground absorb plenty of
water from the soggy soil in the moat. This creates an
excellent habitat for weeds and ferns. It is impossible
to keep the moat completely dry because it rains so
often in Florida. In the future, conservators will have
to invent new ways to prevent heavy plant growth on
the Castillo’s coquina walls.
Image 3: Weeds and Ferns
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
coquina conservation taking care of our history
Students learn how archaeologists study and
care for Florida’s coquina ruins.
fighting human attacks
Some human attacks on archaeology sites are acts of
vandalism. People carve their initials into stone structures, and this damages the historical buildings forever.
How do conservators prevent this kind of damage? They try to make it hard for people to get close enough
to damage the coquina.
Look at the walkways installed at the Mala Compra site.
These walkways serve two important purposes. One:
They keep people who want to cause trouble AWAY
from the coquina structure. Two: The walkways also
help interested learners get CLOSE to the coquina
foundations. Conservators find it challenging to do
both jobs at the same time, but if they want to protect
our coquina buildings, they have to try.
Walkways at Mala Compra
Human mistakes are another problem that conservators must solve. One example is the old Ximenez-Fatio
House. Over the years, the natural limewash that protected this coquina building had eroded away. In the early
1900s, people decided to protect this old coquina building by covering it with a layer of Portland cement. The
cement did stop rain from eroding the coquina blocks, but it caused another major problem. You see, this building’s coquina walls were still
absorbing water from the earth, and that water had to
go somewhere. Normally, it would evaporate into the
outside air. However, in this case, the Portland cement
stopped the evaporation process. The moisture couldn’t
move out into the air, so instead, it soaked deeper inside
the old hotel’s walls. This caused the indoor plaster and
paint to crack, peel, and mold. That’s a problem. The
caretakers of the Ximenez-Fatio House hired
conservators to solve this problem. The conservators
decided to 1. remove every bit of Portland cement from
the outside of the house and 2. to cover the coquina
with natural limewash instead. This process took A
LOT of time, money, and effort. Conservation work
is never quick and easy. It takes thought, planning,
and patience. Conservators knew they couldn’t start
repairing the damage inside the house until they had
solved the actual CAUSE of the problem. Look at this
photo. Most of the peeling paint and plaster has been
removed. Thanks to the conservators, the caretakers of
the Ximenez-Fatio House can now start repairing the
walls inside.
Portlant Cement Fix at Ximenez-Fatio House
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Students learn how archaeologists study and
care for Florida’s coquina ruins.
the
de
castillo
san marcos:
The Castillo experienced another form of “accidental” human attack. In 1938, the Fort’s caretakers believed that the moat around the fort had originally been filled with water. They
wanted to make the Fort more realistic, so they flooded the moat with seawater. In 1996, the National Park
Service discovered two important facts. ONE: The Spanish did NOT keep the moat full of water. They only
flooded it if the fort was under attack. TWO: The water now in the moat was actually damaging the coquina
stones in the old Fort’s walls.
In fact, HUGE cracks had formed in the corners of the Fort. Before conservators could try to repair the cracks,
they needed to find out WHY the coquina was cracking in the first place. They studied the problem for several years, and their
research produced the following information. The corners of
the Fort (the bastions) were not built of solid coquina stone. The outer walls were made of coquina blocks, but the inside
area was filled with sand and small coquina chunks. This fill
material was very sturdy. It helped
support the weight of the heavy cannons that sat on top of the
bastions. So, what was the problem?
Well, when that fill sand became soaked with water, it got
REALLY heavy. The extra weight pushed against the
bastion’s outer walls, making the coquina stones and mortars
crack. And it was still happening. The cracks were getting
bigger every year!
View of Castillo Wall
Where was this water coming from? Archaeologists
discovered that some of it had come from the moat. The
stones at the bottom of the coquina walls were soaking up
seawater from the moat. Then, the sand inside the bastions
soaked up the seawater too. One CAUSE of the Castillo’s
cracks turned out to be the moat itself, so in 1996, conservators
drained the moat and allowed grass to grow there.
Archaeologists also excavated the gun deck (the roof of the fort). They found that cracks in the gun deck were allowing rain to seep
down into the bastions. The sand inside soaked up rainwater and
got even heavier. So the problem actually had two CAUSES. In
2007, conservators installed a new concrete roof with a waterproof
layer to prevent leaks.
