Public Archaeology Open House

See Archaeology in Action at the Willamette Heritage Center Saturday April 22

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to visit an archaeological dig? Well you don’t have to travel too far! This spring, the Willamette Heritage Center is partnering with Willamette University, the City of Salem, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and the Oregon Archaeological Society to conduct a public archaeology project right here on the museum grounds.

Public Archaeology Open House is an opportunity to tour the excavation area and see what is being discovered. While you won’t have a chance to excavate yourself, we leave that to the professionals, a number of family-friendly, hands-on activities will also be available to test your archaeology skills and know-how.

Please note, only service animals are allowed on site.

What are we looking for?

The project is located in the ancestral lands of the Kalapuya, whose lives were dedicated to the healthy stewardship of the land; insuring abundance of materials for everyday life since time immemorial. In 1841-42, Methodist missionaries built two buildings in the vicinity. One structure, that would come to be known as the Parsonage, was originally located near where the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill Building stands today. The second was originally known as Indian Manual Training School, it later became the Oregon Institute in 1844, and finally in 1853 became known as Willamette University. Through several non-invasive surveying techniques and excavation, we are hoping to identify the location of these two buildings and to provide a greater context to their original purposes as significant moments and places in Tribal history as well as Euro-American settlement of Salem, Oregon.