Mapping the History and Archaeology of Claude Moore Park

Goals and Objectives Obtain GPS data for archaeological and historic resources at Claude Moore Park Combine with GIS data from Loudoun County in ArcMap Create maps for: Public outreach and education Informing the direction of future archaeological investigation at the park

Sites at Claude Moore Park - 1 Vestal’s Gap Road In use from prehistory through 1825 Major route for French & Indian War and American Revolution: Washington, Braddock Lanesville Heritage Area Inn & farmhouse dates to 1700s Assorted (not original) outbuildings Possible cemetery Active excavations behind the house Photo credit Kathryn Catlin 2007

Sites at Claude Moore Park - 2 Civil War Site – both Union and Confederate Signal station – hilltop Shebangs – partially underground winter quarters Prehistoric quartz debitage & spearpoints Recently discovered surface finds Historic treeline Possible farm road Springhouse ruins Unknown age; shovel test pits Photo credit Kathryn Catlin, 2007, 2008

GPS Data Collection Garmin eTrex Park visits: July 19 and 26, 2008 Attempted to use NVCC’s Trimble, but software installation was corrupted Park visits: July 19 and 26, 2008 Accuracy: 20 feet and below Coordinate frame: NAD 1983 UTM Zone 18N Waypoints: sites as point data Trackfiles: paths as line data DNR Garmin Projected shapefiles Metadata Photo credit: garmin.com

Loudoun County Mapping & GIS Data available from the server: Buildings Roads Soils Topology Trees Water Etc. Data obtained via email: Hiking trails Coordinate Frame: NAD 1983 HARN State Plane Virginia North FIPS 4501 Feet Metadata: Text files Raster image: From UVA Fisher Library website Same coordinate frame

Analysis: Preliminary Trim all data to the borders of Claude Moore Park Census tract Buffer to include streets Trouble with raster data Transform GPS data to State Plane Coordinate System Create personal geodatabase to store all shapefiles

Analysis: Organization Group layers for County, GPS data Extract GPS point data into new layers by type Trees, excavations, buildings, sites, etc Edit each point’s name in attribute tables Extract trail data into new layers by color Clip, trim, & modify track data One clean line along Vestal’s Gap Road Other tracks correspond to hiking trails

Trail Map Includes macro view of sites Enhance visitor experience Photo credit Kathryn Catlin 2008

Lanesville Area Treeline Shovel Tests Test Squares Outbuildings Behind house Behind caretaker’s cottage Test Squares Outbuildings

Accuracy Discrepancies between GPS and county data As much as 25 feet off Data not so good for predictive statistical analysis at this scale

Future Work Repeat data collection with more accurate GPS device Statistical analysis to determine accuracy vs. county data Correlate archaeology with soil type Historic vs. prehistoric? Correlate artifacts and features with geographic data Predict midden or privy location behind Lanesville house Determine likelihood that treeline indicates farm road Full extent of Vestal’s Gap Road Correlate with historic maps How much excavation and backfill of the roadbed was carried out when the park prepared it for hiking and driving?

Conclusions Current project is a start at development of additional archaeological outreach materials Data is not good enough yet for predictive archaeological modeling – general estimate only. Future work needed. Treeline – possible farm road East end of Vestal’s Gap Road Photo credit Kathryn Catlin 2007, 2008