Illinois State Archaeological Survey Affiliate Lenville Stelle and Nine Gal Tavern property owners Dennis and Jane Stubblefield finalized the donation of artifacts to the Museum of the Grand Prairie during the Nine Gal Deed of Gift Signing on Thursday.
The offered artifacts were collected from the Nine Gal Tavern site just south of IL-I50 in Mahomet.
Established in the 1830’s near the Sangamon Ford, the tavern was frequented by Abraham Lincoln, Judge David Davis and several other members of the Eighth Judicial Circuit on the way to the Urbana Courthouse.
Stelle’s ceramic finds at the site have been used by Illinois State Archaeological Survey employees to date historic-period finds throughout the region. Stelle’s offerings included mended whiteware plates with classical designs, nails, buttons, glass, brick and concrete pieces which were excavated in the early 1990’s.
The Stubblefield collection includes surface-collected items, which were gathered over the last few decades. While ceramic shards make up the majority of the artifacts in the Stubblefield collection, they also offered children’s toys, buttons, combs, clothing fasteners, metal objects and glass.
“These individual assemblages, once reunited, hold a great deal of research potential for the archaeological and historic communities and can serve as a comparative collection to help date historic-period sites in the East Central region,” Champaign County Marketing Coordinator Lisa Sprinkle said.
Both the Stubblefield and Stelle offerings will require rebagging in archival-quality materials.
