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The
archaeology project for the Farm Shop/Piggery, completed by consulting
archaeologist Joyce Clements, resulted in an extensive report with the
following conclusion:
"We
have evaluated documentary and archaeological evidence associated with
the small farmshop or piggery at The Bidwell House. Along the western facade archeologist evaluated dense artifactual
deposits during excavation... The 'midden' consisted of architectural
debris deposited during renovation or restoration efforts around the
farmstead. The midden also
contained a large pig mandible that is not associated with the building,
but was redeposited during landscaping efforts ... This information is
part of the evolving history of the household and contributed tangible
evidence of restoration efforts...
From
the available data the existing structure appears to date from the late
18th century to early nineteenth century. The structure may have been built by Adonijah Bidwell, Jr. or
more likely by John Devotion Bidwell, during the period of farmstead
0expansion and modernization. The
function of the structure is derived from size, structural
characteristics, and location. In
all likelihood the building was a garden shed, used to store equipment
and supplies. Despite its
stature, the farm shop is a critical component of the built environment,
with a unique role in the agricultural history of the Minister's lot. The building itself, though repaired and renovated, is a charming
rustic structure, visually framed with a carefully constructed flagstone
walkway..."
The
report also produced an extensive title search which proved a change of
ownership fourteen times from 1784 when Reverend Bidwell died, up to
1960 when the house and property was purchased by Jack Hargis. This
includes the tenure of three generations of Bidwells, from 1750 to 1853,
and three generations of the family of George Carrington, from 1871 to
1911.
As
historian Michael Steinitz stated in his findings delivered as part of
The Bidwell House land symposium in 1994:
"
...if we focus our attention solely on the Bidwell era farmstead, we
fail to recognize how the landscape has been visualized, interpreted and
exploited at different periods in history. Although subsequent eras are not perceived as historically
significant as the Bidwell period, each ownership period reveals
important information about the environmental evolution of the land. Telling the story of the land is perhaps as compelling as telling
the story of the people."
These
archaeological findings gave the go-ahead to complete the restoration of
the farm shop which included the resetting of the dry laid stone
foundation, repair to the original structural beams, replacement of
rotted sills and floor, and replacement of several rotted siding boards. |
