The stone Ramsey House was built in 1797 for Francis Alexander Ramsey, a prominent early settler of East Tennessee. In 1952, it was purchased by the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities to save it from certain destruction, and it is now an outstanding house museum, even though most of the original outbuildings that contained much of the daily life of the farm are gone. Beginning in 1985, distinguished University of Tennessee archaeologist Charles Faulkner began excavations at the farm that were to last more than 20 years. This is the story of one of the longest historical excavations in the country.
Historical archaeology is relatively new in the United States, and this is a great case study of how it works and what can be learned from it – a great deal. Combining documentary records with traditional archaeological techniques, Faulkner has been able to coax a wealth of new information about the Ramsey Farm. This very readable account is the result of his 20-year labor of love that spans more than 200 years of occupation and also mirrors most of the history of the region. —Mark Michel