The Snowtown Project: Remembering Providence’s Past

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Boxed but not Forgotten Redux or: The Importance and Usefulness of Exploring Old or Forgotten Collections" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In the early 1980s, archaeological excavations in downtown Providence, Rhode Island located the remains of early 19th century Snowtown, a mixed-race neighborhood most notable for a riot in 1831 between free African Americans and working-class whites. Recent collections rehabilitation efforts by the Public Archaeology Laboratory have rekindled interest in Providence’s historical past, resulting in several collaborative efforts by archaeologists, public historians, archivists, students, and community activists. One such collaboration—known as the Snowtown Project—is a collective research and interpretive project focused on the history and memory of the neighborhood. Over the last two years, researchers have focused on bringing this important part of Rhode Island history back into focus through intensive archival research, interpretation, and public programming. This paper will discuss previous and current efforts to interpret the history of one of Providence’s most notorious early neighborhoods.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Boxed but not Forgotten Redux or: The Importance and Usefulness of Exploring Old or Forgotten Collections   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology