BRUNSWICK’S BAKERS: THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESIGATION OF A DWELLING AND BAKE OVEN AT LOT 35 IN BRUNSWICK TOWN STATE HISTORIC SITE

Abstract

During the summer of 2016, students led by Dr. Charles Ewen excavated the proposed Edward Moseley Ruin (now the bake oven at Lot 35) at Brunswick Town State Historic Site. Instead of finding the house and associated buildings of Lot 34, the students uncovered the remains of structure N5 on Lot 35 along with an associated ballast oven. Later analysis of the historical record determined that the property was owned by Christopher and Elizabeth Cains until 1775 and then sold to Prudence McIlhenny. Historical research also uncovered the remains of a thriving bread trade in and around Brunswick just as the birth of Revolutionary sentiment began to spread throughout North Carolina. Altogether, the historical and archaeological research conducted at Lot 35 have yielded the remains of a dwelling for middle to upper class persons along with an associated industrial bake oven occupied from 1764 until the end of the century.