1999 Archeological Geophysical Survey Tests at Monroe School, Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, Topeka, Kansas

Summary

In 1999, the Midwest Archeological Center undertook historical research and geophysical survey at Monroe School, Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, Topeka, Kansas. Monroe was a segregated school within a historic African American community. It was the focus of a 1951 lawsuit against the Topeka Board of Education to end public school segregation. The suit played an important role in the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal and violate the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees all citizens equal protection of the laws .

The school and grounds will see major renovation to become an interpretive and resource center and to create office space for National Park Service administrators. Historic research identified at least 18 buildings that stood on the current school grounds between 1889 and 1926. There is no surface evidence for these structures today. Geophysical survey used a fluxgate magnetometer, a resistivity meter, and ground-penetrating radar to determine whether structural remnants are likely to exist, where they occur, and (in some cases) make tentative identifications of the resource.

The survey confirmed the presence of many buried cultural features around Monroe School. Some features correlate with remnants of historic structures, although most appear to represent smaller undocumented cultural features. Anomaly concentrations and patterns conform with known property boundaries and probably reflect variations in owners' use activities. The survey information can help guide development planning and archeological investigations during renovation .

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Contact(s): U.S. Department of the Interior; National Park Service; Midwest Archeological Center

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