Public Invited to ‘Dig for History’ in Historic Washington State Park

Dr. Jamie C. Brandon and his team are inviting the public to come out and learn about some local history with the “2012 Digging For History” program, scheduled to begin June 8, in the Historic Washington State Park, in Washington, Arkansas.

Dr. Brandon and his team from the Arkansas Archeological Society, have conducted digs in Old Washington Park before.  They began excavating in block 6, (the merchant district), of Washington Park in 2011, and will continue there.  With artifacts found, they hope to be able to reconstruct exactly what was where.

Washington Arkansas was first founded in 1824 along the Old Southwest Trail.  In the early nineteenth century, Washington was a major center for commerce and government, as well as an important re-supply stop for folks heading on to Texas and points west.  After Little Rock fell during the Civil War in 1863, Washington became the capitol of Confederate Arkansas.  After the Civil War, postbellum Washington soon began to fade away as a new town, Hope Arkansas was founded a few miles south along the Cairo and Fulton Railway.

If you have an interest in history, or archeology, the public is invited to participate.  Dr. Brandon said,

Volunteers are welcome to come out and work shoulder to shoulder with real archeologists.  They need to join the Arkansas Archeological Society, but we can take care of that at the park when they show up.”

Dr. Brandon will supervise the dig through the Southern Arkansas University Research Station and the Arkansas Archeological Survey, with the Kadohadacho Chapter of the Arkansas Archeological Society.  The dig is scheduled to run from June 8 to June 24, 2012.

For more information, contact Dr. Jamie C. Brandon Phd., at 479-879-6229.

Here are just a few photos from the “2011 Digging for History” project in Old Washington Park that Dr. Brandon has shared with us… for more visit his Flickr Galleries.