Clues Beneath the Waves: Local Shipwreck Artifacts Solve Mysteries
By Pam George, Guest Contributor
The steady patter of water dripping onto a concrete floor echoed in the metal-walled structure. It sounded as though someone had recently turned off a giant shower. My guide, Chuck Fithian pulled back a plastic curtain so that I could peer behind it.
There rested the battered, jagged hull from De Braak, a British naval warship that sank off the coast of Cape Henlopen, Del., on May 25, 1798. Fithian, curator of archaeology for Delaware’s Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, has been the copper-edged hull’s guardian. Three times a day, a pump roars to life to bathe the wood with water that keeps the hull from drying out and disintegrating.
The hull, ripped from the mud and silt of the Delaware Bay, is hardly the picture of a shipwreck treasure. But along with the 20,000 artifacts retrieved during a salvage effort in the mid-1980s, it is invaluable. Footwear, cannonballs, toothbrushes are all dear to historians, archaeologists and even movie directors like Peter Weir, director of “Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World,” who studied them.
“De Braak gives us an unparalleled glimpse into the life of a Royal Navy warship,” Fithian told me when I interviewed him for my book “Shipwrecks of the Delaware Coast: Tales of Pirates, Squalls & Treasure.” He’s been working on De Braak since he started with the state in 1986.
When it comes to shipwrecks, artifacts are clues that can help solve the mystery, whether you’re seeking the identity of the ship or information about those who once occupied it. Even a seemingly mundane object—a glass bottled labeled ketchup—can intrigue those who view it.
On display at the Zwaanendael Museum, in Lewes, the bottle once held a concoction likely made with cloves, spices, mushrooms and stale beer, which sailors used to mask the taste of spoiling food.
One of Delaware’s best-known shipwrecks, De Braak was rumored to carry gold and silver, making it the subject of a frenzied treasure hunt until the ship was finally found in 1984.
Initially, experts wondered if it was the right ship. The bell bore an imprint for Le Patrocle 1781. Wood seemed as though it was from America. But then divers found a ring belonging to De Braak’s captain, James Drew. The inscription: “In Memory of My belv’d Brother Capt. John Drew Drown’d 11 Jany. 1798 Aged 47.”
The ship also was equipped with carronades, short powerful guns that the British installed on De Braak when the government took the ship from the Dutch, a war enemy. Ammunition boxes, still cradling rows of shotgun-like projectiles, are the only known intact boxes in existence. The projectiles originally consisted of tin cylinders packed with iron balls and nailed to a wooden base. The balls are still visible; the tin has long disintegrated.
There were coins found on the site, but nothing like those that have turned up along a stretch of sand in Delaware Seashore State Park, now dubbed Coin Beach. Finding a coin here turned Dale Clifton into a shipwreck aficionado.
“It revealed the image of George III,” he recalled. “I was the first person to touch that coin after all those years; I felt I was shaking hands with history.” Since then he’s found at least 200,000 coins.
Clifton, founder and director of DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum in Fenwick Island, is fascinated by the coins’ likely source, the Faithful Steward, which in 1785 carried 249 passengers—mostly Irish immigrants headed to America—and about 400 barrels of British coins for the new country, which had no mint of its own.
The ship slammed into a shoal on Sept. 1, 1785, about 150 yards from shore, during a raging storm. Because so many immigrants could not swim, only 68 people aboard the ship survived, making it one of the area’s most tragic shipwrecks.
Along with coins from that ship, Clifton has “alphabet” plates brought up from the China Wreck, so named because of the copious amount of china found on the site. ABC plates feature a literary character of fairy tale hero ringed by an alphabet.
The china has served as clues to help experts and theorists guess the ships identity. Some say it is the Principessa Margherita di Piemonte from Naples. Others claim it’s the D.H. Bills. But without a manifest that matches the items or an artifact with the ship’s name on it, no one knows for certain.
