Chapter Meeting Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Board Meeting at 10:30 am
Lunch at Noon
Program at 1:00 pm

A presentation by
Sarah Chesney, MA PhD Candidate
Historical Archaeology Program, Dept. of Anthropology
College of William and Mary

The Root of the Matter:
Searching for William Hamilton’s Greenhouse
at The Woodlands Estate

It is more than likely that in 1807, Meriwether Lewis visited William Hamilton at his Woodland Estate to see some of the expedition’s seedlings growing in his greenhouse. The large building, at least 140 feet long, was said to contain over ten thousand rare and exotic plants, which attracted visitors and students of botany from all over the world.

Hamilton’s position as a well-respected botanical collector straddled the space between the diverging trends of “scientific” and “amateur” approaches to botany. Recent archaeological investigations of Hamilton’s greenhouse have begun to reveal the complexity of its internal spatial arrangements that embody the changing nature of botany and botanical exchange on local, national, and international levels.

Please see our meeting announcement for more details including lunch choices and prices.

If you plan to attend, please call Tom Davis at 610- 828-1650 before Thursday, October 6th.
If you plan to join us for lunch, please also give Tom your lunch choice.

(The meeting is free, with the exception of the cost of lunch.)

Board Meeting at 10:30 am
Lunch at Noon
Presentation at 1:00 pm

Meeting will be held at:
Historic Woodlands Mansion
4000 Woodland Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19104