Sunday Focus

Sunday we will be shovel testing around the west and north sides of the courthouse. Just west of the courthouse and north of the jail is the Mill Lot, a small parcel on which a steam powered mill operated in the late 19th century. Hard to imagine screaming gears and thwacking leather belts, combined with whatever noises were peculiar to the engine, a few yards from the courtroom. what will we find on such a site with shovel tests? Don't know. Come help and be among the first to find out.

We will also test the sites of the Smoot House and the Brawner (aka St. Charles) Hotel. I'm pretty sure that we will encounter substantial architectural debris and domestic debris.

The goal for testing in both areas is to more precisely identify the locations of these buildings, especially because they are part of the setting...the theater stage, if you will...on which residents and visitors met and resisted Union occupation during the Civil War. It is possible that part of the Lincoln conspiracy was hatched in the Brawner Hotel.

We expect beautiful weather, great companionship, and new discoveries. All, as always, welcome.

Jim