That is also true of the shipwreck hit by a dredge off the Roosevelt Inlet during a beach replenishment program. The dredge spewed thousands of shards, glass and some whole pieces on to the beach for lucky beachcombers to find. Determining the items’ manufacturers and the dates on coins, tokens and buttons helped state archaeologists pinpoint a date span for its demise. Most likely, it is the Severn, lost in 1774. But no manifest has been found to match the cargo. Nor has there been an artifact with that name on it.
If you’re looking for traditional treasure, there’s no shortage of it at DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum and the Treasures of the Sea Museum in Georgetown, Del. Both boast items found on Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which in 1622 sank off the Florida coast. Clifton was 15 when he dove on that wreck, whose salvage in part was financed by a Georgetown businessman, Melvin Fisher.
Gold chains or jewels, wool hats or mourning rings, the artifacts are still sad memories of a ship that once carried dreams along with their cargo—dreams that died when the ship collided with destiny.
For more information on shipwrecks:
The Cannonball House in Lewes, Del., which details the town’s maritime past.
The Overfalls Lightship in Lewes, which was used to warn ships away from shoals.
The Indian River Life-Saving Station just south of Dewey Beach before the Indian River Inlet bridge.
Treasure Quest Shoppe in Ocean View, Del., where you can see artifacts and buy treasure-hunting maps and equipment.
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Meet Pam at the following signings of her just-published book Shipwrecks of the Delaware Coast:
June 18, beginning at 7 p.m. at Bethany Beach Books in Bethany Beach, Del.
June 19, from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. at Barnes & Noble in Wilmington (on Rt. 202.)
June 26, 2 p.m., at the Mid-Atlantic Sea Glass & Coastal Arts Festival in Lewes
Raised in Devon, Pa., Pam George is a freelance writer and author in Wilmington, Del. who now knows the difference between going to the beach and going down the shore. She regularly writes on maritime history, food, travel, technology and business for publications such as Fortune, the Christian Science Monitor and US Airways magazine.
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Images: Coins likely from the Faithful Steward. Plates found on the so-called China Wreck, named for the amount of china at the site. Both images courtesy of DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum
A Slice of Chester County Cheese History
“A slice of good cheese is never just a thing to eat. It is usually also a slice of local history: agricultural, political or ecclesiastical.”
–Patrick Rance, crusader for traditional, raw-milk cheeses and author: The Great British Cheese Book, The French Cheese Book
By Margaret Gilmour
In the 1800s Southeastern Pennsylvania was a center of cheese production, a flourishing cottage industry fueled mostly by woman who made the farm’s cheese and butter. The farmers cultivated a variety crops and raised animals that grazed on lush pastures, which, of course, contributed to successful cheese-making.
And since agriculture was Chester County’s dominant industry—the region’s fertile soil fed with ample rainfall and temperate climates—the proximity to Philadelphia was ideal for supplying the city with plenty of pure, hand-crafted cheeses.
Especially cream cheese.
While there is little scientific data on local cheese history, regional food historian William Woys Weaver says “We know that cream cheese was prized because it was used as an ingredient in a lot of Colonial recipes, cheese cakes for example.” He points out that it was “Philadelphia, not New York, was famous for its colonial cheesecake cookery.” There was even a Cheese Cake House in Philadelphia in the 1720s that sold almost only cheesecakes.
But there were also plenty of cattle, sheep and goats in Chester County at the time, so many farmers took to experimenting with their fermented milk to produce their own handmade, quality cheeses, and not all of it was creamed. Other types included many similar to cheddar, double Gloucester, and Cotswold types.
Then, by the early 18th-century, Pennsylvania’s farming industry progressed alongside the Industrial Revolution. New approaches to harvesting meant maximizing yields and efficiency in every way, and the quality of everything the farmers produced was affected, including cheese. Because cheese-making is a time-consuming labor of love and traditional methods require a skilled craftsperson, many farmers stopped making cheese and turned to selling their milk to large markets or factory cheese-makers instead.
But there’s good news: Almost 100 years later, Chester County is experiencing a local farmstead cheese revival. There are now seven licensed artisan cheese-makers and eight farms producing cheese. All are doing so from the fresh milk their farm animals produce.
