Blackwood Farm (future New Hope Park)
	Legacy Research Associates conducted an archaeological survey for the future New Hope Park at Blackwood Farm near Hillsborough in Orange County, North Carolina between June 28 and July 27, 2006. This work was conducted for the Orange County Environment & Resource Conservation Department (ERCD) of Hillsborough, North Carolina. The Orange County ERCD plans to establish the new park on 152 acres located between Hillsborough and Chapel Hill near the intersection of NC Highway 86 and New Hope Church Road and east of Interstate 40. The purpose of the archaeological survey was to locate, document, and conduct National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)-eligibility evaluations for archaeological resources located within three areas that may be affected by future development of park facilities. Area 1 consists of approximately 24 acres that may be significantly disturbed during the construction of new facilities consisting of one or more new buildings and their associated driveways and parking areas. Area 2 consists of approximately 14.5 acres exhibiting high probability for historic remains and/or archaeological resources that have been identified from above-ground evidence of the historic farmstead, an historic cemetery, and an historic road. Area 3 encompasses 113.5 acres planned for low-impact recreation or as open space. This work complies with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended), the Archaeological and Historical Preservation Act of 1974, Executive Order 11593, and 36 CFR Parts 60-66 and 800 (as appropriate). It meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation (Federal Register 48). All information submitted in this report is factual and sufficiently complete to enable the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to perform the necessary reviews.

Field investigations consisted of five tasks: 1. close-interval shovel testing around the farmstead complex, 2. an assessment of probable historic structures in a “hollow” southwest of the farmstead 3. systematic shovel testing along transects in Areas 1 and 2, 4. identification and mapping of the cemetery, 5. and a reconnaissance assessment of the remaining property (Area 3). Task 1 consisted of excavating 119 shovel tests on a 33-foot cardinal-direction grid surrounding the existing Blackwood Farm structures. This work resulted in recovering historic and prehistoric artifacts within the upper 4 to 8 inches of soil. No intact subsurface features or buried cultural horizons were identified. Task 2 included metal detecting in a “hollow” located southwest of the existing farmstead complex to determine the presence of historic structural remains, as reported by local informants. A few isolated metal artifacts were detected; however, there was no evidence of structures. No metal architectural-related items were observed; the majority of the metal artifacts were farm-related (i.e. agricultural-equipment/machinery parts and horseshoes). A large amount of metal was detected on top and within a stone cairn (Cairn #4) located at the western edge of the floodplain and upslope. Metal items at the cairn include cast-iron (most likely cooking) vessel fragments. Task 3 was comprised of 11 transects at 100-foot intervals that were established within designated Areas 1 and 2 depicted on project design maps. Transects 1 and 2 were located on either side (west and east, respectively) of the historic road and ran south-southeast from the gravel driveway leading to the existing Blackwood Farm structures. Transects 3-8, 10, and 11 were in the wooded area along the north side of the gravel driveway leading to the existing Blackwood Farm structures. These transects were oriented to the north property boundary and included the east property boundary created by NC Highway 98. Transect 9 began at the end of Transect 4 and ran westward along the north property boundary. This work resulted in identifying and documenting three prehistoric lithic scatters and one historic period trash dump associated with the past occupation of the farmstead complex. The work also documented a known historic road that crosses through the property. Task 4 consisted of a reconnaissance of the wooded area located west-southwest of the existing Blackwood Farm structures in the vicinity of the mapped location of a cemetery. The cemetery area was covered with periwinkle (Vinca minor). Mixed hardwoods and pines were growing within the cemetery area. The reconnaissance work resulted in identifying approximately 25 graves within an area that is 82 feet by 52 feet. Task 5 was a reconnaissance assessment of the remaining property (113.5 acres) that is planned for low-impact recreation or open space. This work resulted in identifying four areas that are outside potential development area that have a high-probability of having archaeological sites. In addition, several cultural landscape features (stone cairns/piles and agricultural field terraces) were noted.

