OPPORTUNITY for Archeologists (PI) and Graduate Students -- African
American Settlement Sites
Nicodemus National Historic Site is developing a project in partnership
with the Kansas State Historical Society, the Kansas Anthropological
Association, the NPS-Midwest Archeology Center, Washburn University, and
local community members to sponsor an archeological summer field school
in 2007. The Kansas State Historical Society and Kansas Anthropological
Association have an established program---the Kansas Archeology Training
Program (KATP)---that sponsors field schools every summer to "provide
education in archeology through hands-on experience and formal classes
on focused topics." A planned KATP field school at Nicodemus will
investigate settlement period (1877-c.1880) dugouts and possibly some
sod house ruins. Research and investigations began in 2006.
Coordinators of this field school are _seeking a *primary investigator
(archeologist)* with experience in investigating or interested in
African American 19^th Century settlement sites._ We are also seeking
*graduate student researchers* to assist with the field school. This
project can provide data for an excellent thesis, dissertation, or
post-doctoral project. We are seeking grant funding to cover costs for
the primary investigator (PI).
Located in the northwest part of Kansas, Nicodemus is significant as one
of the few remaining of the many all-Black towns established along the
Western frontier at the end of the Reconstruction period. The town
illustrates a largely untold story of how African Americans participated
in the settlement of the Great Plains. Nicodemus National Historic Site
(managed by the National Park Service) consists of five properties that
lie within a 160-acre National Historic Landmark (NHL) district. The
NHL district corresponds to the originally platted town site which now
has a small population of 34 residents. All of these residents are
either direct descendents of the original settlers or married into the
families. The initial settlement of this African American community in
1877-1878 consisted of constructing dugouts; oral histories relate the
use of dugouts and sod houses into the 1920s or later. There is
physical evidence of both dugouts and sod house ruins located within the
developed portion of the town site (approx. 20 acres).
This project has the potential to produce exciting, new information on
African American settlement on the Plains. Many visitors to Nicodemus
National Historic Site express curiosity about the dugouts.
Investigations conducted by Dr. Margaret Wood (Washburn University) last
summer generated a lot of excitement from residents and visitors. Dr.
Wood conducted a partial investigation of the Thomas Johnson family site
just north of town, finding a cellar dugout and stone-lined residential
dugout. Johnson's daughter Emma Williams gave birth to the first baby
born in Nicodemus, shortly after arriving in September 1877. The
majority of the families in Nicodemus are related through the Johnson
and Williams line.
If you are interested in participating in this project, please contact
Dr. Bill Hunt, Senior Archeologist (National Park Service, Midwest
Archeological Center, 402-437-5392, ext. 111) or Dr. Robert Hoard, State
Archeologist (Kansas State Historical Society, 785-272-8681, ext. 269).
We will request a short vitae (1-2 pages), particularly detailing your
interest and experience in African American sites. For more information
on Nicodemus and the KATP field school program, see
_http://www.nps.gov/nico_ and _http://www.kshs.org/resource/katphome.htm_.
Sherda K. Williams, Superintendent
Nicodemus National Historic Site
510 Washington Avenue, Apt. 4B
Nicodemus, KS 67625
Office: 785-839-4321 Email:
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<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Robert J. Hoard, PhD
State Archeologist, Kansas State Historical Society
6425 SW 6th Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099, USA
v: 785.272.8681 x269 f: 785.272.8682 [log in to unmask]
Kansas Archaeology, edited by R. J. Hoard & W. E. Banks
is available at http://www.kshs.org/store/home.php
Attend the 64th Annual Plains Anthropological Conference
Topeka, Kansas November 8-11, 2006 http://www.plainsanth2006.org/
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