In fact, Southeastern Pennsylvania is one of a handful of states with a growing reputation for their artisan cheese-makers. The list includes California, Wisconsin, and Vermont—each one churning out sliced delicacies proving that U.S. cheeses can go up against European varieties and taste luxurious. Complex. Intense.
Is there a secret to making cheese? Most follow the same basic steps, using fresh curds hand-ladled into molds. But making quality, hand-crafted cheese that is as rewarding as a fine wine, is an art.
“One thing I am adamant about is that cheeses made in Pennsylvania should have their own names rather than giving them the name of a European counterpart,” says Mr. Weaver. “We can make perfectly good, even great cheeses; we do not have to copy the fame of anyone else. Cheese has terroir like grapes and everything else.”
Come back Wednesday for details on the newly formed Chester County Cheese Artisans, a group of eight local farmers that produce fine, artisan cheese, confirming that their curds and whey are rich, creamy bites of local history.
Dr. William Woys Weaver is Director for the Keystone Center for the Study of Regional Foods and Food Tourism at Drexel University, and a Contributing Editor of Mother Earth News. He lives and gardens in Devon in the former Lamb Tavern, built in 1805.
Source: The Cheese Plate by Max McCalman and David Gibbons
A Tribute to Indian Hannah
She is known as the last of the Lenni Lenape Indians to live in Chester County, and her tribe as the first to make history in our area.
You can see a marker dedicated to her in 1925 that identifies her birthplace on RT 52 (E. side), just .2 miles North of RT 1 near Longwood Gardens. It reads:
Indian Hannah (1730-1802)
The bronze plaque sits atop a boulder pulled from Pocopson Creek.
Indian Hannah (born as Hannah Freeman) lived with her family in a cabin on William Webb’s property, a Quaker assembly-man, in Kennett Square during the winter, where the marker still resides. She spent summers along the Brandywine in Newlin Township before her family moved to other parts of the region.
Perhaps what is so remarkable about this local legend is that she lived through a period of unsettled history to witness during her years here:
• The British rule of the Colonies
• The making of the Mason & Dixon Line
• The Battle of Brandywine
• The American Revolution
• The Paxton Boys Massacre
• The relocation and near-destruction of her tribe
Indiana Hannah’s life represents, among other things, the traditions that held Lenni Lenape families together, and their ability to persist even when settlers threatened to imperil their existence.
Then, of course, there is her dependence on a craft learned while very young and put to use in order for her survival.
The Lenape Indians arrived here in the early 1600s, and became known to some by 1755 as the “Delawares.” Even though by 1800 only a few of her tribe remained in Chester County, Indian Hanna chose to stay.
Having no home, she spent her winters with Quaker families, working for her board. Her only source of income came from the baskets and brooms she made, and the herbs she sold. Many new her as a healer.
In 1800 the first poor house in Chester County opened, and Indian Hannah lived there until her death in 1802.
To honor this last member of the Lenni Lanape tribe to live in Chester County, a rededication ceremony is being held at Indian Hanna’s burial site in Embreeville on Sunday, November 15th and 1:00 p.m.
Call 610-486-6431 to receive your invitation, and for more details. Refreshments and a reception follow; donations to the Indian Hanna Fund graciously appreciated.
Sources: chaddsfordhistory.org, pa-roots.com, explorepahistory.com
The Tale of King Ranch
Richard King didn’t start out as a cattleman, he drove boats.
Born in 1824, King was a steamboat captain before setting sail for the Wild Horse Desert in south Texas where he established his first ranch, a modest spread of 15,000 acres. He didn’t stop there and by the 1940s his heir’s operations included one in Chester County, and by the 1970s his holdings were made up of 11.5 million acres around the world.
King’s legacy began in the 1850s when Texas land was plentiful and cheap. The parcel that King fell in love with was a spring-fed haven along the Santa Gertrudis Creek with large mesquite trees providing ample and necessary shade. Once he laid eyes on that piece of land, King envisioned raising cattle to sell to the markets.
