Smoking Pipes

The use of tobacco was universally popular in every level of American society by the 19^th century. However, class and gender differences defined where smoking happened and often who was deemed acceptable to smoke in Victorian America. For the working class, the activity was cheap and allowed for socialization and relaxation. Smoking in public, rather than in a social club or tavern, was seen as a lower class activity. Many pipe stem and bowl fragments were found at the Workers’ Village, evidence that this activity was popular for all the workers at Fort Pulaski. Some may have chewed tobacco, which cannot be found archeologically. More popular was the use of clay tobacco pipes for smoking. Archeologists found 372 clay tobacco pipe fragments during excavation. Smoking provided a way to pass time, while offering an important social connection with other workers. Smoking with colleagues and neighbors, such as at workers villages, company towns, or on job sites, is often studied as a social ritual. It is an important time to relax from long, hard days and can also be a time for people to socialize, communicate, even discuss resistance to work. While we do not know what the workers talked about while smoking at the Workers’ Village, it was nonetheless an important way to take a break from the hard work and find some enjoyment.

 

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This pipe bowl (left) was found in the Mechanics’ Quarter and reconstructed in the lab. This bowl has a fluted design with additional curved lines along the rim. The design is common for the time and although all decorated pipes would have been slightly more expensive than plain pipes, this design was common and would still be cheap.

Pipe analysis revealed that there was a difference between the mechanics’ area and the laborers’ area. Both the Mechanics’ Kitchen and the Mechanics’ Quarter have more pipes and a higher density of pipes than the Laborers’ Quarter. This supports the conclusion that the Mechanics’ kitchen was a place for socialization, as well as a place to eat food. It also strengthens the argument for class differences between the mechanics and the laborers. Almost all the pipes with makers’ marks were found in the Mechanics’ Kitchen. Makers’ marks are logos with people’s names, places, or letters that identify company names or where a pipe was made. Any pipe with a maker’s mark, glazing, or etched decoration was more expensive. Makers’ marks can help date the pipe and therefore any surrounding artifact in a level.

While there was a similar percentage of decorated pipes in the Mechanics’ Kitchen and Mechanics’ Quarters, there was a much higher percentage of decorated pipes in the Laborers’ Quarter. The mechanics may have owned more pipes and smoked more, but they were buying slightly less expensive pipes on average. However, the mechanics were probably spending more overall with the number of pipes purchased.

 

A selection of pipe bowls showing the variation in decorations. While most decorated pipes in the Workers Village were geometric, there were also pipes that showed faces and people.

NPS/Matera

 

Pipe stems were also decorated with geometric patterns, glazing, or with makers marks stamped on them. All this information is helpful in dating when the pipe was made. The "Bowstead" pipe was made in Scotland, and the "Gouda" pipe is Dutch.

NPS/Matera

 

Only three redware pipes were found during excavation. Two show molded faces, and one has a bumpy, polka dot design. Redware pipes were less common than white clay pipes, however they would have still been cheap. These pipes typically have a replaceable reed stem, rather than an integrated ceramic stem. There were three main manufacturing areas for these pipes: North Carolina, Virginia, and Ohio.

NPS/Matera

 

 

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