"Prior to implementation of the Package 118 restoration program in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, the park's archeological research staff conducted excavations around Park Buildings 5, 7, 16, and 16A. During the summer of 1991, a crew of four people excavated 11 units (typically 5 ft. by 5 ft.) in the backyards and under Park Building 16 where the flooring had been removed. This work gave the archaeologists the opportunity to examine firsthand and to re-evaluate the soil layers and some of the features described in previous reports. Also several additional features were discovered. This new report presents the findings of an interdisciplinary effort covering topics beyond the basic descriptions of soils and artifacts. It provides glimpses into a small piece of the town, crowded with buildings and busy with the everyday activities of families and small businesses such as a bakery/confectionery, saloons, a shoemaker's shop, and a dry goods store. ..."--Management Summary--page xiii.

Harpers Ferry was one of America's earliest and most significant industrial communities - serving as an excellent example of the changing patterns of human relations that led to dramatic progress in work life and in domestic relations in modern times. In this well-illustrated book, Paul A. Shackel investigates the historical archaeology of Harpers Ferry, revealing the culture change and influence of new technology on workers and their families. He focuses on the contributions of laborers, craftsmen, and other subordinate groups to industrial progress, and examines ethnic and interracial development in an economy that was transformed from craft-based to industrial.