These heel plates were found on east side of East Tinmouth Road at the Gleason Cellar Hole site in 2017. The one on the far left in the cover photo is typical of heel plates worn by Civil War soldiers. The two heart shaped heel plates would have been worn by women, the photo below showing an example of the same style heel plate on a woman's shoe from the Civil War era. Below that are additional heel plates found at the same site in 2022, along with a tin found there that held condoms. Below that is a photo of what that condom tin would have looked like new.
Whether the heart shaped heel plates had significance is debated by researchers. Some say they were worn by prostitutes to signal potential clients. They have commonly been found at Civil War encampment sites which fueled the camp follower speculation. Whether they were simply fashion or served a more colorful purpose in Chippenhook we will never know.
The bottom photo is of another heel plate found further north on East Tinmouth Rd in 2018.
These photos are courtesy of Phil Mandolare. Other artifacts found at this site can be seen in this collection in the following entries:
Gleason Site 1760 King George Hibernia
Bell Toy @ Gleason Cellar Hole
Gleason Site Artifacts
History of the site itself can be read about in the Gleason Cellar Holes entry in the cellar holes collection.
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