As a result of the archaeological survey of the Blackwood Farm property, six archaeological sites were recorded. 31OR577 is a multicomponent (prehistoric and historic) site located at the Strayhorn/Blackwood Farmstead complex. The prehistoric component was not recommended as being eligible for the NRHP; no further work was recommended for this component of the site. The historic period component was recommended as being potentially eligible for the NRHP under criterion D. Although no cultural features were located during the survey, it is likely they are present and that they may yield significant information about the historic occupation (early-nineteenth to early-twentieth-century) of the site. In addition, discarded domestic, architectural, and agricultural material is located in the wooded area near the farm complex. These materials are very likely associated with the occupation of the Strayhorn/Blackwood Farmstead; however, there may be a connection with the two unidentified structures that are depicted on the 1918 Orange County soil survey map (high-probability area 4). Additional, more intensive archaeological inspection of 31OR577 would be needed to make a final determination of eligibility for the NRHP. 31OR578 and 31OR579 are prehistoric lithic scatters that were not recommended as being eligible for the NRHP. No further work is needed for these sites. 31OR580 is a historic cemetery containing approximately 25 graves that were not recommended as being eligible for the NRHP. Historic research suggests this site may be the Samuel Strayhorn slave cemetery. Although the site is not eligible for the NRHP, it should be protected against vandalism and other destruction. 31OR581 is a mid-eighteenth to early-twentieth-century road bed that was recommended as being eligible for the NRHP under criterion A as a major historic transportation routes between Hillsborough and Chapel Hill. 31OR582 is a protohistoric/historic Native American lithic and ceramic scatter located near high-probability area 3. It was recommended as being potentially eligible for the NRHP under criterion D for its potential to yield significant information about the protohistoric/historic Native American occupation of the area. The site has cultural material density and diversity. If this area cannot be avoided by proposed park development, additional work is recommended for this area. Additional, more intensive archaeological inspection of 31OR577 would be needed to make a final determination of eligibility for the NRHP.

In addition, the survey identified high-probability areas (High-Probability Areas #1-4) and other cultural landscape features within the Blackwood Farm property. High-probability areas 1 and 2 are located on landforms that are associated with prehistoric occupation within the North Carolina Piedmont Region. Information recovered from sites located on these landforms may be able to answer questions about the prehistoric settlement of the region. High-probability area 3 is also on the high-probability landform and it appears that if archaeological materials are at this location, they may be associated with 31OR582 due to their proximity. High-probability area #4 was identified from the 1918 Orange County soil survey map that shows two unidentified structures at this location. Archaeological survey work in this area did not find evidence of structures; however, there is a large amount of discarded domestic, architectural, and agricultural material in the wooded area between the Blackwood Farmstead and high-probability area #4, which may be associated with either or both occupations. Cultural landscape features identified during the survey include four stone cairns and agricultural terracing. The four stone cairns documented during the survey of the Blackwood Farm property likely served as property boundary markers during the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries; three (Cairns #1-3) are depicted on the 1898 property survey map of the Blackwood farm that was then known as “the property of the Strayhorn heirs.” Historic agricultural terracing is present in the grassy field located west-southwest of the existing Blackwood Farm structures. Modern agricultural terracing was “born” near Wake Forest in Wake County, North Carolina around 1885. The terracing observed at the Blackwood Farm property appears to be the “Mangum Terrace” style and they were likely created during the early-twentieth century, sometime after Herbert N. Blackwood acquired the property from the Strayhorn family in 1906.

In addition to the recorded archaeological sites, high-probability areas, and the documented cultural landscape features, the Blackwood Farm property may be considered a significant rural historic and/or historic vernacular landscape. The Blackwood Farm property features many landscape characteristics that could contribute to its significance including: • the farmhouse and associated outbuildings • planted orchards • cleared fields and pastures • historic agricultural terracing • agricultural pond • historic roadbed trace • stone cairn property markers • historic cemetery • archaeological sites located within property boundaries The Blackwood Farm is significant on a community/regional level, as it is an excellent surviving example of an early-twentieth-century farmstead exhibiting historical development patterns that affected most farmers living within Orange County and other rural areas in the North Carolina Piedmont. One such pattern is the practice of agricultural field terracing, which first developed during the 1880s in nearby Wake Forest and quickly spread throughout the region. The Blackwood Farm property as a whole appears to meets NRHP-eligibility criterion C because it is representative of the type of farms operating in Orange County during the early-twentieth century, many of which are no longer extant or have lost most of their landscape features due to commercial and/or residential development. The landscape surrounding the Blackwood Farm remains much as it did during the nineteenth through the early- twentieth century, and the general character and feel of the era as well as the historic vista has remained intact.