Our Lands Speak: It’s a New Chapter

Reflecting on the dozens of 19th century homesteads and farmsteads we excavated prior to their development, I worked hard to educate our clients about the need to preserve the heritage represented in the sites we dug. . . Now, fully embracing retirement, I eagerly look forward to writing more and adding to the popular series and occasional papers of Our Lands Speak series.

The Windmill Site

We discovered a second location we called The Windmill Site, inspired by an old windmill still standing beside the site. We also found the cellars of both of these homes which can be seen in the aerial picture taken by our drone. There were thousands of artifacts dating back to the late 19th and early 20th century, most of which were metal. We collected a few as representative samples of the kinds of artifacts in use at the turn of the century.

The Yake Site

This is the first archaeological site we have excavated that was occupied by tenants. The investigation reminded me of the tremendous variability of 19th century homesteads and farmsteads. It seems that every site is slightly different, and each one provides additional insights into life as it was more than a century and a half ago. Interestingly at times, these insights can be very different than the written history of the era.