In 2003, the County of Franklin Industrial Development Agency (CFIDA) contracted with Hartgen Archaeological Associates of Albany, New York to conduct an archaeological study within the recently established Chateaugay Business Park.
The resulting study was mandated by and in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act. The goal was to determine whether any cultural materials were present on the Business Park acreage.
Beginning in 2003, over 800 shovel tests were conducted over the forty-eight acre property, and the Beman homestead location was identified.
By October 2004, a grid was laid out over the homestead site to guide further excavation of the Beman house site. Fortunately, no time was lost to inclement weather.
With the homestead location confirmed, only a small portion of the cabin and surrounding ground was excavated to protect the original integrity of the site.
The field crew consisted of: Kevin Moody, Corey McQuinn, Neni Issac, and supervisor, Chateaugay-native, J. William Bouchard.
At the conclusion of the fieldwork and the subsequent analysis, the Nathan Beman Archaeological Preserve was established. The Preserve is 240 X 285 feet in size and includes a fifty foot buffer beyond the boundaries of the site. It can never be disturbed or developed as the Business Park seeks to grow and attract businesses.
Footprint of the Beman home was established. It was 22 X 31 feet in size. House was oriented to the southwest. A fieldstone chimney was on the northwest wall.
A sheet midden (a section of ground for discarded animal remains and general trash) was found in the dooryard.
A wide variety of artifacts were unearthed at the homestead. The analysis of the artifact assemblage focuses on datable materials that shed light on longevity of the occupation. Other artifact classes provide a sense of the range of activities that went on and the socioeconomic status of the family. The agricultural plowing of the field since the mid-1800s, was deemed to have an insignificant effect on the disposition and distribution of the artifact assemblage. This left, nearly intact, the 1796-1840s deposit and parts of some sub-plow zone features such as the house.
Over two thousand items of ceramic material were found. This proved to be inexpensive and mismatched dishes, tableware, etc. The ceramic signifies a simple lifestyle with little disposable income. Glass pieces found consisted of window glass, bottles, and drinking glasses. Flatware unearthed included a pewter spoon and a two tined fork.
Miscellaneous items found included; a lamp chimney and glass beads. No items of bone, no glass or porcelain buttons, and no jewelry items were found, indicating a simple and far-from-affluent lifestyle. Among the personal items found were; clay pipe fragments and metal buttons.
As a whole, the “household and personal items consisted of inexpensive wares, the types of goods common in early 19th century homes of people of modest means.”
A bayonet frog was unearthed. This metal holder was worn on the belt and held a rifle bayonet at the ready. Nathan Beman served for eleven days in 1814 during the War of 1812.
The sheet midden also revealed pig, cow and sheep bones. Additionally, a variety of building materials, like brick, nails, window glass and plaster mortar were uncovered. The midden also contained a well-worn garden hoe blade, an ox shoe, and pieces of scrap metal that had been worked, reworked, and reworked again.
According to the final report, the house location was marked by “a dark organic stain which contained amounts of charred wood indicating that the structure had burned. That event occurred after the Bemans had left the homestead around 1840 since very few artifacts bore evidence of having been exposed to fire.”
At the conclusion of the excavation, the data was collected, interpreted, organized, and reports were written. The perimeter of the Nathan Beman Archeological Preserve was established and marked.
In March of 2008, The “Phase II Site Evaluation” was published detailing the entire archaeological survey and placing the Beman family in proper historical context.
In July 2009, survey team leader, J. William Bouchard, produced “Archeology at the Nathan Beman Homestead” which included sections on historical background and the archaeology done at the site. It also had an extensive bibliography.
Since this site is associated with a veteran of the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the Nathan Beman Homestead is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
The importance of the Nathan Beman Homestead site lies in its documenting how an early nineteenth century pioneer and his family lived on the American frontier in New York’s North Country.
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