[OR_Archaeology] OAS mtg Feb 2nd features talk about McLoughlin's Garden at Ft. Vancouver

[Susan White]

Elaine Dorset is the featured speaker for the Oregon Archaeological
Society meeting on February 2, 2010. 

Dorset’s talk is titled  ”A Garden in the Wilderness:
Archaeological Investigations of Dr. McLoughlin’s Garden at the 19th
Century Hudson’s Bay Company Fort Vancouver.”

Archaeological excavations were conducted during 2005 and 2006 at the
site of Dr. McLoughlin’s garden at Fort Vancouver National Historic
Site, headquarters and primary supply depot for the Hudson’s Bay
Company’s (HBC) Columbia Department, ca. 1829-1860. The garden was
eight acres in size at its peak, and contained fruits, vegetables,
herbs, flowers and wide paths for strolling visitors. 

Documentary evidence is limited, so the archaeological investigations,
including pollen and phytolith analysis, have provided information that
will assist the National Park Service in future reconstruction plans and
current interpretation of the site to visitors. The talk will discuss
methods employed during excavation, including special sampling
procedures, and review the results of these investigations.

Dorset is an archaeologist currently working as the Lab Director in the
Cultural Resources Division at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in
Vancouver, Washington. She has also worked as a Field Supervisor for the
joint Portland State University/Washington State University/National
Park Service Archaeology Field School held at Fort Vancouver.

The presentation is at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) at
7:45 PM, and is free and open to the public. 

The talk is preceded at 7 PM by a general business meeting, which is
also open to the public.

See www.oregonarchaeological.org or call 503-727-3507 for more
information.