Prince dwelling ruins looking northwest.
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Map of features.
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Plan of the Prince dwelling ruins.
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Cross section of the cellar hole and storage pit.
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Map of early land divisions encompassing the Betsey Prince Site.
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African-American Archaeology:
The Betsey Prince Site

Project Director: Mark LoRusso
Project years: 1994-1998
keywords: Long Island, New York archaeology, African-American archaeology
Geographic Extent: Long Island, New York

The Betsey Prince Site is a late eighteenth to early nineteenth century free black domestic site occupied during the period of gradual slave manumission in New York State. The site is located on NY 25A/North Country Road, in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County. Laying largely undisturbed for over two hundred years, the site was discovered during a 1989 cultural resources survey for the State Department of Transportation's (DOT) proposed widening of Route 25A. The DOT's inability to avoid the site led to a data recovery investigation in July and August, 1993.

The site area consisted of the ruins of a small dwelling and the associated yards, extending approximately 75 feet along the highway, and 50 feet back from the highway within project limits. Located at the crest of a low sandy rise, the dwelling ruins consisted of an 11 x 13 foot cobble and boulder foundation, lining a shallow dirt cellar, and an adjacent 6 x 8 foot cobble and boulder platform incorporating a chimney base. The dwelling thus had a small main room and a kitchen wing enclosing a fireplace. The shallow cellar, which included a small pit feature in the center, would have been used for food storage. Based on mean ceramic dates, the dwelling may have been built as early as the late 1760s or early 1770s, and was abandoned by c.1840. Except for periodic repairs, the house apparently saw limited change over time.

The rear yard contained three areas of concentrated waste deposition, consisting of a well-defined midden, centered around a shallow pit (possibly a latrine), 30 to 40 feet southeast of the dwelling; a relatively extensive sheet midden 15 to 35 feet southwest of the dwelling; and a less-distinct sheet midden 15 feet southeast of the dwelling. These deposits primarily contained fragments of ceramic vessels, some clamshells, and limited window glass and nails. Soil chemical testing revealed that wood ash also had habitually been deposited in these areas and directly behind the fireplace. No positive evidence of outbuildings was identified in the yard, however, higher counts of nails near the southwestern corner indicated that a small shed, possibly for animals, may have stood in this area. Areas of relatively low artifact deposition directly behind, and east of the house, apparently were access ways from the house to the yard and the road. Comparable mean ceramic dates from these deposits indicated that the utilization of the yard remained relatively consistent over the occupation of the site.

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