Enos Hardin

​​​Prior to the realignment of U.S. Highway 127, archaeologists from Wilbur Smith​ Associates investigated the remains of an early nineteenth-century farmstead owned by Enos Hardin.  Their research revealed that Hardin's farm was organized much like others in the region - with a main house located near a road, and domestic and agricultural outbuildings arranged nearby. 

The main house was originally a two-room log structure onto which a wood frame structure was later added. Unlike many small upland plantation owners who inherited their wealth and land, Enos Hardin started from scratch, by developing a small farmstead on land he acquired in 1825. His fortunes quickly rose. By investing in enslaved labor, he grew more crops and livestock than his neighbors. As he became more prosperous, he enslaved more people, and thus gained more wealth and status. The archaeological remains investigated at the Enos Hardin site provide a glimpse into Hardin’s rise in social status and the system of slavery that fueled it.​

​Evidence of Status and Dining Etiquette​

Many of the artifacts recovered from the site, like ceramic dish and glass tableware fragments, reflected Hardin’s wealth and his family’s desire for social status. Although these objects ​​are rather unimportant within present-day society, they were important for displaying one’s economic and social standing in the nineteenth century. 

The type and diversity of ceramic decorative types showed that the family purchased the most popular ceramics of the time. The diversity of vessel types suggested that the family could not only buy nice dishes, but also knew how to use them. For instance, the presence of teaware (cups and saucers) and a variety of tableware (various sizes of plates and serving dishes, and various types of glass drinking cups) show that the Hardins purchased proper table settings for participating in dining practices such as taking tea and hosting multiple course dinners. Hardin’s ability to purchase some of the most expensive and popular dishes of the day reflects his family's ascent into America’s growing middle class and their desire to emulate wealthier Kentucky plantation owners.​