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Archaeological investigations at the Isaac Chase Mill
Utah Historical Quarterly
Vol. 47, 1979, No. 4
Archaeological Investigations at the Isaac Chase Mill
BY BRUCE HAWKINS
THE ISAAC CHASE MILL IN Salt Lake's Liberty Park provides a brief example of the use of archaeological techniques to aid in the restoration of a historic structure. Historical archaeology draws together the disciplines of anthropology and preservation, making use of documentary records of the past. It differs from the familiar prehistoric archaeology in matters of time periods and disciplinary emphasis, but it employs the same excavation techniques. The restoration of the Chase Mill was undertaken by the Salt Lake City Parks Department and the Utah State Historical Society in 1978 in order to provide an accurate representation of an operating Utah mill of the 1850s for the education and enjoyment of the public. Preservation archaeologist James L. Dykman and I supervised the project.
A primary problem associated with the restoration of the Chase Mill, a National Historic Place, concerned the location of the mill wheel, wheel pit, and the tailrace. No surface evidence of these features remains, and only one contradictory description of the wheel location could be found. On July 29, 1934, Philip J. Garn, reportedly a worker at the mill, visited the site with Emma Chase Covey and gave her the following information :
In other words, the mill wheel and its associated pit and tailrace could have been on either the north or south end of the building. As a result of the lack of historical data, archaeological investigation of the locations of these mill feaures was begun. In addition to determining the original location of wheel, pit, and race, two other questions were posed: What was the level of the original grade or use surface? Is there any evidence of previously existing structures as indicated by the historical record?
The adobe brick structure known as the Chase Mill was reportedly built by Fredrick Kesler in 1852 as a grist mill, but it appears that the site was used for the purpose of milling as early as 1847. On December 24 of that year Isaac Chase began operations with a lumber mill, and orders for lumber were still being received as late as October 15, 1849. From 1850 until 1861 the historical records show almost constant work on the structure referred to as either the Chase Mill or Brigham Young's Lower Mill at Chase's. It would appear that the machinery was in constant need of repair or the mill was being frequently remodeled or a combination of both activities. Specifics of the construction and the account books reveal that the mill was used for the production of bran, shorts, flour, and cornmeal. During 1860-61 milling machinery was removed from the structure, and for the next decade, 1861 to 1871, no records could be found to indicate any activity at Chase's. Then, in 1871 the Chase Mill was listed in the Pacific Coast Business Directory. The occupant was John W. Young, and the mill was listed as having two burr stones operated by water power.
On May 21, 1881, the land occupied by the Chase Mill was sold to Salt Lake City to be used as a park, and, presumably, any remaining mill operations ceased. The land was dedicated as Liberty Park and opened to the public on June 17, 1882. Evidently, the mill deteriorated during the next decades, for on April 4, 1899, the Committee on Public Grounds recommended that the building be torn down. The structure was in dangerous condition, the committee reported. The west wall was "hanging out about eight inches at the top, and the adobies around the bottom" had "been washed away to such an extent that the entire west side" had "to be propped up to keep it from falling." The recommendation of the committee, however, was not carried out. On May 9, 1899, Ridge & Brown was awarded a contract of $380 to repair the mill, and a month later, on June 6, 1899, A. L. Hamilin received $624 for the mill's repair. In 1933 the building was being used as a tool shed, and in 1935 the Daughters of Utah Pioneers renovated the structure for use as a relic hall. Finally, extensive reconstruction of the mill, sponsored by the DUP, was supervised by architect Keith Richardson in 1957.
It seemed possible to answer all the questions posed earlier by mapping stratigraphic relationships exposed in a profile along the western margin of the building. In order to provide a suitable exposure, a backhoe trench was to be excavated parallel to and about 2 meters from the western wall of the mill building. A Salt Lake City Parks Department backhoe excavated a 19.2-meter-long trench from the south end of the mill to 3 meters past the north end.
