Farmstead and household archaeology at the Barrett Farm, Concord, Massachusetts

Abstract

Changes in the landscape across the Barrett farmstead in Concord, Massachusetts, are examined and related to changes in the household during the 1850s and 1860s. Although the Barrett family had a long and prosperous tradition of farming in Concord, this changed at the end of the 19th-century, as the farm was reduced in size and the operation reduced in scale. The majority of artifacts and data recovered from an excavation in 2007 by UMass Boston dealt with the 19^th-century occupation of the farmstead. Changes in the household and across the farmstead in the 19th-century can be seen archaeologically through the formation of features, including a ceramic midden behind the collapsed east ell. Changes in the landscape are linked to specific households. The economic factors affecting the 19th-century households are examined. The archaeological evidence, supported by documents, help show how external pressures shaped the landscape of a New England farmstead.