Slate Pencil- Boston, MA
This slate pencil likely belonged to a Boston schoolchild in the 1800s. Slate pencils were made of soapstone or softer pieces of slate that smeared when rubbed against a slate tablet, often wrapped in paper or wood to avoid dirtying the hands. They were most commonly used in schoolhouses for writing and math exercises before paper became widely available.
This slate pencil was found during a 2019 archaeology survey of the First Church of Roxbury, the site of five successive meeting houses since the 1630s. The current building now serves as the headquarters for the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry, and the City of Boston Archaeology Program conducted the dig prior to landscaping changes. The survey uncovered many children’s items from the 19th and 20th centuries.
The slate pencil likely came from children occupying the nearby Dillaway-Thomas House, which served as a parsonage, the headquarters for the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and a women’s day school. Today, it is part of the Roxbury Heritage State Park and operates as a museum.
