Report of the Archaeological Investigations of the New Castle Court ...

1.4.1 1950’S RESTORATION OF THE COURT HOUSE
NEW CASTLE COURT HOUSE PLAZA
NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Earlier restoration and archeological work at the Court House was undertaken beginning in 1955
(Eckman 1950; Kruse 1966; Wolcott 1957). During the course of the restoration work a massive
stone foundation was discovered beneath the floor of the Court House. Described as an “entirely
unforeseen find” the stone foundation measured 30 by 30 ft. and was nearly 2.5 ft. thick and are
partly included within the walls of the present central portion of the Court House (Wolcott
1957:205). The south wall of the earlier foundation crosses the present courtroom at
approximately the mid-point of the room (north of the bases supporting the columns). The east
and west walls of the earlier foundation were found to extend through the north wall of the 1732
Court House building, with the northwest corner of the earlier foundation outside of the north
wall of the present Court House. In the northwest corner was uncovered a “flight of brick steps
leading down into the earth for a distance of approximately six feet to a hard clay base” (Wolcott
1957:205). The purpose of the steps was unknown at the time.
The space enclosed by the earlier foundation was “filled with rubble, including evidence of fire
years before” (Wolcott 1957:205). Artifacts recovered from within the foundation included coins,
bearing the head of William III (reign 1689-1702), clay tobacco pipe fragments, ceramics, brick
fragments, and at least one blue and white “Dutch” fireplace tile (Wolcott 1957:205). Other
recovered artifacts include several circa 1730s wine bottles, a nearly complete Rhenish blue and
gray stoneware mug bearing a “GR” medallion, a cipher for George I (reign 1714-1727), and a
green-glazed earthenware pitcher of probable local manufacture (Guerrant 1984).
Historical research indicated that an earlier Court House occupied this site from circa 1689 until it
was destroyed by fire circa 1731/32 during an escape attempt by a fugitive (Bodo et al. 2001).
Contemporary descriptions of the first Court House suggest that the building was a one-and-ahalf
story frame structure, with a prison on the ground floor, the courtroom on the first floor, and
a cupola on the roof (Guerrant 1984).
1.4.2 SHERIFF’S YARD EXCAVATIONS (1976, 1981-82)
Archeological investigations within the Sheriff’s Yard were undertaken in 1976 and again in
1981-82 as part of Court House restoration efforts. These efforts, undertaken almost three
decades after the initial restoration archeology, mark the beginning of the application of
professional archeological techniques in the interpretation of the Court House.
In 1976 excavations were conducted by the Section of Archeology (the Bureau of Archaeology
and Historic Preservation’s predecessor agency) in advance of creating planting beds in the yard.
A large excavation unit was opened in the northwest corner of the Sheriff’s Yard and the outline
of a backfilled cellar hole was identified. The cellar feature was photographed and mapped, but
not excavated (Guerrant 1984). The proposed planting beds were not created.
Between November 1981 and November 1982 limited testing was conducted in the alley and
adjacent areas of the yard in advance of the construction of a handicap access ramp (Guerrant
1984). Directed by state archeologist Alice Guerrant, the testing was intended to relocate
architectural features initially identified in the 1950s, such as the well and the earlier Court House
foundation, and to determine if any intact archeological remains were present in this portion of
the property.
Guerrant’s excavations revealed that the stratigraphic sequence and structural history of the Court
House and its associated lot were considerably more complex than originally supposed.
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