Participate in Garfield Farm
Museum's August/September Archaeological Field Session
CAMPTON HILLS IL — Garfield Farm Museum is looking for volunteers to help
with archaeological excavations in August and September. The hours are
Wednesday thru Sunday from 8 am-5 pm during the weeks of August 14-25 and
September 11-22. Under the direction of James R. Yingst, Director and Chief
Archaeologist of Chicago-based Heartland Archaeology Research Program, and a
Research Associate in Archaeology at Garfield Farm Museum, work is focused
on understanding the lives of the 1830s/1840s settling farmers in Northern
Illinois.
Registration is currently open. Individuals
enrolling for a minimum of 40 hours receive a complete orientation,
structured training involving rotation through the activities of shovel
excavation, screening of excavated soil for artifact recovery, and washing
of recovered artifacts. Participants who successfully complete 40 or more
hours will receive certificates documenting hours of training and supervised
experience in historical archaeology. Volunteers who can’t commit to 40
hours are also welcome and will receive informal orientations and
participate in tasks needed during their hours of participation.
The Garfield Farm Museum Archaeology Program accepts
volunteers of ages 14-17 with written parental permission. Volunteers under
14 must be accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult at all times.
We do not recommend participants under 8.
The Culbertson log house/Garfield log tavern stood
in the fork of the Chicago/St. Charles Road that branched northwest to
Sycamore and southwest to Oregon, Illinois. Culbertson originally claimed
440 acres of land that he improved with a log house, a dug well, and 30
acres under cultivation by mid-1841 when he sold the claim to Timothy
Garfield for $650. The Garfields immediately saw a lucrative opportunity in
establishing an inn to capture the business of the numerous farmers hauling
wheat past their house to Chicago's port.
To register as a participant, to visit the
excavation site, or to financially contribute to the effort, contact the
museum at 630 584-8485, e-mail info@garfieldfarm.org or write to Box 403
LaFox, IL 60147.
For more information about Garfield Farm send an e-mail message to: info@garfieldfarm.org
or call 630/584-8485.
