HERITAGE PRESERVATION AND INNOVATIVE OUTREACH IN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON: ARCHEOLOGICAL STUDIES ALONG THE ELYSIAN PROJECT CORRIDOR

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1 HERITAGE PRESERVATION AND INNOVATIVE OUTREACH IN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON: ARCHEOLOGICAL STUDIES ALONG THE ELYSIAN PROJECT CORRIDOR Jason W. Barrett, Ph.D. TxDOT, Environmental Affairs Division

2 TxDOT s Archeological Studies Branch 2

3 Houston District: Elysian Viaduct Bridge Replacement A TxDOT project to reconstruct the Elysian Viaduct bridge from Brooks to Commerce Street is currently underway. The project was initiated to improve safety along the aging structure, and to enhance connectivity and mobility in an area of the city experiencing rapid development and population growth. 3

4 Archeological Resource Review 2006 Aerial of Project Area South of Buffalo Bayou 1970 Aerial of Project Area South of Buffalo Bayou 4

5 Frost Town: Houston s First Neighborhood Houston owes its existence to Buffalo Bayou and steamship transportation. Allen s Landing, at the confluence of White Oak and Buffalo Bayous, became the turning basin and loading dock for steamship commerce soon after the city was founded. The area that would become Frost Town is situated within a prominent horseshoe bend of Buffalo Bayou and is located about one-half mile downstream from Allen s Landing TxDOT Environmental Conference, Austin, TX September 12-14,

6 Frost Town Origins First settled by Jonathan Benson Frost in 1836 Frost purchased 15 acres from Allen Brothers by 1837 Frost died of cholera in September 1837 His brother, Samuel Frost took over estate 8-block area established, sale of lots begins in June 1838 Earliest settlers were predominantly German immigrants By late 1840s, about 75 German families lived in Frost Town 6

7 Community Changes Through Time The first major change for Frost Town came along with a new form of transportation the railroad. The Galveston, Houston, & Henderson Railroad reached the Frost Town area in The railroad also set in motion two trends that would continue over the next century the industrialization of the surrounding area, and the socioeconomic decline of the Frost Town neighborhood. 7

8 Demographic Transitions in Historic Context The ethnicity of the community changed over time in response to both local conditions and broader historical events. Soon after the Civil War, African American freedmen began moving into Houston and other large urban centers hoping to find steady work, and many would settle in Frost Town. After the revolution in Mexico during the 1910s, thousands of Mexican citizens migrated northward in search of jobs, and many came to Houston. By the 1940s, the old Frost Town community was predominantly Hispanic, and it had become known as El Bario del Alacran (Scorpion neighborhood). 8

9 Frost Town s Working Class Character Working class families found housing in the community inexpensive relative to other areas of the city. Frost Town was a logistically advantageous spot for urban laborers to settle because of its proximity to industrial and transportation facilities providing good jobs. Industries in the immediate vicinity included cotton compresses, lumber yards, iron works, ice houses, the MKT Railroad terminal, and steamship loading docks along the bayou. The ultimate demise of the neighborhood began in the mid-1950s when most of the residences were demolished to clear right-of-way for construction of the original Elysian Viaduct bridge. The last house was finally removed in the 1990s. 9

10 Archeological investigations at Frost Town 10

11 Frost Town: Artifacts from Houston s Earliest Settlers 11

12 Artifacts, Time, and Personal Histories 12

13 Before the FDA there was MEXICAN MUSTANG! The manufacturers of the liniment claimed not only did it work on men and women but was also recommended for children, horses and domestic animals. "So long as human ills endure, And mortals suffer pain, So long shall MUSTANG LINIMENT Its glorious name maintain." take equal parts petroleum, olive oil and carbonate of ammonia. Don t forget to mix well 13

14 The Features of Frost Town 2017 TxDOT Environmental Conference, Austin, TX September 12-14,

15 Burried Bottle Rows Bottle alignment contained 50+ bottles. Bottles are from ginger beer, beer, wine, liquor, and seltzer. Bottles date feature to 1880s. All archeological examples in Texas have been found in Houston. Feature represents yard ornamentation. Best chronological marker among bottles was a C. Conrad and Co. Original Budweiser bottle. C.C.&Co. Bud bottles date 1876 to

16 Carl W. Conrad & Co. Original Budweiser Carl W. Conrad first trademarked the name Budweiser, and was a friend of Adolphus Busch, whose brewery did a contract beer for Conrad, which was marketed as Budweiser. After his bankruptcy in 1883, the Budweiser name and recipe became the property of Anheuser-Busch. 16

17 Cypress Wood Barrel Cisterns Half-page ad for Heart Cypress Cisterns made by R.D. Gribble & Co. in Houston, as printed in the Houston City Directory. (Morrison and Fourmy 1882:30) 17

18 Learning Stories From Things 18

19 Cistern at 1108 Elysian Street, 5 th Ward 19

20 Houston Archeological Society Volunteer Excavations : Lucy Richardson (widow), dressmaker 20

21 The James Monroe Baugh Cistern HOUSTON DAILY POST, April 10, 1903 James M. Baugh died yesterday morning at 8:12 o clock, after an illness of five weeks of paralysis. He had been a resident of Houston for thirty-seven years. He was born at Natchez, Miss., on August 11, He leaves a wife and three children, two daughters, Miss Clara Baugh of this city, Mrs. L. B. Sedgwick of McComb City, Miss., and one son, William M. Baugh, who was former city secretary. He was well and favorably known to the older residents of this city, was a member of Dick Dowling camp and the Knights of Honor. He was ever upright and honest in his dealings with all men; a devoted and indulgent husband and father. He will be sadly missed in the home circle, where his greatest happiness lay, after a long, useful and well spent life, the end came peacefully. 21

22 Recording the Oral History of El Barrio del Alacran Sergio Leon Garcia, born April 11, 1931 at 10 Spruce Street. The family later moved to 1816 Bramble Street, and then to Rice Institute in Both Spanish and English were spoken in the neighborhood. Most residents were laborers and unskilled workers. Water was supplied by a single faucet on the outside of the house. The kitchen had a cast iron, wood-burning stove. Boys collected scrap wood from around the neighborhood to fuel it. The stove was used for cooking and as the sole source of heat in the house during the winter months. Many people had a wire hanging from the ceiling in their kitchen from which they hung food at night, such as tortillas, so that it would not be taken overnight by pests. 22

23 Diversity is Houston s Strength & its Heritage 23