The Mackey House is a small two-story frame dwelling in the front-gable
Greek Revival style which was at the height of popularity in the decades
from 1830 to 1850 (McAlester and McAlester 1986:90). It was therefore
already dated when initial construction was began in 1869. The structure
was completed in 1871. A one story addition on the rear (east end) appears
to have been built in 1880 (Wagner 1982:305). The structure is located in
the core area of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch,
Iowa. The house changed ownership numerous times during its history and
served for varying periods as a rental property (Bearss and Husted
1970:148-152).
In keeping with Park objectives the Mackey House was adapted to serve as
Park personnel housing. Modifications included interior renovation,
basement enlargement, and utilities replacement. Improvements were
initiated under National Park Service (NPS) 10-238 Package #110 with Job
Bill funds. Concomitant restoration of the exterior of the house to
reflect its circa 1880 appearance occasioned the removal of a circa 1940
carport adjoining the south exterior wall. During that process a cistern
was discovered. At the request of the Midwest Regional Office, the
Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) evaluated the archeological
significance of the feature and formulated recommendations for mitigatory
excavation and recordation of dimensions and configuration on October 22,
1983.
Coincident to the stated purpose of the trip, moderate soil disturbance
attributable to the movement of construction related vehicles was noted on
the north, south, and west sides of the house. Some eight feet of deposit
below present ground level had been graded from beneath the house proper
and inclined into the east yard, preliminary to foundation and basement
work. The graded fill was dumped behind the Isaac Miles House. In order
to appreciate the significance of these pre-construction activities, it is
necessary to understand how markedly some of our ideas concerning
sanitation and household refuse disposal have changed over the past
century, and how those relate to the archeological record. Today we are a
predominately urban society which demands a reasonably safe municipal water
supply, a one-way sewage system, and regular, efficient garbage pickups.
These services were not available nor universally prized by the vast
majority of Americans during the nineteenth century.
Our mid-nineteenth century English cousins did not regard the "dustyards" of
London as unhealthy places to work. Quite to the contrary, one of the
refuse collectors who was interviewed by Henry Mayhew about 1860 was of the
belief that the odors and effluvia which were dealt with on a daily basis
had in some manner protected him and his fellows from two recent outbreaks
of cholera (Quennell 1984:354-355). In talking to sewer hunters, those who
earned their living by salvaging anything of value from those miasmatic
caverns, Mayhew found that they were convinced that the odor of the cloacae
contributed in a variety of ways to their general health (Quennell
1984:334).
This is not to imply that everyone of that era held the same belief, but the
etiology of disease was imperfectly known throughout most of the 1800s, and
decaying garbage was not necessarily regarded as a possible health threat. The
naivety of the average American may be excused when members of the intellectual
elite such as Oliver Wendell Holmes (who was a respected physician as well as a
poet and novelist) ridiculed science as having no value for actual (medical)
practice (Shyrock 1977:135). Nor was it until 1870 when the first state health
board was established (Shyrock 1977:164) that the general public was led to
suspect a possible connection between putrification and disease.
Consequently, outside metropolitan areas, and with little regard to socio-economic
status, most of our recent forefathers' household garbage was deposited in a
fan-shaped pattern extending from the kitchen door. It seemed the convenient and
efficient solution to a continuinig problem. This method of disposal was practiced
at the Mackey House. With the removal of those deposits from under the addition
and from the east yard, it is estimated that a significance portion of the
post-1880 archeological chronicle was inadvertently destroyed.
Due to the sensitive nature
of this subject this report is
available to professional
archeologists only. If you
order this manuscript we may
contact you for verification of
your profession.