PB site yields bits of history

UAPB archaeologist cataloging remnants at park plot

University of Arkansas System archaeologist John House, who is based at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, looks through 19th century artifacts recently unearthed at a construction site near downtown Pine Bluff. The artifacts were discovered during the groundbreaking for a new water park.

University of Arkansas System archaeologist John House, who is based at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, looks through 19th century artifacts recently unearthed at a construction site near downtown Pine Bluff. The artifacts were discovered during the groundbreaking for a new water park.

Monday, June 9, 2014

PINE BLUFF -- Construction of a new splash park near downtown Pine Bluff has unearthed multiple remnants from the city's past, and archaeologists are busy working to identify and catalog the pieces.

University of Arkansas System archaeologist John House, who is based at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, worked at the site on a recent afternoon, sifting through 19th century-era nails, bits of pottery, glass and other items that have been recovered.

House said the site, which sits on Pullen Street on the banks of Lake Saracen, once included a residence or other building of "substantial size." Large brick pillars were uncovered soon after ground was broken for the new park in late May.

House said lime and sand mortar between the bricks, which formed the structure's cornerstones, dates them to the late 19th century.

"It's important to document sites like these, not necessarily to preserve them, but keeping records is important," House said. "We plan to go through tax records and find out who owned this site, and hopefully we can get to know more about what was here."

April Layher, director of the Pine Bluff Parks and Recreation Department, said the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program recommended that archaeologists survey the construction area after artifacts were found.

Mark Christ, community outreach director for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, said "the artifacts uncovered -- whether historic or prehistoric -- tell us something about what happened at that place and would be an irretrievable piece of Pine Bluff's history lost forever if they were not recorded. An arrowhead, shard of pottery or Civil War bullet in a landfill can never tell the story of where it came from."

House will remain on site as construction continues to ensure that any other artifacts are properly documented. The $640,000 park is expected to be completed in September.

A preliminary archaeological study of the site two years ago also revealed artifacts, including ceramic and glass fragments and hand-forged nails dating from the pre-Civil War era.

Artifacts representing the late 1800s and the 1900s up to the 1970s creation of the city park to which the splash park is being added were also found, UAPB officials said.

The site is in the earliest part of Pine Bluff, just a few blocks from the Jefferson County Courthouse and near where Joseph Bonne, a fur trapper and trader of French and Quapaw Indian ancestry, settled in 1819.

House said he doesn't expect to make any major finds at the site, though there are likely to be more artifacts found once digging continues. Heavy rains that fell last week halted construction, but workers are expected back at the site this week.

Curiosity about the site has spread throughout Pine Bluff since news of the findings broke.

Amateur Pine Bluff historian Judy Kimble said such findings are "like Christmas Day to people who love history."

Kimble, 69, said she teaches her grandson about history through field trips to places such as the one recently discovered at the splash park site.

Hands-on learning "is much better than reading about history," she said.

"Books, of course, are very important, but to kids, seeing and touching can mean so much more. It holds their attention longer."

State Desk on 06/09/2014