History unearthed at Woodrow Wilson Library archeological dig

STAUNTON - It was a hot, sticky summer day when a group of James Madison University students and one professor started digging — into the ground that is. 

Part of an archeological dig at the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum in Staunton, Dennis Blanton, a James Madison University Associate Professor of Anthropology, and others started a dig site that was straight out of Indiana Jones, almost. 

They weren't searching for ancient artifacts, but rather the history that remained buried in the backyard of the now presidential library and museum.

Blanton oversaw the project and the Archaeological Research Laboratory at JMU helped with the dig and cleaning of artifacts.

There were 12 shovel test sites in the garden area of the museum, which is located behind the library and museum. They dug 1-meter squares throughout the back garden.

There were 635 individual items found like ceramic, nails and glass and more than 31 kilograms of brick, bone, coal, stone and cinder all together, according to Andrew Phillips, curator of the library and museum.

They found more than 2,000 artifacts like porcelain pieces, pig bones, a pipe stem, wire nails, machine cut nails, redware pottery pieces, buttons, a porcelain doll's pieces and more. Many of the artifacts found dated before the time that the Wilson family lived there — some may even date to the late 1700s. 

"It's akin to historical dumpster diving. We're out to answer questions not just to retrieve material, that's really what archeology is," said Blanton in an interview with The News Leader in July 2018. "The things that we find are a bridge to people who lived on this site, historically. We aren't just trying to accumulate things. We're trying to answer questions."

Blanton and 13 volunteers, ranging in age from 13 to 75, did the dig back in the summer of 2018.

The artifacts found are now on display in an exhibit called "Beneath the Garden" at the museum until March. The artifacts on display is just a small portion of what was found.

Prior to it being a landscaped garden, the property was home, also called a manse, to the minister of the Staunton Presbyterian Church. The construction of the manse dates back to 1846, according to church session minutes, the library and museum said.

In 1854, the Reverend Joseph Ruggles Wilson accepted the position as minister for Staunton Presbyterian Church. He, his wife and two daughters moved into the manse. In 1856, Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born.

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The goal of the dig in July was a way of discovering anonymous figures in history, Phillips said.

"This has been really eye opening for us," said Phillips. "It's helping us change the story of this home's history."

Much of that history Philips feared was lost when the current garden was designed and executed. 

The current garden, designed in 1933 by Richmond landscape architect Charles F. Gillette was done as a project by the Garden Club of Virginia, according to the library and museum.  

The gardens included two terraces, the lower one featuring boxwood-lined bowknot beds, the only bowknot garden that Gillette created, according to the library and museum.

The brick terrace and pathways were added in the late 1960s. In 2008, the Garden Club of Virginia brought new life back to the garden by rebuilding perimeter fencing, planting new boxwoods, lilacs, hostas and perennials, the library and museum said.

What is next in the archeological dig at the Woodrow Wilson Library and Museum

The first dig was more of a survey, Phillips said. They started in small 1-meter sections to figure out if they could find anything.

In the beginning, the fear was they wouldn't find anything.

"We were finding things from well before the birthplace house was built in the 1840s, suggesting that there was activity on the site that we had no idea about in the years before that," Phillips said. "So that's crazy."

Some artifacts found could be dated back to the late 1700s, like a pipe stem they found during the dig. 

"Where we would expect most of this sort of household garbage along the far walls, we found that this has some of the older objects," Phillips said. "We think there is a possibility that there was a structure of some sort or activity here that is not in the record before the house was built in the 1840s. But we don't know anything about it. So it's very much a mystery and fun to investigate."

There are still a lot of unknowns in what they found during the dig. They can speculate that much of the porcelain pieces date back to the early 1800s, but the actual use isn't known. 

They didn't dig deep though, just small survey sections to get a better idea of where they could find artifacts. 

"We now know where we should be looking," Phillips said.

The library and museum want to move forward and do another dig. Research will continue through the spring on examining different land records and documents at the Augusta County and Staunton courthouses. 

The hope is by July to start digging and continue for six to eight weeks and the library and museum will work with JMU on the project.

Currently, the library and museum is looking for funding. The project's budget is $15,000 and includes the cost of equipment, site supervision, artifact processing, research, report writing and public interpretation. 

They have set up a GoFundMe page to help with the fundraising. 

The hope is to tell the story of those who lived before the Wilsons on the property, especially the enslaved African Americans who still remain anonymous. 

"We want to be able to tell their story," Phillips said. 

Follow Laura Peters @peterslaura. You can reach her at lpeters@newsleader.com.