SPIRITS OF THE BLACK CAT TAVERN: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY AT A TENNESSEE CAVE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF PROHIBITION

Abstract

Local folklore in Rutherford County, Tennessee suggests that the Black Cat Cave archaeological site (40RD299) concealed an illegal speakeasy during the prohibition era. In 2014, MTSU students and professors conducted an archaeological investigation at the heavily disturbed cave site. This thesis focuses on testing local reports of the cave’s use as a speakeasy through an examination of the modern, twentieth-century bottle glass and metal bottle caps recovered during the 2014 investigation. Using historical archaeology methods, this thesis incorporates: archaeological laboratory procedures, including cataloguing the historic bottle glass and cap collection, archival research into earliest possible manufacture dates, primary source archival research into contemporaneous newspaper articles, and folklore or oral accounts of people who shared their personal experiences at the Black Cat Tavern during prohibition. This thesis recognizes the equal importance of artifact analysis and social historical context and combines them in a material culture study that addresses the local stories of illegal drinking that took place in the subterranean environment.