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

NEW CASTLE COURT HOUSE PLAZA
NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE
5.0 INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS
was encountered in the section of the trench sampled, and the only evidence for posts was
observed in the extreme base trench where mold staining was identified. As described above the
historical record indicates that the blockhouse had a palisade with a gate in 1677-78, but the
palisade was gone by 1684. The archeological evidence supports this relatively short time frame.
Five years after Penn described the blockhouse cum courthouse and prison the property
containing the building was formally laid out. In 1689 the lot was established by the Pennsylvania
Land Office. In the detailed metes and bounds description it was noted that the lot was to be laid
out “to the Courthouse” indicating a pre-existing building, not a new courthouse (Heite 1978:138-
139). The stone foundation beneath the present Court House is thus the remains of this first
blockhouse-courthouse-prison combination constructed in circa 1675. At the time it was burned
to the ground by escapee William Kelsey circa 1730 the building was over fifty years old (Cario
2001).
5.4 THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE COURT HOUSE PLAZA
The architecture of eighteenth-century court houses has been interpreted by scholars to symbolize
a strong visual expression of social order and the rule of law, especially after the adoption of
Georgian architectural styles (cf. Whiffen 1958:152-161). Court houses, such as the New Castle
Court House and the one constructed in 1724 in neighboring Chester, Pennsylvania, are often
interpreted as bringing order to the colonial frontier and as playing instrumental roles in the
establishment of American society (Kruse 1966; Patterson 1969).
While court house architecture has received scholarly attention, the material world associated
with court operations has not. Only a small number of eighteenth-century court house sites have
been investigated archeologically. Investigations at the 1770 Court House in Williamsburg
examined interior features principally for architectural restoration (Stamford 1986).
Archeological work at the Delaware State House in Dover was also intended to support
architectural restoration efforts (Wise 1976) and only recently has the artifact assemblage begun
to be re-examined.
More recently researchers have begun to examine the landscape surrounding court houses and to
investigate the role of these public buildings and their grounds played in the cycles of court days.
The interpretation of courthouses as isolated public buildings divorced from daily activities in the
community is being questioned (Lounsbury 1985; 1989). The county courthouse was an integral
part of the fabric of eighteenth-century social and cultural life. As interpreted by architectural
historian Carl Lounsbury
“The county courthouse did not stand majestically aloof from its surroundings as a
symbolic monument to the power and authority of the gentry who built it and who ruled
over local government....People came to the courthouse to be entertained and informed.
Men and boys hung out of windows to hear the arguments of popular cases, athletes
played fives against the brick walls much to the annoyance of those presiding inside,
hawkers peddled spirituous beverages to hundreds of eager indulgers, merchants pinned
notices on the front door calling attention to new merchandise, slave sales, and land
auctions, and when court rose, itinerant ministers preached the gospel from the steps
(Lounsbury 1985:9).
At the New Castle Court House the archeological investigations were focused on the exterior
public space of the plaza. This space, whether paved or unpaved ground, served as an assembly
area for the citizens of the town, the county, the colony, and the state. A broad range of social
activities, such as those described above by Lounsbury, would have taken place on the plaza.
87