Findings
History of 19 Vine Through the Timeline of Marbles
19 Vine Street was home to over a dozen families between the year it was built (1847) and the 1910s, when mass-produced glass marbles eclipsed the creation of brown-bodied earthenware marbles like the ones excavated from the site.
Over this timeframe, the house belonged to families from various backgrounds central to the history of Middletown, but my project centered on three families (an African American family, a Swedish immigrant family, Irish immigrant family).
My main themes were childhood, games, and social history, as told through the house, the marbles, and census data.
I also included the 1890 patent for the mass-production of earthenware marbles. Although these excavated marbles were likely not produced at Dyke’s factory, it was a key moment in the history of earthenware marbles.
Project Gallery
19 Vine Street, Middletown, CT 06457 (Photo courtesy of Wesleyan University Archaeology and Anthropology Collections)
Marbles excavated at 19 Vine Street and their archaeological tag (Courtesy of Wesleyan University Archaeology and Anthropology Collections)
Samuel Dyke's 1890 patent for mass-producing marbles