2001

Historical Archaeological Investigations at the Governor Duncan Mansion, Jacksonville, Illinois. 

The Governor Duncan Mansion is a substantial, two-story, double-pile, central-hall, frame house located approximately 1.5 miles west of the central business district of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois.  The house was constructed in 1834 for Governor Joseph Duncan, the fifth governor of Illinois and, after the removal from the house of his widow, the grounds were converted into a school for Feeble-Minded children—the first of its kind in Illinois.  The Duncan Mansion is currently owned by the Caldwell Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R).  Today the Mansion functions as a chapter house for the local D.A.R. and is in need of substantial maintenance and/or restoration work.  The archaeological research conducted by Fever River Research was in support of an Historic Structure Report prepared by Johnson Lasky Architects (Chicago, Illinois). The archaeological remains that were documented by the research contributed dramatically to the understanding of the evolution of both the house and associated grounds.  The archaeological research documented the fact that the Mansion had been relocated onto a new foundation after the closure of the Feeble-Minded School, documented the location of the earlier structure, and uncovered several features (including a large institutional privy pit) associated with the Feeble-Minded School.   The artifacts from the Feeble-Minded privy pit have given us new insights into the activities conducted by, and the quality of life of both the caregivers and children who occupied the Feeble-Minded School during the years of 1865 to 1878.