Trench sidewall profiles were drawn from measurements recorded horizontally from a datum point on the northern boundary of the trench and vertically from the present ground surface. Ground elevations were measured at 1 -meter intervals along both the east side of the trench and the west side of the mill. Because of flooding problems depth measurements of level I and the trench bottom were made with a stadia rod.
The test trench at the Chase Mill revealed four levels of culturally deposited materials. These strata and their relationship to the mill structure are shown in a drawing.
Level I consists of a layer of rough-hewn sandstone blocks laid end to end upon a natural deposit of gray clay. The blocks are cemented together with a very hard white substance and extend from the north wall of the structure to a point 6.7 meters south of the north wall. At the south end the blocks are 3 meters below the present ground surface. The stones continue north, dropping in gradient gradually until at 2.3 meters south of the north wall the stone lining drops abruptly, forming a basin shape. Maximum depth of the basin is 3.6 meters.
Level II consists of a layer of black, organic claylike soil and contains numerous lenses of red-brown soil, sandstone chunks, and clay in the area at the southern edge of the basin. These lenses continue south of the basin an additional 4 meters. Isolated fragments of bottle glass were recovered from portions of this level. Some of the fragments were embedded in the naturally deposited clay that underlies level II south of where level I terminates. An intrusive backhoe trench, 2 meters south of the north wall, has disturbed the deposits, and level II cannot be detected north of this point. Level II reaches a maximum thickness of 0.9 meters.
Level III overlies level II and consists of a grey, pinkish brown, hard, sandy soil. North of the intrusive backhoe trench level III appears to form the fill of the basin. It apparently extends to the maximum trench depth, north of where level I is truncated. No artifacts were noted in either the sidewall or in the backdirt of level III.
Level IV is the uppermost stratigraphic unit. The base of this level consists of a layer of plaster, stucco, or lime material that overlies level III. The soil above the plasterstucco-lime layer consists of a grey caliche and is capped by a thin layer of soil. A high content of bottle fragments and ceramics was observed in the profile of this level. Samples were taken from both sidewalls and backdirt for analysis.
Level I is interpreted as being associated with the period of construction and operation at the Chase Mill. Since this level rests on a culturally sterile layer, it is the first culturally deposited layer in the area tested. The hewn stone and the method of joining indicates that building activity at the Chase Mill was the earliest historic association with the site. Thus, level I was probably laid down at the time that the mill was being constructed.
Because a portion of level II was deposited on top of level I, level II must postdate that of level I. The process and period of deposition, however, is difficult to determine. Four glass fragments were recovered that may be associated with level II. The following dates of manufacture were assigned to each fragment during analysis: 1: 1870-85, 2: 1880-1915, 3: 1895-1910, 4: 1895-1910. Because of poor control dictated by the use of a backhoe, artifacts from later stratigraphic levels may have become mixed with those of level II. However, since at least one of the four fragments was embedded in the underlying clay, the deposition of level II must postdate 1870.
Although a precise date cannot be assigned to the deposition of level II, two alternate hypotheses can be formulated regarding the deposition of the level. Level II may represent earth moving around the mill sometime between the opening of the park in 1882 and about 1895. Alternatively, it may simply represent earth moving postdating 1895 and may be associated with the repair work of 1899.
Level III is interpreted as fill deposited after the deposition of level II and is probably the result of landscaping activities associated with the development of Liberty Park. This landscaping may have occurred during the 1899 reconstruction. The material of this level is interpreted as fill due to its uniformity of color, texture, level, and lack of artifactual material. The fill must have been deposited after the mill ceased operation because the top of the fill level is high enough to prohibit operation of either an overshot or undershot wheel.
