Field Photos

Photos

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site 2006

MWAC conducted multiple stages of archeological investigation at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site (HEHO), West Branch, Iowa. HEHO plans to rehabilitate one of the properties in its Historic District in order to rectify problems with drainage, to create accessible housing, and to create an exterior consistent with the house’s history and the character of the district.

The James Staples House was built between 1869 and 1872, and is known to have been present during Hoover’s childhood years in West Branch. Prior to this project, no archeological fieldwork had been done on the Staples lot. However, previous work at other structures in the HEHO historic core had shown that significant archeological deposits exist elsewhere. Because the rehabilitation work planned here will impact the entire lot, both inside and outside the house, extensive archeological inventory and data recovery efforts were necessary. Archeological investigation has proceeded in steps, with information gleaned from initial work applied in planning of subsequent work.

MWAC staff, HEHO staff, and several excellent volunteers participated in this project. MWAC Archeologists Steven De Vore and Dawn Bringelson conducted the geophysical inventory. Dawn Bringelson, Ken Cannon, Jeff Richner (MWAC Archeologist), John Gapp, Mike Hammons, and Amanda Davey (MWAC Archeological Technicians) conducted shovel-testing and test excavation. Special thanks to volunteers Bob Brandon, Steve Hanken, Fred Gee, Gary Dalecky, and Charlotte Wright for their invaluable assistance on this portion of the project. HEHO staff members helped during various stages of the field work. Historian Cary Wiesner has served as project contact and helped in multiple field projects; Maintenance Mechanic Daris Honemann operated the backhoe; the Facilities and Maintenance team performed hand-demolition to enable us to access portions of the project area, and Student Conservation Association intern Amy Skrabacz aided in the data recovery excavations.