An Archeological Overview and Assessment of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, West Branch, Iowa

Fred A. Finney

An Archeological Overview and Assessment of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, West Branch, Iowa

Year: 2005

Summary

This document presents an archeological overview and assessment for the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site (HEHO), Cedar County, Iowa. Specific report sections review and describe the local and regional environment, past archeological investigations, known archeological resources and repositories, primary and secondary data sources, reviews the park's archeological database, and concludes with a series of management recommendations for future archeological research. HEHO is located in the City of West Branch in eastern Iowa. The park has a representation of the West Branch neighborhood that Herbert Hoover knew as a youth. Prominent features of this neighborhood along Hoover Creek is the birthplace cottage of the 31st president, his father's blacksmith shop, the Society of Friends Meeting House, other nearby residences dating to the late nineteenth century, and the burial plot of President Hoover and his wife Lou Henry Hoover. This neighborhood was dominated by a Quaker community during the late nineteenth century. Various buildings at HEHO have been the subject of multiple episodes of archeological investigation since 1970. This work resulted from compliance activities for park construction projects. HEHO archeological investigations have been made by researchers from the Midwest Archeological Center (MW AC) and the Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA) at The University of Iowa, Iowa City. These two institutions represent the primary sources of archeological information and artifact repositories for the park. At present there are 17 HEHO archeological sites registered in the Iowa Site Record. The majority of the sites occur in the HEHO core area. All of these 17 sites represent Euroamerican occupations. For that reason the site limits correspond to their associated lot boundaries. At present there are no known Native American sites in HEHO, although at least a limited prehistoric occupation should be expected along Hoover Creek. After reviewing the HEHO archeological database, this report concludes with three management recommendations. The future research efforts should center on an examination of potential archeological resources along Hoover Creek, making a comprehensive archeological site inventory of the park, and completing evaluations of the archeological sites. The latter two objectives should center on the HEHO core area. All of the three management recommendations are designed to assist the park in completing its obligations for archeological resources that are outlined in the Cultural Resource Management Guideline for Director's Order 28.

Cite this Record

An Archeological Overview and Assessment of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, West Branch, Iowa. Fred A. Finney. Contract Completion Report ,41. Lincoln, Nebraska: Midwest Archeological Center, National Park Service, Department of the Interior. 2005 ( tDAR id: 375650) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8C24W48