Midwest Archeological Center's Projects

Following the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps as a way to employ thousands of young men across the country. Many of these men worked on projects within national parks. Archeologists uncovered remains of six CCC camps in and around Rocky Mountain National Park.

Reconstruction was a time of hope and progress for African Americans in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Peter and Fannie Henderson filed a land patent in 1882 to claim land from the federal government. NPS archeologists investigated home sites and cemeteries within the Hendersons' community, a place with deep traditions whose people built themselves up after starting with very little.

History and archaeology go hand in hand.

Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln and their sons lived in the house in Springfield, Illinois between 1844 and 1861. Archeological excavations uncovered evidence of their everyday lives, ranging from decorated dishes and glassware used during large parties to medicine bottles and children’s toys.

Do you love archeology and want to get creative? Check out the coloring pages in our new Archeology in Color series. We'll keep adding new content, so check back from time to time for more fun activities!

Voyageurs National Park is part of a historically dynamic region. Within the park is a chain of four major lakes, which American Indians have used for 9,000 years. Midwest Archeological Center archeologist Jeffrey Richner has led many projects inventorying archeological sites in the park. During these inventories, he discovered historic sites relating to the Bois Forte occupation dating to the late 19th-century and early-20th century.

Following the landmark Oliver L. Brown et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas in 1954, public schools could no longer segregate students using racial categories or ethnic backgrounds. In 1992, the events surrounding this historic case became the basis for the creation of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, which includes the Monroe Elementary School.

The fur trading post Fort Union was established in 1828 by the American Fur Company. Located at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers in North Dakota, the trading post was used from 1823 to 1867. The post became a National Historic Site in 1966.

Although the Hopewell mounds and earthworks of Ross County, Ohio are well known, many basic questions remain about the archeological sites and the American Indian people who built them.

Archaeology helps uncover stories from prehistoric Sitka, which has been home to the Tlingit for thousands of years. In more recent times, it also served as the capital of Russian America, and now hosts the oldest national park in Alaska.