Hold My Beer! Archaeological Evidence of Alcohol Consumption at the Former Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot (UMCD), a U.S. Army installation located in Boardman Oregon, opened in 1941. The Depot stored a variety of military items, including conventional and chemical weapons. Up to twelve percent of the nation’s chemical weapons were stored at UMCD. After UMCD closed as an active Army installation the facility was transferred to the Oregon Army National Guard (ORARNG) to serve as a training site. The ORARNG has conducted archaeological survey of the training site as part of its ongoing responsibility to manage heritage resources. Along with artifacts associated with the operations of the Depot, a surprising number of alcohol vessels have been identified within the former Depot. This paper looks at the history of the UMCD, from active U.S. Army installation to ORARNG training site, and the significance this installation played in the military history of Oregon and the United States with the through line of alcohol consumption across decades. This paper also addresses the ongoing heritage preservation actions of the ORARNG to preserve a unique part of U.S. military history while still meeting its mission to train soldiers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37560.0