Dr. Leslie G. Cecil (Department of Social and Cultural Analysis) and students enrolled in the SFASU Archaeology Field School (ANT440) began excavations at Pattonia. Pattonia is considered to be the northern most shipping port on the Angelina River to ship cotton to the Gulf of Mexico from the 1840s to the late 1870s. Founded by Robert and Capitan Moses L. Patton, Pattonia grew to be a small village that included a mercantile store, a cotton pavilion, a warehouse, and a number of domestic structures. In 2010, we excavated part of a domestic structure and discovered lots of nails (large and small), window pane glass, brass knobs (for hanging or carriage knobs), foundation piers, pottery, and other domestic items. The house is most likely a saddlebag house, but could be a double pen.
We will be excavating at Pattonia again in Summer 2012 and will be concentrating on locating and excavating the domestic structures and the mercantile shop.
