Missoula Historic Underground Project: Urban Archaeology, Landscape, and Identity

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Revolutionizing Approaches to Campus History - Campus Archaeology's Role in Telling Their Institutions' Stories" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The American West’s urban undergrounds are laced with mystique and lore. Well-known historic undergrounds exist throughout the American West in cities such as Portland, Pendleton, Seattle, Boise, and Butte. Tales exist of secret underground passages to houses of prostitution, Chinese opium dens, and Prohibition-era alcohol smuggling operations. In Missoula, Montana, a local, urban archaeological survey was conducted to see what evidence remained of the puzzling historic underground landscape. This study of Missoula’s subterranean archaeological features included an analysis and inventory of steam tunnels, sidewalk voids, and a mix of mundane and clandestine basement spaces. An integration of archival, architectural, and archaeological evidence, and local collective memories aided in identifying the physical remains of Missoula’s historic, urban underground landscape.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Revolutionizing Approaches to Campus History - Campus Archaeology's Role in Telling Their Institutions' Stories   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 1043