The Anatomy of a Standoff: Searching for Pearl Royal Hendrickson

Author(s): William A. White

Year: 2020

Summary

This is a paper/report submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

On July 31, 1940, African American World War I veteran Pearl Royal Hendrickson shot and killed a Federal Marshall sent to evict him from his home in the foothills overlooking Boise, Idaho. This action precipitated a standoff between Hendrickson and dozens of law enforcement officers from across Idaho. Archaeological surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019 to relocate the site of the standoff and investigate how a highly motivated person could use landscape, military training, and weaponry hold off multiple officers. Newspaper accounts provided valuable information on how law enforcement officers addressed gunfights with well-armed assailants during the mid-twentieth century. The archival research and fieldwork components were designed to commemorate a little known event in Idaho’s history.

Cite this Record

The Anatomy of a Standoff: Searching for Pearl Royal Hendrickson. William A. White. 2020 ( tDAR id: 457182)

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Keywords

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 985