Historic Background Information

17 September 2003

18 September 2003

19 September 2003

• Excavations on Friday September 19,2003 took place in the southern sections of Block 6 just south of Washburne Avenue and North of 13th Street. These areas are marked in a light blue east-west line.
• An east west excavation trench was placed along Washburne within the limits of the area in which a school was located between the 1880 and 1917.  After 1917 historic documents suggest that area remained vacant parkland.  Excavation within the boundaries of the old school revealed that some of the foundations of the school were still intact - at least the eastern and western foundation walls.  Material debris from the trench was construction debris only.  The fact that asphalt tiles with asbestos was recovered suggests that either the maps are for this area are wrong or the area was filled with construction debris sometime after WWII.
• Excavations along 13th Street were conducted in an area that historic maps suggest was also parkland in most of the 20th century. Material recovered from this trench suggest that the area was filled with all kinds of debris - tires, cedar telephone poles, etc.

• N.B. Archaeological deposits discovered during these days of testing are determined not to be eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.