King got his sea-legs at the age of eleven when he stowed away on a schooner out of New York City to escape the jeweler to whom he had been indentured by his penniless parents. King proved his mettle as a seaman and soon attained a pilot’s rating. (more…)
A Brief History of Garden Tools
By Margaret Gilmour
“The slowest plant of June,” say the old timers, “will be the biggest soon.” – from The Seasons of America Past by Eric Sloane.
Like all modern instruments, garden tools have evolved over the years, the oldest dating back thousands of years. In fact, the grapevine is believed to be the first woody plant intentionally cut by man in Armenia around 6000 B.C. (I bet he had wine on his mind.)
It’s true that technology has given today’s gardeners access to ergonomically designed tools, and electric-or gas-powered devices that make planting and pruning easier. But, like cutlery, much of the gardener’s basic utensils remain unchanged.
Take the shovel, for example. Even with John Ames’ creation of the first iron shovel in 1774, this digging tool’s basic form still maintains a cylinder-shaped handle and a broad, metal blade.
How PA Got its State Flower: Mountain Laurel
By Margaret Gilmour
It seems that choosing the Pennsylvania state flower was not an easy task.
As a matter of fact, as the story goes, it was most stressful.
You see by 1931, with no state flower officially named, disgruntled Pennsylvanians opted to take the deed into their own hands.
They lined up in large numbers along the halls of the state capital in Harrisburg and demanded that a selection be made.
The choices they offered the House of Representatives were two: the pink azalea (Rhododendron Periclymenoides), or the mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia).
Advocates for both selections stood their ground.
Not knowing the details, perhaps the argument went like this:
Pro mountain laurel: The pink azalea has no winter foliage! The mountain laurel is an evergreen, with its glossy, deep green leaves warming up the landscape year-round. And their speckled flowers come in a variety of shades from white to pink blooming late spring in woodland habitats.
Pro pink azalea: The mountain laurel is poisonous! The azalea is available in an assortment of showy, clustered flowers in varying shades of pink that also bloom in spring in the woodlands. And its foliage also has great fall color.
The debate went on and on.
As a matter of fact, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives became so addled they could not reach a consensus.
So, with no agreement made, the House deferred the vote to the Governor of Pennsylvania, Governor Gifford Pinchot, who is known as our nation’s first professionally trained forester.
But the Governor loved both the mountain laurel and the pink azalea. How could he choose between the two?
He decided not to. Instead, he asked his wife to settle the matter.
She took her time with her decision.
It was two years after the initial debate, actually, on May 5, 1933, when the Governor signed legislation making the mountain laurel the official state flower of Pennsylvania.
You can see the mountain laurel in full bloom in early-June in the Pennsylvania woodlands. (And the pink azalea puts on a quite show in late-May.)
Sources: 50states.com and netstate.com
Root Cellars: Naturally Cool
By Margaret Gilmour
Ever since ancient times, root cellars have provided cultures with the means to store food throughout the seasons.
Nowadays they’re back in style, so to speak, their popularity due partly to our own desires to hold onto summer’s harvest as long as possible.
You can still locate root cellars in Chester County, many ranging in size from three to four feet square, to large domed spaces suitable for hoarding enough winter provisions for several families.
The revival of this old custom makes for healthier, more sustainable eating since the in-ground cellars make it possible to stockpile fresh foods purchased at local farms or farmers’ markets (if you aren’t growing your own).
They are also an energy-saving convenience providing easy access to our harvested ingredients–-there’s’ no need to jump in our cars and run to the food mart before preparing a meal.
In Chester County, root cellars have been around since the first settlers made this fertile region their home—that’s before William Penn established the area in 1682.
Since practical refrigerators weren’t introduced until 1915, and still not widely used for at least 15 years later in the ‘30s, root cellars were necessary household accessories until they were replace by the refrigerator. They provided natural, cold storage to successfully keep perishables intact.
The first root cellars weren’t made in basements. In fact, the earliest farmhouses had only dirt floors and no “foundation-room,” or basement, with the entire house resting directly on the ground.
