Final Week at the Rock Springs Chinatown Excavation
Hello everyone! It’s Emily, back with one final update from my last week working at the Rock Springs Chinatown excavation site.
Monday: July 6th
This week, we moved over to the western section of the site that Dr. Dudley Gardner had originally blocked off, and we were finally able to continue excavating there. Jenna, Paul, Lian, and I decided to leave the units we had been working on due to the lack of uncovering any wooden structural remains. Without those features, even if we found interesting artifacts, it would be difficult to place them into context, understanding where they came from, when they were deposited, and how they relate to the site is one of the most important parts of archaeology.
So, we started fresh in Units 0S0W and 2.6S0W, on the side of the site with absolutely no shade. New volunteers included high school student Colette from Los Angeles, Emma-Leigh who is originally from Georgia, and Pat and Siu Lin Santee from Salt Lake City, UT. Despite the heat, we made some exciting discoveries, including two completely intact medicine vials.
Meanwhile, in Unit 1S0W + 40cm South, Amber uncovered additional lumber, potentially floorboards, that continued through several units. They all ran in the same direction and sat right next to one another, making it clear that we were uncovering part of a larger structure.
In Jenna’s unit, underneath several large wooden boards, she found a piece of curved glass with copper/brass metal covering the rim. Combined with other thick, clear glass fragments and several copper/brass rings we had found, we think these pieces may have belonged to a lantern.
Tuesday: July 7th
On Tuesday, we continued excavating the western section of the site. We uncovered a bowl, along with several other whiteware ceramics that still had makers’ marks, which will hopefully help us identify and date them. After some quick research on the maker, “Johnson Brothers” of England, and “royal semi-porcelain,” Professor Ng believes this bowl was manufactured after the massacre. The bowl interfaces with the charred wood and has evidence of being in a fire. We will use this bowl, in conjunction with the stratigraphy and other evidence, to determine if this structure was from the original or rebuilt Chinatown.
We also finished mapping much of the burnt wood we had uncovered, especially the largest board that stretched from Amber’s Unit 1S0W + 40 cm into Alice’s Unit 0S1W. Once it was documented, we wrapped the wood samples in foil so they could be identified later.
After lunch, Dudley took Jenna and me to another historic site where he spends much of his time at, Fort Bridger. Last week, he took Alice and Amber, so it was finally our turn.
After about an hour-long drive, we arrived at the museum, where Dudley gave us a tour and shared the history of the site. It was fascinating hearing about the work he has done there as the site’s archaeologist. He even had us help tidy up part of the excavation before showing us more of the area.
The highlight for me was seeing the original Mormon wall and learning just how important Fort Bridger was as a stop along major western migration routes like the Oregon Trail.
After touring the site, Dudley took us to his workshop, where we helped catalog artifacts from one of his previous excavations at Eagle Rock, a prehistoric site in Colorado. It was interesting to see the different types of stone that people used to make arrowheads. To top off the day, he took Jenna and me out to dinner to thank us for helping him, which was incredibly kind of him.
Wednesday: July 8th
On Wednesday morning, we were back at the Rock Springs site.
In Lian’s unit, she uncovered a massive tin container that looked more like a bucket than a typical tin can. It had a very large diameter but was surprisingly shallow. Even with its shallow depth, we found traces of what may have been stored inside. There was a lot of burned organic material, including shells that we couldn’t confidently identify.
As Lian continued bringing her unit down to match the surrounding depths, she uncovered a large sheet of woven bamboo matting. Although it had turned black over time, the weave pattern was still clearly visible. Because it was sitting directly on top of the floorboards that extended across multiple units, we think it may have been part of a floor mat.
On Jenna’s side of the excavation, she and Alice opened Units 1N1W and 1N0W to continue following the wooden beams and determine whether the structure extended even farther than we had already uncovered. Emma-Leigh also opened a new unit, 3S0W, and removed the sod layer to begin excavating.
Sadly, this was Lian’s last day with us. After spending the past several weeks working together, we wanted to give her a proper goodbye. After work, our crew went to Pinup Coffee together, grabbed drinks, and spent some time together before saying goodbye to Lian.
Thursday: July 9th
Thursday, I was back to excavating. I took over Emma-Leigh’s unit, 3S0W, and worked on bringing it down to the same depth as the surrounding units.
While digging, I found two medicine vials along with several pieces of wood that didn’t appear to be part of the main floorboards because they were much higher in the soil. One larger board connected to Lian’s unit, so I mapped it, removed it, and collected it for testing. One thing that stood out was that only part of the board had been burned.
Amber took over Lian’s unit, 2.6S0W, and continued bringing it down to the floorboard level. As she excavated, she uncovered even more boards that connected perfectly with the others, giving us an even better picture of the structure.
Friday: July 10th
My goal on Friday was to finish excavating my unit and bring it down to the same depth as the others. However, as I dug farther, I realized I had reached sterile clay.
After asking Professor Ng how to proceed, I cleaned the surface of the unit to expose the sterile clay and document how the structure had originally been cut into it. The angle of the clay lined up with the surrounding units, running northwest, and even matched what had been documented during the 2025 excavation on the east side of the side.
Once my unit was finished, I helped Amber and Professor Ng clean Unit 1S0W. Since it was our last full day on site, we wanted to make as much progress as possible before wrapping everything up.
Jenna worked incredibly hard trying to reach the floorboards in her unit. Although she ran out of time before getting all the way there, she uncovered a remarkable amount of wood along the way.
Saturday: July 11th
On our final day, we returned to our original excavation units to finish documentation.
Jenna and I mapped the north wall profile of previous excavation unit, 20N2W, recording the different soil layers we had excavated. This profile will help place the artifacts we recovered into a clearer archaeological context. Amber and Alice returned to the 2025 excavation to map the south wall profile of Unit 6N2W, where they had spent their first two weeks excavating.
After finishing all of our paperwork, we covered our units, and packed up our equipment. We briefly attended the 100th Anniversary of Rock Springs International Day, which celebrates the city’s immigrant history, and then began the drive back to Grinnell College.
Photo by Dudley Gardner
Food Donation Acknowledgments
The project would like to thank Jeff Yee Litt for treating us to ice cream at Wild West Candy Parlor, Kori Brown for a gift card that was used twice at Pin Up Coffee, Ricky and Grace Leo for dinner at their house, Mark and Susi Leo for dinner at their restaurant China Garden, Robert Lew & family for dinner at Taqueria Ariela ́s Ara, Bill Lew for providing kolaches from Cowboy Donuts, Pat and Siu Lin Santee for bringing portuguese egg tarts from Salt Lake City, the Wang Family for two rounds of Cowboy Donuts and dinner at Broadway Burger Station, Philip Lew & family for Domino’s pizza lunch, and two local Rock Springs residents who brought us donuts and fruit.
Artifact Donation Acknowledgments
We would also like to thank the couple across the street at Bridger Avenue for donating artifacts found on their property from Camp Pilot Butte (1885-1898), a U.S. Army Camp installed because of the Chinese massacre, and to a local resident for donating several intact Chinese brown glazed stoneware vessels that her father-in-law retrieved from the 1960s construction of Washington School on Ahsay Ave.
Funding Acknowledgment
Thank you to all of the project funders and donors for making the 2026 field season possible.
Leave a Reply