After years of careful study, the conservators were ready to fix the
cracks in the Castillo’s walls. The sand inside the bastions was now
much drier and lighter. It would not be pushing on the cracks to
make them worse. So, conservators began repointing the cracks,
filling them with a mortar that had the correct color,
flexibility, and strength. By making sure they had solved each
CAUSE behind the Castillo’s cracks, the conservators were able to
make long-term repairs to Florida’s oldest coquina fort.
Crack in Castillo Wall
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archaeology activity guide for northeast florida
coquina conservation taking care of our history
Students learn how archaeologists study and
care for Florida’s coquina ruins.
try this experiment - choosing the right mortar
BACKGROUND: Before repointing (replacing the mortar on) an old coquina building, conservators need to
choose the correct replacement mortar. If the mortar is too weak, it may not hold the coquina blocks together.
If the mortar is too strong, forces that push or pull on the repaired wall might actually crack the coquina blocks.
The best mortar will stick together under light force BUT ALSO separate under extreme force. This will protect
the coquina blocks from cracking under stress.
EXPERIMENT: Students will test three different sticky substances to determine which one forms the
best mortar.
MATERIALS: We will use popsicle sticks as a building material to create our model. We will be testing three
mortars, including jelly, Elmer’s glue, and glue sticks. Use plastic spoons or knives to apply the jelly mortar.
BUILDING PROCEDURE:
• Each team of student conservators should place two popsicle sticks on a table. The popsicle sticks should be about one stick’s length apart. Apply Elmer’s glue to the ends of each stick. Next, lay down two more sticks to
form a square. The top popsicle sticks should cover your mortar (Elmer’s glue). Allow your popsicle structure
to dry overnight.
• Repeat this procedure using jelly as a mortar.
• Repeat this procedure using a glue stick to apply your mortar.
TESTING PROCEDURE: On Day 2, choose one person on each team to test the strength of your mortars. • Start with the jelly mortar. Twist the sticks a little. Does the jelly hold the sticks together under light force? If the answer is “yes,” twist the sticks as hard as you can. What happens? • Next, test the Elmer’s Glue mortar. Twist the sticks a little. Does the Elmer’s Glue hold the sticks together
under light force? If the answer is “yes,” twist the sticks as hard as you can. What happens? Do the popsicle sticks crack? • Finally, test the glue stick mortar. Twist the sticks a little. Does the glue stick mortar hold the sticks together under light force? If the answer is “yes,” twist the sticks as hard as you can. What happens? Does the glue stick
mortar separate under extreme force, leaving the popsicle sticks whole? CONCLUSION: Based on your experiment,
which mortar is the best for building structures
with popsicle sticks? Jelly, Elmer’s Glue, or Glue
stick glue? Use evidence from your experiment to
support your answer.
Example of Popsicle Structure
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the many collaborative partners that helped in the planning and research phase of the project, including:
staff of the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument (National Park Service), staff and volunteers of Fort Matanzas National
Monument (National Park Service), staff of Anastasia State Park, Charles Tingley and the St. Augustine Historical Society, Julie VaillGatlin of the Ximenez-Fatio House Museum, The National Society of Colonial Dames of America, Karen Harvey and the Friends of
the Huguenot Cemetery Organization, Roger Grange, Dorothy Moore, Southeast Volusia Historical Society, New Smyrna Museum
of History, Flagler County Board of County Commissioners, Superintendent William Delbrugge and teachers of Flagler County
Schools, C. Mathew Saunders, Flagler County Planner Tim Telfer, Environmental Services, Inc, Greg Smith, Marsha Chance, Shelley
Sass and Michael Geisert of Sass Conservation, Inc., Sass Conservation, Inc., Mary Kross, St. Augustine Archaeology Association,
Hughes Bowman Design Group, Inc., Carl Halbirt, K.C. Smith, Dana Ste. Claire, Sharyn Heiland, and colleagues at the Florida
Public Archaeology Network and Flagler College.
About the Author
Kelley Weitzel is a North Florida native with a BS in Biology and an MA in Literature. For the last 15 years she has worked as a
professional naturalist teaching kids and adults about Florida nature and native history. She is the author of Journey with
Florida’s Indians and The Timucua Indians: A Native America Detective Story. For more information on Ms. Weitzel and her books,
please visit www.kelleyweitzel.com.
Visit www.coquinaqueries.org
To Order More Supplies or Coquina Kits Contact:
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74 king street
st. augustine, florida 32085-1027
904.819.6476
[email protected]