A Zooarchaeological Perspective on the 1908 Race Riot Site (11SG1432) in Springfield, Illinois

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Springfield Railroad Improvements Project necessitated the mitigation of parts of five house sites that were burned down by a mob driven by racial hatred in August, 1908. Whereas archaeological investigations by Fever River Research have emphasized the families and individuals that were directly impacted by this event, research also provided the opportunity to better understand the history of a neighborhood where affordable housing was available close to the central business district of Illinois’ capitol city. Excavations resulted in the recovery of nearly 6,000 identified animal remains that were associated with numerous artifacts. Together these provide a unique perspective on consumer choices and foodways for working and merchant class families of various ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds who resided in the “Near North Side” from the 1840s until 1908.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow