Announcing the Jack and Acton Project: The Enslaved Potters of Charlestown

The City Archaeology Programis pleased to announce a new research initiative called the Jack and Acton Project.

This three-year project will study 48,000 fragments of red earthenware ceramics excavated from the Parker-Harris Pottery site ahead of Boston's Big Dig in the 1980s. They are currently being stored at the City's Archaeology Labin West Roxbury.

The pottery site began in 1714 when Isaac Parker and his wife Grace purchased a lot of land southwest of what is now City Square Park in Charlestown. The couple had 11 children while also developing the largest pottery production in Charlestown, a town known for pottery production. After Isaac died in 1742, Grace took over the business and continued to run it until she died in 1754. Potter Josiah Harris took over the pottery until it burned during the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775.

An estate inventory created at Isaac's death lists two enslaved Black males: A man called Jack and a boy called Acton. Their combined value of £230 was considerably higher than other enslaved people at the time. Historian and slavery expert Jared Hardesty originally identified Jack and Acton as potters, given their exceptional value and their presence at the potters inventory. The only other information known about the pair comes from the vital records in Charlestown,which state, "Jack, Negro servant to Grace Parker, & Flora, servant to Joseph Gowen, m. [married] by Rev. Mr. Hull Abbot, Dec. 16, 1742." No other records or information on Jack or Acton have been found.

There are several known 19th century enslaved potters including David Drake, "Dave the Potter," and many hundreds of enslaved people were integral to the 19th century ceramics industries in the south. Other free Black potters of the 19th century include Thomas W. Commerawof New York City. Jack and Action are two of the only 18th century enslaved potters ever identified.

With thousands of fragments of pottery from the site where Jack and Acton worked, this re-analysis of the collection provides an opportunity to uncover, understand, and celebrate Jack and Acton's impact on the production of pottery at the site as well as their contributions to ceramic arts history.

In 1986, archaeologists excavated at the site after determining it had survived over two centuries of development. The original excavators did not create a complete artifact catalog and only studied 645 pottery fragments, just 2.54% of the total found. Also, Jack and Acton were never mentioned in the archaeological report that resulted from the minimal analysis done on the collection. Today, the site is part of the tunnel connecting the Zakim Bridge off-ramp to the Tobin Bridge. This long-overdue analysis will include the entirety of the collection and undoubtedly uncover new and exciting insights into the early 18th-century pottery works.

The three-year archaeology project will begin with a complete cataloging of the ceramics from the site, recording the individual vessel types, forms, and decorations. This data will be used to create an identification guide for the ceramics, which can be used to aid identification of Jack and Acton's wares across the east coast. To date, their distinctive "bars and swags" decoration have been found as far north as Fortress Louisbourg in Nova Scotia. The southern range of their ware distribution remains to be determined.

Following the reprocessing and guide creation, the City Archaeology team will partner with theRoyall House and Slave Quarters'Executive Director, Kyera Singleton, to examine the archaeological collection from the Medford house to see if Jack and Acton's wares were purchased and used there. This project will also include exhibits at both the City Archaeology Lab and Royall House sites as well as a public symposium on enslaved labor and crafts.

The project will be greatly aided by a partnership with local redware potter and historian Rick Hamelin,who will be consulting on the project as an advisor on the technical aspects of pottery production and decoration, as well as developing a new live pottery demonstration on the wares of Jack and Acton for the public.

The City's Archaeology Program team will be posting frequent updates on the project over the next three years via their Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky social media platforms.

• Published by: Archaeology