CONNECTING AN ANTEBELLUM PLANTATION TO ITS REVOLUTIONARY WAR PAST THROUGH SHALLOW GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION

The manor house at Ingleside Plantation, built in 1817 by Daniel Forney is regarded as one of the finest examples of antebellum Federal-style houses in North Carolina. The two-story brick house was almost continuously occupied until 2018 when it was donated to Preservation North Carolina to ensure historic conservation amid adjacent development pressures. During this transition in ownership, we conducted geophysical surveys to image buried infrastructure within the property boundaries. Context for the buildings is provided by archived photographs and written accounts including monographs and news articles.

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) grids were collected with 0.5 m parallel spaced profiles using a GSSI 400/350 MHz antenna and an Overhauser proton gradiometer collected grids at 0.3 m transect spacing. Direct-current electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) was acquired along 5 transects using an 28 electrode AGI SuperSting setup in a dipole-dipole array. All three geophysical systems imaged a rectangular outline located behind the manor house of approximately 5.5 x 12.5 m surrounding a 5 x 5 m cellar. The 1.5 m deep cellar appears to be rock-lined with a floor composed of compacted earth. GPR shows high amplitude reflectors suggesting that it is filled with rubble as well as soil. A strong irregular dipolar magnetic anomaly within the cellar supports this interpretation.

We suggest that this was the original home of Jacob Forney and his wife Maria Bergner who arrived in Tryon County, NC (now Lincoln County) via Philadelphia in 1754. Lord Cornwallis the commanding general of the British forces moved through the area during the British Southern Campaign in January 1781. Cornwallis and his troops were halted by the swollen Catawba River, 5 miles away. According to historical accounts, Cornwallis and his troops pillaged Ingleside during a 3-day stay. Jacob and Maria were held captive in their cellar while Cornwallis occupied the cabin upstairs.

Our survey also identified a 4.5 x 9 m rectangular structure outlined by 1.25 m circular post molds on each corner. Recovery of charcoal in soil probes and a magnetic anomaly within the structure’s footprint indicate that the wooden structure was burnt. Large relatively shallow post holes suggest that this building is contemporaneous with this early occupation of Ingleside.