The Archaeology of Illicit Behavior in Springfield, Illinois’ Badlands

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.

In August 1908, seven Black-occupied houses located north of the Tenth and Madison Street intersection in Springfield, Illinois were destroyed by a white mob during the Springfield Race Riot. Recent archaeological investigations at these house sites have resulted in detailed information pertaining to the house occupants and various activities undertaken at these houses. Although archival sources suggest all seven dwellings functioned as multi-family residences at the time of the riots, the artifact assemblages recovered from several of these dwellings hint at other non-residential activities. This paper focuses on the non-domestic activities (gambling, prostitution, as well as opium and liquor consumption) documented at several of the houses located within this neighborhood.

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