Mitchelville's Waterworks
The exposed well feature before excavation starts.
Excavation of the well underway.
The shape of the well starts to appear.
The archaeologist starts to cut a profile of the well.
Excavations reveal the well.
A drawing of the well showing the layers of fill.
An artist's rendering of the well.
Barrel Wells
Mitchelville's homes did not have running water. Instead town residents used community wells. Usually these were barrel wells because they were easy to build on Hilton Head where there are sandy soils and a high water table. High water table means ground water is close to the surface. This style of well was also used regularly by the Union Army. Residents dug a hole as deep as they could and inserted a bottomless barrel into the hole. Water collected in the barrel. The barrel kept the water clean and prevented the sides of the hole from collapsing. Sometimes a roof and outer walls were built to keep unwanted debris from falling into the well.
Archaeologists found two wells during the excavations. They know the features were barrel wells because they found dark soil where the barrel staves rotted away and pieces of the metal bands that held the barrel together.