Level IV probably represents refuse deposition resulting from the 1899 repair activities at the mill. The stucco or hard lime surface underlying this level would suggest masonry construction activity. The majority of glass remains were analyzed as soda water bottles, the remainder being beer or stout (ale) containers. The ceramics included parts of bowls and plates. These materials were probably utilized and discarded by workmen on the job in much the same way as workmen practice today. The majority of artifacts collected at the Chase Mill come from level IV and date to the period 1895-1910. Since the records indicate that considerable repair work was done on the mill in 1899 and since the artifacts cluster around this date, level IV probably represents activities of workmen associated with the repair of the Chase Mill ca. 1899-1900. The intrusive trenches postdate 1899 since they originate above level IV. The trench may be associated with the 1957 reconstruction at the mill.
The location of the mill wheel, pit, and associated tailrace was probably on the north end of the mill outside of the present structure. This conclusion was arrived at by a process of elimination. The south end was eliminated as a possibility due to the location of the entrance which, from historic photographs, was determined to be original. In addition, in order for a mill wheel to be located on the south end, a sluice would have to have been constructed to carry water from the pond to the wheel. The proper gradient involved in creating an operational sluice box would have been either too high or too low. The possibility of the mill wheel being located inside the mill structure was eliminated since the stratigraphic profile between the south and north ends of the building revealed no evidence of an associated tailrace. The basin portion of level I and its extension to the north was probably associated with the tailrace extending from the mill wheel pit. This, being the deepest cultural level of the trench, would be the place to which water would naturally flow. Since level III extended to the top of this area (and in some cases possibly below), this area was probably an original surface. This surface is lower than any other original surface encountered in the test area and is at a sufficient depth to accommodate a wheel of realistic size at a proper gradient for water flow from the pond to the wheel.
The level of the original grade or use surface appears to have been the top of the clay upon which levels I and II were deposited.
No evidence of previously existing structures was recovered during this excavation.
The results of the 1978 excavations at Chase's Mill point to the location of the mill wheel pit and associated tailrace as running outside of and along the north side of the present mill structure. Future investigations along the north wall could confirm this through definition of the mill wheel pit and possibly by exposing a buried wheel support stanchion.
To determine the position of milling machinery, an interior study may be in order. Such a study would involve mapping holes, notches, existing parts considered original, etc. This could be compared to the layout of other mills of the period and to the millwright guide used by Fredrick Kesler. Caution should be exercised in utilizing such a study, however, as interior alterations may represent more than one occupant/ use of the mill.
The authentic reconstruction of this mill to its appearance of 1852 will be extremely difficult if not impossible to accomplish. In the exhaustive search of historic papers and documents made in preparing this paper, no descriptions or drawings of machinery and its layout were found specifically for the Chase Mill. Mills in the Utah area were frequently repaired, altered, or converted to other uses. The Chase Mill, as stated earlier, was repaired or altered several times between 1850 and 1861, and by 1861 significant amounts of machinery had been removed. Thus, the changes and alterations that frequently took place in mills should be taken into account when considering an interior study.
OUTLINE HISTORY OF CHASE MILL OPERATIONS, 1847-61
Logging Operations, 1847-49
December 24, 1847: Operations begun at mill. December 28, 1848: Mill visited. April-November 1849: Receipts for lumber cut at mill.
Flour Production, 1849-60
1849: Chase supplying flour. July 29, 1850: Samuel Ensign worked forty-nine clays at mill. May 15, 1850: Daniel Cam dressed millstone. May 25, 1850: Carpenters worked on bolt for flouring mill. August 25, 1850: Phineas W. Cook spent twenty-nine and a half days at mill. September 28, 1852: Excavation of mill pond in progress; dam filled up.
April 7, 1855: Brigham Young consecrated property to church, "The undivided share of Chase's Mill and farm of 100 acres value $4000."
January 1, 1857: Total amount, aggregated by Kesler, on Brigham Young's lower mills at Chase's, $200.1857-59: Ensign and Wells working at mill.March 29, 1860: Kesler billed Chase for burrstones, sheet iron for sugar boilers and smut machines, and other materials.November 30, 1860: $81.40 expended to paint mill.
Dismantling of Mill Machinery, 1860-61
1860: Smut machinery removed from Brigham Young's lower mill.1861: Wheat-cleaning machinery moved at Young's lower mill.
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