Central Point, Ore., — Hanley Farm was established in 1857.
With hundreds of years of history in its roots, it only made sense to dig up the grounds and check for artifacts before the farm makes some upgrades to its facilities.
“This is a known archaeological site that goes back hundreds. if not thousands of years, so any time they do any sort of excavation here they need to consider the archaeological resources that are present.” said Chelsea Rose, a research faculty at Southern Oregon University.
The Historical Society enlisted the help of the Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology to see what they could find.
Going through every rock, stick and speck of mud – staff and students from SOU are making sure to preserve the past.
“What we’re finding when we get deeper, is some of the artifacts that are tools, or by products of making these tools that you would need to make a living hundreds of years ago.” said Rose.
And for the archaeological technicians like Kyle Crebbin, finding the ancient tools never gets old.
“You hold something that hasn’t been touched in hundreds of years, that’s always gonna be a really invigorating experience.”
Among the work being done, Hanley Farm is putting in a new sewer system on the property within the next few months.
The construction will not affect any planned events and the farm is still open during regular hours.
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