Frost Town Main Page | History of the Frost Town Site | HAS Frost Town Screening Project |
Archeological Investigations at Frost Town
• PAI 2004-2005 Survey and Historical Research
PAI conducted initial historical and archeological investigations for the Elysian Viaduct Road Improvement Project in 2004 and 2005. One portion of the work was a historic resources study of a 1.7-mile section of Elysian Viaduct north of downtown Houston, from Commerce Street to Quitman Street. In September 2004, PAI conducted an intensive archeological survey, with mechanical trenching, at the site of the historic Frost Town community. The 8-block Frost Town area was recorded as 41HR982. There were no surface manifestations of Frost Town, and the entire area was a grass-covered park at the time of the investigation. The trenching at Frost Town revealed that the area was underlain by a layer of artificial fill that was as much as 5.0- to 7.5-ft thick over the central and northern portion of the project area, but only 1-ft thick at the southern end. Immediately beneath this artificial fill in some of the trenches was a burned zone, representing the original Frost Town surface. It appears that the houses of this residential neighborhood were burned and bulldozed when Elysian Viaduct was built in the 1950s. Intact cultural features were encountered beneath this layer, and many of them are associated with Frost Town households. |
|
Buried cisterns discovered in 2004 during the Prewitt and Associates, Inc. (PAI) archeological survey of the Frost Town archeological zone. |
• PAI 2009 Archival Research
In 2009, the City of Houston designated Frost Town (a.k.a. El Alacran or Schrimp’s Alley) as a city landmark and a Texas historical marker for “Frost Town” was installed at the site. That same year, PAI conducted some preliminary archival research on Frost Town history for TxDOT, compiling a brief general history of the Frost Town community. The research focused on the 8-block area platted in 1839, but also included an intensive examination of public records for six lots within the community (Block C, Lots 7–9 and Block H, Lots 1–3). |
• 2013-2014 Archival Research
In 2014, PAI conducted a preliminary archeological survey of the Elysian Viaduct from Buffalo Bayou north to Nance Street, encountering no intact archeological deposits. They also completed additional historical research in preparation for eventual data recovery investigations at Frost Town. |
• PAI 2015 Survey
The 2015 archeological survey by PAI included the excavation of 20 mechanical trenches south of Buffalo Bayou, of which 15 were dug inside of the Frost Town area. This resulted in the discovery of 28 historic cultural features (24 of the features were found in the Frost Town area), obtaining archeological evidence from three historic archeological sites including the Republic of Texas Arsenal Block (41HR1166), Peter Floeck tract (41HR1167), and Frost Town (41HR982). The results of the 2015 trenching confirmed the presence of significant archeological remains across a large portion of the former Frost Town community. Based on the consistent presence of Frost Town remains in the 2015 trenches, the site boundary for 41HR982 was expanded to include the entire eight-blocks of the original Frost Town settlement. |
2015 Excavation Areas
|
• TxDOT/PAI 2016-2017 Data Recovery
PAI Data Recovery Excavation Timeline |
||
Archeologists from Prewitt and Associates, Inc. (PAI) began Data Recovery excavations at the Frost Town site in early May, 2016. Excavations will continue through early November, at which time construction crews will demolish the bridge structure and begin removing the debris. The Frost Town archeological area will be one of the first areas cleared, allowing archeologists an opportunity to complete their excavations in areas that were not accessible prior to demolition. |
Archeologists from Prewitt and Associates Inc., pose in front of Frost Town Historical Marker |
|
Methodology and Goals |
||
Given the nature of the Frost Town archeological resources, the overall data recovery research effort will involve concurrent mechanical stripping of overburden sediments with trackhoes, and hand excavation of archeological features. Mechanical scraping is the most effective method of quickly identifying buried features and artifact concentrations associated with the Frost Town occupation zone. Hand excavation will then be used to sample the Frost Town material culture, and to find and investigate Frost Town features. The goal of initial hand excavations will be to identify each feature’s type and age as precisely as possible. Cultural features that are related to Frost Town occupations will be given the most attention, especially ones that are deemed to be relatively intact and have good archeological contexts. When appropriate, features and groups of features will be fully investigated with intensive hand excavations. Machine excavation will augment hand excavation when necessary to facilitate the work, as when deep, intrusive features are encountered, such as cisterns and privies. The overarching goal of the feature excavation strategy at the Frost Town site is to maximize the recovery of archeological evidence in well-defined, dateable contexts.
|
Archeologists uncover the remains of a brick sidewalk from historic Frost Town.
Archeologists excavate a 19th Century cistern at Frost Town. |
|
TxDOT begins archeological investigations at Frost Town, near Downtown Houston.
|
Preliminary Findings |
||||
Archeologists at Frost Town recover a blown glass inkwell. |
Bottle fragments recovered during excavations at Frost Town. |
Remains of a house lot discovered during 2016 archeological excavations at Frost Town. |
||
To learn more about this project contact the HAS President: president@txhas.org
Frost Town Main Page | History of the Frost Town Site | HAS Frost Town Screening Project |