Rare Floor Uncovered at Historic Home

News February 28, 2013

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(Two.dog.john, Public Domain)

NIPOMO, CALIFORNIA—Archaeologist John Foster has uncovered a rare floor surface at the Dana Adobe, home of Boston sea captain William G. Dana and his wife, Maria Josepha Carrillo, the founders of the town of Nipomo. Their home, built in 1837, served as a mail and stage coach stop on the north-south route through California. The floor was made of a mixture of adobe, sand, and water that formed a hard, smooth surface. It was eventually covered with a wooden floor that protected it through the years. “It probably makes the Dana Adobe unique in the country if not the larger region,” Foster said. If the funding becomes available, researchers would like to study the floor—it may yield pollen and hair for DNA testing.

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