But the root cellars were underground rooms, and placement varied; most were built within arm’s reach, or at least within close proximity to the house. The cellar had its own chimney that helped keep dampness out and the scent of fragrant, smoked meats and just-harvested foods in.
Cool, dry temperatures and lots of ventilation is needed to keep produce, canned food and cured meets fresh in the cellar. Some humidity, too, halts produce from drying up, and darkness keeping produce from sprouting.
There are three basic types of outdoor root cellars: Hillside, which were dug into a hillside to encourage natural drainage from the spring thaw or heavy rains, and lined with rocks and wood beams for support. Regular, well-insulated doors made for easy, walk-in access.
A hatch cellar is dug into the earth too. Most have dirt floors, a hatch door for entry, and a ladder or stairs leading the way down to the storage area.
The third type, an above ground cellar, can still be seen locally along the countryside. They look similar to spring houses, or a Hobbit house built with a frame of wood or stone, and topped with sod concealing it from above.
You can see how these underground rooms made for good hiding spaces for slaves, especially those eventually built in the basement of a home. Actually, many basement root cellars had escape routes leading through a shallow well built for this reason, and were commonly used a safe haven/stop over for slaves in Chester County’s Underground Railroad.
To build your own root cellar, this book is devoted entirely to the matter, and goes into great depth detailing the storage process, along with the best staples suited for in-ground storage.
Buy it here:
Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables
A bit of Chester County Farming History
By Margaret Gilmour
Once again, Pennsylvania farmers are gearing up for the upcoming growing season. Not just firing up their tractors, but also launching discussions on soil fertility, crop yields and the latest technology, all topics farmers have followed since the beginning of time.
Even before William Penn created the three original Pennsylvania counties in 1682: Chester, Philadelphia and Bucks, this area’s fertile soil, ample rainfall and temperate climate destined agriculture to be the dominant industry.
The first farmers in Pennsylvania were Native Americans who planted corn, beans and squash. Later, immigrants brought their own farming traditions. We can thank the Germans for introducing oats and wheat among other things, and the Swiss for their basement-less barns made with a wide roof front and a wood and stone structure.
During the Colonial-era over half of all Pennsylvania residents lived on family farms, producing mainly potatoes, fruit, hay, wheat, corn, oats, rye and barley. Around 1698, Chester County opened its first farmer’s market, a simple set-up on a street corner in one of its towns.
By 1776, Pennsylvania’s agricultural economy had peaked and its well-kept farms and classic barns became icons depicted in images of the state from post cards to paintings, and the archetype for farms across the nation. With over 90 percent of its residents farming by 1790, Pennsylvania led the nation’s colonies in food production, feeding families across the country.
By the 18th-Century, this intensive farming took its toll on the once-fertile fields which were by then rapidly deteriorating. About that time, noted agriculturalist John Beale Bordley made Chester County his second home and purchased land west of Marshalltown in the mid-1790s, calling his estate Como Farm.
With over 90 percent of its residents farming by 1790, Pennsylvania led the colonies in food production, feeding families throughout the budding nation.
Como Farm became one of the first model farms where Bordley experimented with new farming techniques in an effort to reform methods currently in use. Bordley also helped found the Philadelphia Society for the Promotion of Agriculture, advancing his campaign for more progressive, scientific approaches to farming like plant rotation, sowing soil building plants one year and more profitable crops the next.
By the 1850s, also in Chester County, Samuel Dickey and his entrepreneurial family built a rural community in the Hopewell Creek valley (Lower Oxford and E. Nottingham Townships), where they experimented with mechanized agriculture.
They began with horse and water-powered machinery at Hopewell Creek where they spun cotton and ultimately built a gristmill. The Dickeys eventually developed the whole valley including a schoolhouse, a chapel and a town store, while promoting their progressive farming process. Many buildings still exist today, preserved as an historic district.
Replacing simple tools and intense manual labor with mechanized threshers and harvesters was a welcome reprieve for many farmers. But too much production, too fast took its toll on the land and the rural families working hard to keep up with the times.
