THE OBER HOMESTEAD SITE: A STUDY INVESTIGATNG THE RESEARCH POTENTIAL OF NINETEENTH CENTURY SITES LOCATED ALONG THE WAGON ROADS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Abstract

The American west attracted Euro-American settlers in droves in the late nineteenth century. Settlers packed up their belongings, pets, and family members and traveled west in search of a life free of the financial and social constraints of common society. The Homestead Act urged immigrants and emigrants to claim tracts of indigenous lands, the only apparent cost being that they improve the land they claim. Many homestead settlements grew up around the wagon roads used to make the western journey, settling along these thoroughfares where water was available. Not all stops along these roads served the same function, however. Some might have been residential homes that made space for weary travelers, others might have been public houses or proper stage stops owned by the Army or mail route companies. Many stops likely served multiple purposes, as the needs of travelers and the growing communities became evident over time. How did the surrounding community, the former and current occupations of the settlers, and the landscape shape the function or functions of the homesteads? Through the in-depth analysis of a homestead property settled in nineteenth-century Poway, California, colloquially known as the Ober Homestead Site, the following study seeks to investigate how archaeology can be used to identify the function of mid- to late-nineteenth-century homestead sites located along the wagon roads to aid in painting a clearer picture of a community that might have been lost to the annals of time. By utilizing excavation data from fieldwork completed at the site in 1990 in conjunction with an in-depth artifact analysis of the artifacts recovered from that field effort and a thorough archival research study, the Ober Homestead study identified the location of an undocumented blacksmith shop that likely served the rural community and wagon road travelers. The study demonstrates that contextual analysis of historical archaeological sites, which requires the use of archival and archaeological data, can aid in determining the function of nineteenth century homestead sites beyond domestic, rural occupation. The study shows that an ancillary function of a homestead site will be informed by the needs of passing travelers, the community, the setting, and the occupations of homestead settlers. This is achieved with a thorough historical review of the region and site property, a literature review of three nineteenth century sites (a homestead, a stage station, and a blacksmith shop), the reconstruction and explanation of the work completed in 1990, and the completion of an in-depth analysis of artifacts recovered from the 1990 field effort.