HIDDEN HISTORY: COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE AND THE REDISCOVERY OF AN AFRICAN AMERICAN POTTER’S FIELD IN HOPEWELL, VIRGINIA

Abstract

The Berry Street Burial Ground is an African American potter’s field located in the ArlingtonHeights neighborhood of Hopewell, Virginia. Poor documentation of the site led to the loss of data, including the geographic location, name of the burial ground, names of the interred, and the historical context. How do archival records, archaeological field observation, and community knowledge work together to interpret informal burial grounds such as this one? To answer this question, the project used a community archaeology approach focused on three methods: community engagement, archival research, and non-invasive archaeology. Ultimately, the project showed that no single research method provided enough data to understand the site on its own. Throughout the project there were archival gaps, limitations to field observations, and challenges surrounding community memory. Community knowledge provided the largest body of data, though it was not always readily available. While some memories were less clear, it was possible to strengthen these remembrances with newspaper articles, obituaries, death certificates, and literature. Over time, the project revealed that remembering was relational. The story for the burial ground survived through community relationships, storytelling, place, records, and oral history rather than in one stable repository or archive. A community archaeology approach addressed archival silences by recognizing residents and descendants as partners in the research process and centering their knowledge as expertise. This community-guided, multi-method approach proved especially important for interpreting Berry Street and may be useful when researching other informal African American burial grounds or potter’s fields.