In fact, the early 18th-century marked the beginning of regional overproduction, with business-minded individuals fueling the Industrial Revolution in their attempt to maximize yields and efficiency in every way. The era affected all trades, notably farmers, who lost neighbors to thriving cities promising urban wealth and distinction.
By the late 20th-century, fast-farming, rising costs and suburban development drove many farmers out of business–-almost 58 percent in Pennsylvania in a span of 20 years. According to one study: “More than 170,000 Pennsylvanians left rural regions in the 1920s and more than 300,000 in the 1960s.”
Still, Pennsylvania continues to be America’s fourth largest producer of food products with dairy being the number one agricultural industry. Right here in Chester County, specialized farming includes mushroom growing in Avondale and Kennett Square.
We’re also enjoying a small, organic farm movement, shunning pesticide use and incorporating soil conservation and watershed management. This turn toward more responsible agriculture includes adopting methods of natural composting for disease prevention, and an emphasis of supporting our farmers by buying locally or participating in area CSAs (community supported agriculture).
According to Marilyn Anthony, Southeast Regional Director of PASA (Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture): “There has been explosive growth in CSAs in Chester County alone,” she says. “In fact, I’m not aware of a CSA that doesn’t have a waiting list.”
In addition, Anthony points to a report produced by Penn State Cooperative in 2007 stating: “The number of farmers markets in the United States has increased significantly over the past decade. According to the USDA, there were 2,410 markets in 1996 and 4,386 in 2006, a growth of 182 percent. As this report will show, Southeast Pennsylvania has experienced a five-fold increase of farmers’ markets during this period.”
All this is good news for the farming industry and for locals wanting to eat fresh, locally produced goods. To locate a farm or farmer’s market near you, click here: Eat Local, and scroll down the list of resources. Chester County has a number of sustainable farms spread throughout the still-fertile land.
“There has been explosive growth in CSAs in Chester County alone,” she says. “In fact, I’m not aware of a CSA that doesn’t have a waiting list.”
CHESTER COUNTY FARMING FACTS:
PA State Program has preserved (through conservation easements) 231 farms in Chester County for a total of 22,104 acres.
There are 168,165 acres of farmland and 1,918 farms in Chester County according to the 2002 U. S. Census of Agriculture.
SOURCES: Chesco.org, explorepahistory.com, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Chester County Historical Society, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture
Local Serpentine Stone
By Margaret Gilmour
Back in 1828 early settlers to this area came upon fields of serpentine rock, an olive-green stone covering much of the southwestern corner of Chester County where Nottingham Park is now established, and where the largest serpentine barrens on the east coast still exist.
Surely the settlers didn’t know it then, but it turns out that serpentine rock is only found in a few areas around the world: California, Newfoundland, Maryland and right here in southeastern PA.
Still, it was obvious to Chester County’s first inhabitants that this stone was different than other local rocks they dug up deep beneath the earth’s surface. This rock revealed itself in large greenish slabs swimming atop acres and acres of land. And everywhere it surfaced, most vegetation did not. That’s because serpentine rock is comprised of high levels of metals toxic to plants, and low levels of essential nutrients necessary for plant growth. Hence naming the region “serpentine barrens.”
Yet, as the early Nottingham residents were puzzled over the bare fields laced with serpentine rock, Brinton’s Quarry just outside of West Chester, PA thrived. In fact, it had been in operation since the mid-1700s and the locals built many of the farmhouses from the stone. They also shipped it into Philadelphia, and eventually used it to construct all the original West Chester University buildings.
This lustrous green rock’s popularity in the construction field didn’t last too long though. It turned out to be fairly soft and fragile, not long-lasting enough for building material.
But you can still see the serpentine on many Chester County facades, or take a walk over it at Nottingham Park. And if you take a good look, you’ll actually see an ocean of colors, with strands of red, orange, yellow and brown running across its surface.
Photos (above) Pocopson Train Station.
Photography: Rick Ziesing
