We have the opportunity to help Arkansas State Parks out and further our longstanding research in the old mercantile district of Washington, the first American market center in southwest Arkansas. Arkansas Archeological Society members can come dig with us, and anyone interested in archeology can visit us during the excavation! Let’s talk details…
ARAS staff member Taylor Greene operates the ground-penetrating radar on Block 7. The 1836 Courthouse at Historic Washington State Park is in the background.
Where: Historic Washington State Park, Block 7
When: March 18-22, 2023
So, what is Block 7? Historic Washington is gridded off into numbered blocks. We held the 2011 and 2012 Arkansas Archeological Society Training Programs at Block 6, which as the number suggests, is right across the street from Block 7. Both blocks are in the old mercantile district of the town, and lie across the street from the 1836 Courthouse. Property records for Block 7 go back to the late-1820s, about the same as we saw for Block 6.
We are going to be working in a portion of Block 7 where a recent ground-penetrating radar survey identified an anomaly, approximately rectilinear in shape, that could be something like a chimney footing or foundation element. We won’t really know what it is or what it dates to until we dig.
If you are interested in volunteering (and are a Society member), please contact Dr. Drexler at cdrexler@uark.edu. If you have questions about the dig or want to visit, feel free to email or call at 870-235-4230. If you join us, please wear closed-toed shoes and dress appropriate to the weather. Remember that the Jonquil Festival will be taking place on the 18th and 19th, so expect there to be crowds.
